A third-generation architect with almost 100 years of architectural practice within his family, Hamish Lyon led the design for CENTREPIECE at Melbourne Park, a project that’s being called “Melbourne's most surprising conference and events venue”.

As Director of Architecture and Design at NH Architecture, Hamish leads the firm's design thinking and direction, and has been involved in a wide range of architectural projects, urban initiatives and masterplans including CENTREPIECE, a new function and media centre created as part of the redevelopment of the Melbourne & Olympic Parks precinct.

Speaking about his firm’s 10-year association with the Melbourne Park project, Hamish explains that NH Architecture has been the masterplan architects for the precinct, and credits multiple stakeholders for their commitment to raise Melbourne Park to global benchmarks at every level from sustainability to best practice in universal design.

“It is a fully universally designed precinct, not just venue – we’re talking about nearly 1.5 kilometres in length,” says Hamish. “We feel privileged to have been involved. But credit to all the state government agencies and all the stakeholder teams – it's been a great effort in commitment to making the site accessible to all people.”

Being the master planners and architects for the project allowed NH Architecture to set the ground rules earlier; however, engaging with multiple stakeholders was a challenge since it involved a lot of people and commercial interests. CENTREPIECE is a major events venue for the better part of the year, and also the Broadcast Centre during the Australian Open, which meant they had to deal with very technical issues.

Making a sports precinct sustainable

Since the state government had a 10-year plan, they committed to a sustainable agenda very early in the project. The infrastructure was put in place for electricity, water and everything else, making the site self-sustaining and fit-for-purpose at least for a few decades before it needs to be dealt with again, says Hamish.

Given the international nature of the tennis tournament, it was also decided that the precinct would not only aim for the GreenStar benchmark but also the internationally recognised global LEED system.

“Melbourne Park decided to go for the Gold Star in LEED so they could put themselves up against London’s Wimbledon, New York’s Flushing Meadows and Paris’ Roland-Garros. I think it was a very good decision that they decided to play the international game and be part of the international sustainability criteria.”

Integrating accessibility into design

Doing the masterplan and then getting the architectural commission for Melbourne Park allowed NH Architecture to start from ground zero, which was a great advantage, says Hamish. It was a massive collaborative and committed effort involving all stakeholders, people in the precinct, and the NH design team, along with Paralympian Nick Morris who served as their consultant on the project.

When designing universal access for the precinct, it was important to consider multiple aspects of accessibility, ensuring that the design covered all types of the demographic and opened up the facility to anybody – from people in wheelchairs to those who couldn’t walk well, from the elderly attending concerts to young parents pushing prams, and even people with disabilities who worked there, explains Hamish.

Challenges in designing sports architecture

Standardisation of requirements makes sports architecture “a bit generic”, observes Hamish.

NH Architecture has worked on a number of projects across different typologies including the Melbourne Airport, the Melbourne Convention Centre, and the Melbourne Arts Centre, each one having very specific technical requirements. Similarly, for the Melbourne Park precinct, they had to meet internationally benchmarked Grand Slam tennis requirements.

When working on the Kia Arena, CENTREPIECE, Margaret Court Arena and everything else at Melbourne Park, the architects understood the need to satisfy international requirements to make sure the precinct was fit-for-purpose for everything from Grand Slam tennis to major events and concerts.

However, they also wanted to make the precinct feel like it belonged to Melbourne and was emotionally connected to the vibrancy of the city’s urban culture. The design was, therefore, really an attempt to try and make sure people felt like they had actually grounded themselves on the site and were part of the experience.

Design success

“We are emotionally connected,” explains Hamish. Given that most of their work involves large infrastructure projects that extend for many years, they engage deeply with all the stakeholders and so the success can be attributed to this intimate involvement over a long period of time.

For instance, NH Architecture is committed until at least 2028 for the redevelopment and reimagining of the Melbourne Arts Centre. “These are projects that you don't just draw a picture and leave them to someone else to look after them. You really do become fully embedded in the process. You get to know everybody, you get to know their life story, you get to know the project story, you get to know the back history!”

“Yeah, architecture’s a long and slow process, but we enjoy that process. It’s good fun and you do get to build a lot of good relationships in that time,” adds Hamish.

Image: Supplied

For the full interview, tune in to our podcast with Hamish Lyon.