City of Whitehorse
The Round
A performing arts and community precinct, embedded in place and welcoming to all
Following a successful design competition entry, BKK Architects, together with our design partners, Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA), were appointed to deliver a new arts and cultural centre for Whitehorse City Council. The vision was to create a welcoming, engaging, accessible and comfortable environment for the community, a place that felt special without being exclusive and where users of all types, ages and abilities would experience a sense of belonging.
We developed The Round on a generous, Council-owned site in the civic heart of Nunawading. The project saw the replacement of a well-loved but outdated and under-performing venue with a state-of-the-art theatre, festival & function centre that embraces and invites community interaction, connection and expression. Responding to a big brief, The Round incorporates a 626-seat proscenium arch theatre with orchestra pit and full fly tower, a 200-seat black-box studio theatre, a 300-seat function/conference centre, multipurpose rehearsal/dance studios, and associated back-of-house, foyer and car parking facilities. It is a facility that is responsive to its civic context, and adaptive to a multiplicity of uses, maximising every interface and providing a true community destination
Big Picture Thinking
The brief for The Round spanned beyond the function of an arts and cultural centre, and so too did our design thinking. We considered the needs of all users of the building and the surrounding parklands precinct, exploring how the design could bring value to the community inside and out. As a result, the building was designed “in the round”, with one straight and four concave facades carved out of the landscape, reflecting the contextual influences surrounding the site. The design mirrors the five faces of this place: the residential area to the immediate north and northwest, the car park and sporting fields to the east, Whitehorse Road and the Council buildings to the south, and parkland to the west and southwest.
We created a building that is multifaceted, both functionally and in its attitude and character. It shapes an interplay with the landscape that brings enjoyment to casual passers-by alongside dedicated theatre-goers and program-related users. The building is designed to host professional theatre productions, travelling shows, local dance studio programs, and private functions as well as supporting large community events in the surrounding parklands at different times of year.
Collaboration and Humility
BKK’s design partnership with KTA was the definition of collaborative. Our combined team worked from the same office, drawing upon a shared pool of knowledge, experience and specialist expertise to create a truly unique design response. Similarly, our relationship with landscape architects, ASPECT Studio, was open and receptive. Together, we workshopped ways for the building and landscape to function as one to shape moments of joy and play for children and adults alike, and to invite informal, safe, playful interactions with different environments.
Beyond our design team, the most important contributors to the design were the broad stakeholders. We worked with multiple City of Whitehorse stakeholders, including four Project Managers, the Centre manager, the venue’s bookings and technical team, commercial kitchen experts, and the parks and maintenance team, as well as local environmental groups, and existing and future user groups. Engaging with these stakeholders via workshop sessions allowed us to develop a richly nuanced understanding of the way different users would occupy the building, including their spatial and functional needs, circulation routes etc. It also allowed us to respond to their questions, thoughts and feedback in both our process and the design outcome.
Playfulness and Innovation
The Council’s brief was very ambitious for the budget allocated, so we needed to find ways to reduce the building footprint in order to achieve all of the functional requirements. Every part of the design needed to be hard-working. We designed the main 626-seat theatre with the flexibility to raise the orchestra pit floor to stall level when it’s not in use to provide extra space for auditorium seating. We redefined the brief, building upon the Council’s requirement for a black box theatre and separate outdoor stage by combining them into a single super-flexible hybrid venue: a studio theatre that converts into a stage via an operable wall to the outdoor amphitheatre and lawn.
Leadership and Advocacy
The design of The Round reflects BKK’s commitment to creating sustainable buildings and communities through championing well considered and impactful ESD principles. We took an ESD by stealth approach, working with the ESD consultant to advocate for minimised gas, rooftop solar panels, and an airtight building envelope for enhanced thermal performance. In addition, our design approach championed the specification of local designers and products, taking an opportunity to showcase these in a community setting, boosting the local economy whilst reducing energy consumption associated with transporting imported materials.
Transformative Places, Holistic Benefits
The Round has become a place of possibilities. It supports the community to think bigger, providing professional facilities that can host productions that previously weren’t possible in a local venue. It has become so much more than an arts and cultural venue, creating an accessible and welcoming environment for local residents to connect, meet for a coffee, and enjoy a show, function or community event.
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Selected Awards
2024 AIA Victorian Architecture Awards, Commendation, Colourbond Award for Steel Architecture
2024 AIA Victorian Architecture Awards, Commendation, Public Architecture
2024 AIA Victorian Chapter Awards, Melbourne Prize Shortlist
2024 Australian Interior Design Awards, Shortlisted, Public Design
2024 INDE Awards, Shortlisted, The Building
2024 World Architecture Festival WAF, Finalist, Completed Buildings: Culture
2024 Think Brick Awards, Shortlisted
2024 Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), Shortlisted, Public Space