Fawkner Administration Building
CLIENT
Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust
SITE
Sydney Road Fawkner
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The Fawkner Administration Building is the headquarters of Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT) in Sydney Road, Fawkner.
The building houses operational and financial staff as well as providing the main arrival / information point for cemetery visitors.
Specific areas have been created for people to arrange funerals with staff as well as space for the Trustees. Located beside the main Sydney Road cemetery entrance, the building was constructed alongside the previous administration complex (now demolished) so that seven day week operations were not interrupted. The building is partially elevated above ground over a basement car park, and the interior allows for some degree of expansion in staff numbers.
The architectural form of the Fawkner Administration Building reinforces the north south axes of highway and railway line. The form responds to the specific conditions of the resulting east and west aspects. A wall of polished concrete panels with glazed gaps between each panel provides a monumental noise barrier to the highway whilst a deep perforated metal roof overhang shields the interior from glare and heat to the west.
Images by Trevor Mein
Architectural Awards Jury Statement
2005 AIA Architecture Award Commercial New Category
“Inventive problem solving, material choices and detailing abounds, making the macro and micro layers of this building a delight to experience, engage and discover. In summary it is an exquisitely considered and resolved building, which has managed to inject a commercial facility with that rarest of commodities – soul.”
Graham Burrows | Jury Chair
Publication
MONUMENT. ISSUE 71. 2006. ‘DEATH AND A SALESMAN’. By Martyn Hook
