Surry Hills Library Centre travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

This library is located in the heart of Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney whose community is characterized by a diversity of age, income and cultural backgrounds. The child center is a library, a community centre or childcare centre, it became clear that it was important to have all of these facilities together in one building, in one place. The structure is a truly shared place where the whole community could meet and use in different ways.

Transparency is an architectural theme at many levels, allowing an inviting and welcoming building that is accessible and open to public view. At the same time it was important that the building was not merely ‘transparent’, or only expose what is accommodated within, but that it represented and embodied the values of the community. Accessibility, openness, transparency and sustainability were key values as was a general sense of aspiration.

The southern edge of the building on the Collins Street road was converted to a modest public park with a raised grass platform, so that all the different activities of the centre are visible and displayed, encouraging participation. The library on the ground  contains a diverse borrowing collection of approximately 30,000 items, local history collections, some reference material and public access computers. The community centre on level one comprises a function facility for 125 people and meeting rooms, commercial teaching kitchen, Neighbourhood Centre administration offices and amenities. On level two, the childcare centre provides accommodation for 26 children in two groups and includes an outdoor landscaped play space with automatic shade roof.