After burning to the ground on Black Saturday in February 2009, a new Narbethong Community Hall is receiving its finishing touches before its opening later this month.
The opening takes place as the 2011 bushfire season preparedness announcements are being made in Victoria.
The Narbethong Community sought advice from a range of professionals in rebuilding as part of their plan for managing the building in future bushfires.
According to Ms Ninotschka Titchkosky, Prinicipal of BVN, architects of the new hall, “one of the greatest challenges was designing a timber hall in an area that has a very high rating of bushfire protection.”
“In order to meet the bush fire requirements, the outside of the building is made up of floor to ceiling double glazing that is wrapped in a bronze mesh fire resistant screen,” said Titchkosky.
Internally the primary material is local timber, the timber floor, ceiling and curved screen are all designed as expressions of Narbethong’s history and the 4.2m high verticals of the timber screen are reminiscent of the trees found in the region and the Black Spur Forest.
Volunteers have now planted nearly 3,000 tree, shrubs and grasses — many of which were donated - to complete the landscaping in time for the opening.
The new hall is the result of a pro-bono collaboration with other consultants including, BSGM, Rodney Vapp & Associates, Contour Planning, Rodney Aujard & Associates, Douglas Partners Pty Ltd, Fitzgerald Frisbee Landscape Architecture, who then worked in conjunction with Edwards Moore, Hedger Constructions, The Victorian Bushfire Recovery and Reconstruction Authority, DSE, Murrindindi Shire and the Narbethong Public Hall Committee to design and implement the rebuilding of the Hall, which was made possible with McDonald’s major sponsorship of $520,000.
