Berninneit's atrium: "a tranquil and welcoming two-storey hospitality space rhythmically ordered by a laminated mountain ash colonnade". Photo: Peter Clarke
BERNINNEIT has won Victoria’s highest accolade in the public category of the Victorian Architecture Awards, announced last Friday night.
The new Cowes Cultural and Community Centre was the jury’s unanimous choice for what it described as “an extraordinarily well crafted and delightful place for gathering”.
The $32 million cultural centre is the most expensive project ever completed by Bass Coast Shire Council and had a decades-long genesis. After more than 30 years of discussion and many iterations, it finally opened last October with a month of community celebrations.
The new Cowes Cultural and Community Centre was the jury’s unanimous choice for what it described as “an extraordinarily well crafted and delightful place for gathering”.
The $32 million cultural centre is the most expensive project ever completed by Bass Coast Shire Council and had a decades-long genesis. After more than 30 years of discussion and many iterations, it finally opened last October with a month of community celebrations.
Liza Power, a spokeswoman for project architects Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, said the awards night was a very happy event. “We’re thrilled and humbled that Berninneit Cultural and Community Centre has won the William Wardell Award for Public Architecture.”
The jury’s citation described Berninneit as “a beautifully crafted evocation of its context and an inviting focus for arts and culture on Philip Island”.
“A dynamic spatial fluidity links an auditorium, multi-purpose spaces, library, gallery, museum, meeting rooms and council offices around retained mature eucalypts forming a community courtyard.
The jury’s citation described Berninneit as “a beautifully crafted evocation of its context and an inviting focus for arts and culture on Philip Island”.
“A dynamic spatial fluidity links an auditorium, multi-purpose spaces, library, gallery, museum, meeting rooms and council offices around retained mature eucalypts forming a community courtyard.
| “The seemingly water-coloured washed brick clad form cleverly consolidates this broad brief into a singular, elemental composition, combining two storey, single storey and auditorium into an undulating interpretation of the region’s natural geology and topography. |  A welcome for Berninneit May 14, 2024 - Tim Shannon discovers no grand statement but a fitting portrait of the Phillip Island community. |
“Stepping through this outer shell reveals a tranquil and welcoming two-storey hospitality space rhythmically ordered by a laminated mountain ash colonnade and lined with spotted gum flooring and warm, blackbutt-faced walling.
“Sustainability is demonstrated through the low energy, low carbon, thermally efficient Passivhaus envelope which significantly reduces operational energy consumption. Sustainable materials are locally sourced including carbon-neutral bricks from Wollert and Gippsland grown hardwood, further reducing the carbon footprint.”
“Sustainability is demonstrated through the low energy, low carbon, thermally efficient Passivhaus envelope which significantly reduces operational energy consumption. Sustainable materials are locally sourced including carbon-neutral bricks from Wollert and Gippsland grown hardwood, further reducing the carbon footprint.”
The Berninneit Boogie: part of the community welcome last November. Photo: Terry Melvin