The recently completed Alphington Sports Pavilion provides the community with an environmentally sound shelter from the elements. Yarra City Council had strong community support to redevelop and expand the facilities at Alphington Park, including the dedicated sports pavilion adjacent to the heritage grandstand.
‘The council wanted an ESD (Ecologically Sustainable Development) building,’ stated Architect Chris Hose of Williams Ross Architects, a firm with extensive experience in designing sporting facilities and environmentally sustainable design. This small pavilion would be a walk in the park, but not one to rest on their laurels; an alternative cladding material was specified. ‘We hadn’t used Plaspanel before for cladding, only for outdoor furniture. But it’s 100% recycled, durable and looks good,’ said Chris. The new pavilion design features dedicated change-rooms for sports teams, accessible change-rooms for people with special needs and a kiosk with the servery window orientated towards the sports ground so club volunteers can watch the on-field action, whilst serving their community.
This was also the first time foreman and builder Aaron Rutherford had worked with Plaspanel. Aaron found the product, ‘easy to work with,’ as it can be cut, routered, drilled, welded and mechanically fixed with standard tools. In this application, Plaspanel was specified as an alternative to cement sheet but installed with the ‘top hat’ cladding system, resulting in a stylish, modern finish that cleans easily and is also difficult to graffiti.
In fact, in this application, Plaspanel is the perfect solution. It’s waterproof so it does not rot, swell, delaminate, deteriorate or absorb moisture. It’s 100% recycled and recyclable; it’s coloured all the way through and is rustproof, chemical, bacteria and mould resistant. So all in all it’s perfect for outdoor and high traffic areas. No doubt, the Alphington community thinks so too.
