Brooklyn Community Hall Redevelopment

The Brooklyn community has advocated to Council to update the Brooklyn community hall to bring it in line with current standards. Members of the Brooklyn community have asked for more flexible space to host meetings, community events and activities simultaneously. Users of the Brooklyn Community Hall have spoken about some of the challenges with the current hall including aged toilet and kitchen facilities, inadequate temperature controls, lack of natural light into the hall and limited connectivity between the hall the rest of Brooklyn Reserve.

Council has used this information to develop a concept design for the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Community Hall for your further input. We have plans to transform the Brooklyn Community Hall into a modern and vibrant facility with enhanced connectivity, flexibility and ample space to serve the Brooklyn community.

The concept design includes the following key features:

• retention and renewal of the existing hall with improved kitchen and toilet facilities;
• a new building extension to the west end of the current Brooklyn Community Hall with flexible areas to cater for gatherings of 4 to 60 people and able to support a variety of uses and activities;
• a new entrance foyer connecting the new extension to the hall and additional amenities like universal toilets, storage areas and a pantry with tea and coffee making facilities;
• a new accessible outdoor area to the north of the hall with an outdoor deck and pathways which connect to the rest of Brooklyn Reserve and the southern car park along Cypress Ave;
• a complementary landscape design in recognition of the completed and upcoming open space upgrades for Brooklyn Reserve;
• minor improvements to the Brooklyn Tennis Club including painting.

Brooklyn Community Hall Redevelopment - Design Features

New extension

The new extension to be built from the west end of the hall will include one large room which will have an operable wall. The multi-use rooms can be configured as two separate rooms (with the capacity to cater for 30 people each) or one large space (with the capacity to cater for up to 60 people theatre style seating). Choice of flexible and movable furniture will enable a variety of uses in the area. Two smaller breakout pods that enhances the space to cater to small group activities that require a more private setting. Each area in the new extension will have large windows that allow natural light into the space and a glimpse of the outside.

New central foyer

A new central foyer with accessible entrances connecting from Cypress Avenue to the south and Nolan Avenue to the north acts as a central connection between the new extension and the existing hall. This central connection enables users to access the various rooms without disrupting activities in the Hall. The foyer will also house additional amenities such as accessible toilets, a pantry for tea and coffee making and storage.

Main hall

The existing hall will be retained with improvements to the toilets and the kitchen bringing them up to current standards. Renewal works will include operable doors on the northern wall onto a new outdoor deck, major updates to the kitchen and toilets to bring it up to current building standards. The heating and cooling will also be upgraded together with a new audio-visual system. These improvements will make the hall more pleasant in extreme temperatures and support a more diverse program of events and activities. The interiors of the hall will also see some refurbishments such as polishing of the timber floor, painting and roof repairs. The existing foyer that leads to the hall will also be retained and refreshed.

Outdoor connections

The concept plan recognises the open space upgrades that have been undertaken within Brooklyn Reserve over recent years. A key focus of the outdoor space is to improve the connectivity of the hall to the surrounds. The concept proposed to remove the current chainlink fence and establish new pathways to provide connection to the hall to the play space, dog park and the BBQ shelter in Brooklyn Reserve. The introduction of a new outdoor timber deck area will provide space to rest but also support community programs and events for both the park and the hall users. Paved pathways around the hall will connect to the existing pathways within Brooklyn Reserve. A mixed landscape palette including lowland grass, flowering plants and trees aims to revitalise this corner of the reserve while preserving healthy established trees which provide valuable shade and shelter.

Brooklyn Community Hall Redevelopment - Landscape Concept Design