Kerry Hill Architects has won the Kings Square Architectural Competition, which seeks to remake the civic heart of Fremantle in Western Australia.

The firm’s design for a $45 million community, civic and retail hub will form part of the broader $220 million Kings Square project, which is one of the largest new developments in Fremantle’s history.

“We selected the Kerry Hill Architects’ proposition of simple, clear elegance that centred on a compelling urban gesture to re-establish Kings Square, which we also found to have a refined architectural palette of form, space and materials,” noted jury chair, Shelley Penn.

The winning concept included three key civic spaces: the inclined plane of the City Lawn, the Verandah and the Civic Drum.

The City Lawn is at the centre of the plans, a green space providing a place for gathering.

Sloping up gently from High Street, it extends the public space deep into the site, allowing it to support the passive enjoyment of Kings Square. The lawn also provides an informal ‘amphitheatre’ for street performances and council events.

View south from Kings Square

A library, organised on a single floor plane, will be located underneath this lawn. Its side glass walls afford visibility from the ground plane, with generous water courts providing natural light and ventilation within.

View east from High Street

A terrace will be positioned at the top of this inclined plane of lawn, prospected by a large verandah providing a usable outdoor space, the ‘Urban Room’. Adjacent to this terrace and within the building lies the Civic Drum.

The Civic Drum is expressed in the form of a sandstone cylinder, and contains various public functions – Council Chambers which are surrounded by generous foyer spaces, community rooms, staff lounges and exhibition spaces.

“Materially, the building is conceived as a series of sandstone formations rising up to support a delicate glass prism,” the architects write in their entry.

“White planar masonry forms hover above the streets and define the large verandah. The architecture is clear and coherent, while the dynamic spatial links are complex and varied.”

Fremantle mayor Dr Brad Pettitt said the winning concept had the design and sustainability qualities that the Fremantle community seeks. The design, which was analysed under the GBCA Green Star rating system, achieved a 5 Star rating for both the Office Buildings and Public Buildings benchmarks.

View west from Queen Street

This derives from passive design strategies, such as correct orientation of the building to make full use of the benefits of passive solar design, and the verandah roof which provides shading to cater for the summer sun and protection from south westerly winds.

At the same time, the narrow floor plates and double height spaces through the central public space will allow for possible natural cross ventilation.

Run by the City of Fremantle, the two-stage international design competition attracted 53 eligible entries in Stage One. Kerry Hill Architects, Victorian practice McBride Charles Ryan (runner-up), and Fremantle practice CODA (finalist), were eventually shortlisted.

William Street elevation

Once final tenancy agreements are secured and the commencement of the Kings Square Project has been confirmed, Kerry Hill Architects will be engaged to fine-tune their concept with the City of Fremantle and project partner Sirona Capital Management to bring their design to life.

The winning design and other two shortlisted concepts will be on public display at the former Myer building in Kings Square until 24 December 2013. A public display of all Stage One and Two entries is being planned for early 2014.

To view all shortlisted entries, please visit http://kingssquare.fremantle.wa.gov.au/stage-2-entries/.

Geraldine Chua

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