Land 121 Facilities Project, Lavarack Barracks by BVN
Built on the land of the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people Townsville, Queensland
Jury citation The architectural rigour and excellence of the
Land 121 Facilities Project, located at Townsville’s Lavarack Barracks, are analogous with the significant leadership role the defence forces play as stewards of Australia’s built and natural environments. The Australian Defence Force is one of the country’s largest property owners and the custodian of three million hectares of land. Lavarack Barracks opened in 1966, and this major Australian Army base currently supports a population of 3,817 military and 626 civilian personnel.
The Land 121 project is providing new buildings and upgraded facilities throughout Australia to support the Australian Defence Force’s new vehicle fleet. This precinct at Lavarack Barracks, for the 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion, is both a clear response to the functional imperatives of the defence force and an elevation of the user experience. Comprising a total of nine buildings, including offices, workshops, warehouses, stores, training facilities, vehicles shelters and amenities, it has been designed, detailed and delivered with a first-principals architectural approach that prioritizes comfort, function and resilience. The organizational strategy configures the disparate Land 121 functions within larger, multi-use buildings, delivering procurement efficiencies and site legibility.
In this project, function, form, materials, climate and context meld to create a built environment that positively benefits the personnel working here and speaks to the transformational capacity of architecture.
Architect BVN; Project team David Kelly, Geoff Hehir, Vinyaka Bhat, Scott Hardcastle, Stuart Young, Will Cobine, Shao Ing Gan, David Ho, David Challinor, Duncan Moore,
Marc Sullivan, Schneider Eliassaint, Marnie Goodman, Mark Power, Luke Chalmers, Jarrod Williams, Mark Rassmusen; Builder Lendlease; Building certifier Phillip Chun and Associates; Other consultants Jacobs, Aurecon, Ashburner Francis Consulting Engineers, Stantec, Webb Australia Group, Rider Levett Bucknall; Photographer Scott Burrows