ARM architecture has taken out WA’s Joondalup City’s Architectural Design Competition with its concept design of the Joondalup Performing Arts and Cultural Facility (JPACF).

In a design award initiative that saw 21 submissions from local and international architects, ARM fought off competition from four finalists to be announced the winner of the city’s Architectural Design Competition.

The other three finalists were Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau and Iredale Pedersen Hook; Cox Howlett and Bailey Woodland, and Kerry Hill Architects.

ARM’s design also took out the People’s Choice Award which was opened to the public for voting in 2013.

The concept design was centred around a limestone scheme that was intentionally reflective of the Joondalup region, which is situated on a large coastal dune system covering Tamala limestone.

The design attempted to emulate an eroded cliff space environment with fenestrations, cloisters and openings directing traffic flow through the building’s facilities.

Night view of the lyric theatre. Image: Joondalup Council Website.

“The experience is of an abstracted cliff-scape, a terrain that is inhabited by performance and community activities. The strategy provides a range of options for spatial types; from open, light and natural spaces for informal public uses though to dark, curated spaces necessary for performance and art,” ARM said in a statement.

“Gaps and erosions allow for entry courtyards, garden retreats and community enclaves throughout the building. The whole exterior is rendered as both stone building and landform.

“The intention is to inhabit the building as if occupying a limestone block; not in a kitsch way, but in a way that illuminates the memory of the landscape and its texture.”

View from level 1 into main entry foyer. Image: Joondalup Council Website.

The Awards initiative appealed to designers in an attempt to address the under-provision of performing arts facilities in an area which has seen residents travel outside the City to attend cultural events.

An expert panel will now inform the Joondalup Performing Arts and Cultural Facility Steering Committee to make recommendations to council developers.

The cost of a facility has been estimated to be between $58 and $78 million.

The lyric theatre. Image: Joondalup Council Website.

Nathan Johnson

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