From the architect:
Brand Architects has recently delivered this elite, purpose-built community facility to meet a municipal wide demand for stadium sports, particularly for women and girls who represent a high proportion of court sport users in the Darebin area.
The new state-of-the-art sports stadium provides community groups with a premier facility for sport including four indoor multi-purpose sports courts, a show court with fixed seating, player and public change and toilet amenities, a multi-purpose function space, café and administration areas, external landscaping and 320 additional car parking spaces plus reconfigurations to the existing Darebin Road intersection to improve site access.
Narrandjeri is the Wurundjeri Woi wurrung word for ‘Women Leader’, with the stadiums official name recognising and reflecting Traditional Owners’ history in the area and promoting women and girls’ participation in sport.
Sustainability played a key role in the building's design, which features a thermal labyrinth system, roof-mounted solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and 15 StrataVault tree cells in the car park to allow tree cover to spread without damaging the pavement. The project is on track to achieve a 6 Star Green Star Design & As Built certified rating and is set to be Australia’s first operational carbon neutral, 6 Star Green Star municipal sports stadium.
While functionality, accessibility and sustainability were high priorities for the project, design and materiality were just as important. Glulam structural portals to the Show Court, a rammed earth feature wall, and commissioned artworks incorporating vivid colour in the entrance and circulation spaces by local artist Esther Stewart, all elevate the project and beautifully respond to the unique architecture.
