Plans revealed for the City of Greater Geelong’s $9m ultra-green Drysdale Library project
The City of Greater Geelong has unveiled ultra-green designs for a $9 million new library in the region, crowned by a “living habitat” covering the roof of the building.
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The City of Greater Geelong has unveiled ultra-green designs for a $9 million new library on the Bellarine, crowned by a “living habitat” covering the roof of the building.
The city has submitted a planning application to itself to build the $9.156m two-storey library on Wyndham St, Drysdale, replacing the Drysdale Senior Citizens Centre in the centre of the township.
The sustainable design of the library features a “living habitat” canopy of plants covering the roof and a central courtyard, in a bid to “mitigate urban heat island effects and protect against increasing peak temperatures”, provide insect and bird habitat and improve site ecology through drought tolerant and adapted plantings.
The city revealed it’s aspiration for the project to be a “climate resilient, carbon neutral development, incorporating low-carbon strategies within all aspects of design, construction, and operation”.
“The roof level is sought to house a living habitat for a range of vegetation including built-in irrigation and stone mulch – an open space allows direct solar transfer into the reading courtyard below,” planning documents noted.
The project’s sustainable design also features a 99kw solar system, a 30,000 rainwater tank, low-flow water fixtures, natural ventilation and specifications for construction materials to be sourced from “sustainable and responsible sources with supply chain certification”.
Plans show the ground floor is set to include “an open library and reading area, a multipurpose space and ancillary amenities”, while the first floor will include “a reading courtyard, several meeting pods and rooms, library collections, study areas and amenities”.
“The ‘amphitheatre’ portion of the site is sought to be repurposed as an outdoor reading court or events spaces for occasional activities associated with the library,” documents noted. “The stepped design of this space allows it to act as a passive seating area for the wider town square.”
Plans for the library include a multi-coloured brick finish, aiming to “complement the heritage surrounds of the Drysdale commercial area without replicating the colours or designs of the significant buildings”.
The city is set to demolish the existing Senior Citizens Centre and canopies off the shopping centre building on the site to make way for the project, which is in the middle of the town’s main shopping precinct.
The library is expected to operate from 9am-7pm on weekdays and 9am-5pm on weekends.
The proposal for the site was released following community engagement around the planned design of the library.
The city’s planning application is open for public comment until March 1.
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Originally published as Plans revealed for the City of Greater Geelong’s $9m ultra-green Drysdale Library project
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