Surry Hills Library & Community Centre
A New Facility for a Dynamic Community
The City’s newest, greenest community facility is complete and open for the public to enjoy. This building will set new benchmarks in sustainable public buildings and provide a diverse range of services to this the dynamic community of Surry Hills and surrounds.
The first Surry Hills library and community facility built in 1956, was a small and modest building.
Since then, the community of Surry Hills has continuously changed. Different cultural groups and business sectors have ebbed and flowed in the area.
The need for a new community facility was recognised in 2004. This City viewed this as an opportunity to deliver a new facility that was iconic and reached high level sustainability and design standards. In 2005 architects FJMT, headed by Richard Francis-Jones were awarded the project.
Community consultation contributed to the design concepts, and in 2007 the old community centre was demolished to make way for an innovative hybrid building containing a new library, community centre and childcare facility.
Designed for Sustainability
The Surry Hills Library and Community Centre has been designed to achieve excellence in sustainable design and set new benchmarks in environmental performance for multi-purpose public buildings.
Watch this film and go behind the scenes with the architect of the building to find out about how community needs were balanced with innovative energy-saving systems in the building's design.
Surry Hills Library and Community Centre Environmental Story
Growing our Own Fresh Air
The building has a unique air quality system using natural filtering properties of plants. Air is naturally cooled under the building, reducing the need for artificial cooling by some 50%.
- Air is drawn in at the top of the atrium
- The air passes through special plants acting as ‘passive’ filters
- Air then flows under the building where its temperature is conditioned by a Thermal Labyrinth, a series of high thermal-mass rock baskets
- From here, the filtered and cooled air flows throughout the different levels of the building.
Saving Energy
Design features to achieve significant savings in energy usage:
- High levels of natural lighting throughout the building and daylight controlled light fixtures
- Large louvre façade which moves and ‘tracks’ the sun to control internal glare and heat levels
- Natural grasses on the roof to reduce energy loss
- Movement controlled lighting for public and work spaces
- Solar roof panels to provide supplementary power to the building.
Water Conservation
Rainwater will be collected, treated and re-used for the flushing of toilets and irrigation, watering the atrium plants and Collins Street Reserve lawn. This will save over 620,000L of water. All tap fixtures are touch sensitive and plant equipment will be air-cooled not water-cooled.
Sustainable building materials
Building materials have been selected for their durability and sustainability:
- A post-tensioning structural system that reduces the quantity of concrete required for structural framing
- Use of alternative materials to PVC for plumbing and electrical services
- Finishes that contain low levels of products which harm the environment such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Timber products sourced from sustainable forests.
Services at the New Centre
The new Surry Hills Library and Community Centre include 2 floors of library, a 26 place childcare centre, offices for Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre and a function hall.
Ground and Lower ground levels – Surry Hills Library
This library branch will specialise in fashion and design while also housing a large Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender collection. There will be 16 public access computers, a local history section plus a coffee area where you can sit and read or take advantage of the free WiFi.
For more information is available from the Surry Hills Library.
Level 1 - Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre & Function Hall
Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre (SHNC)
Up the stairs from the library you’ll find the offices of the Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre and the Function Hall.
Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre provides advocacy, information and referral for the local community. It identifies need and works with Council, government and local organisations to meet those needs. SHNC specialises in targeting marginalised or disadvantaged groups within the community and provides multicultural services such as English classes, cooking classes and excursions.
It also runs the ever popular monthly Surry Hills Markets (first Saturday of the month) and the Surry Hills festivals.
More information: http://www.shnc.org/.
Function Hall
This beautifully appointed function hall is available for hire to the public. Accommodating up to 100 people, this hall divides into 2 acoustically isolated rooms for smaller events. Special features include sprung floor, AV, drop down screens, access to balcony and kitchen servery.
Surry Hills Community Centre is a multifunctional community centre with various rooms and halls for hire.
Level 2 - Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre Long Day Childcare
Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre provides long day childcare for 26 children with up to 10 in the 0-2yo age group, and up to 16 in the 2yo+ age group.
Situated on level 2 upstairs from the Neighbourhood Centre this small, intimate centre provides:
- Secure access and a sheltered outdoor area.
- The best in new equipment for the children.
- Friendly, personalised support from multilingual staff
- Competitive fees, which include lunch, morning and afternoon tea.
To complete your online childcare application & survey click here.
For More Information
To make a booking contact:
General Enquiries and Bookings
Cathy Rush
Tel: 02 8374 6240
Email: crush@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
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