| Historical notes: | The land that forms a part of the Warringah Civic Centre and Library Precinct was once occupied by the Garigal people. Warringah and Dee Why are names derived from Aboriginal place names.
European exploration of the modern day Warringah began soon after the settlement of Sydney. The CMP prepared for the Civic Centre and Library Precinct provides a detailed account of the history of the site.
The first European owner of the site which included the present Warringah Civic Centre Precinct was Wiliam Cossar. The land was leased to Mathew Bacon in 1819. The land advertised for sale following Bacon's death in 1825, was described as having 15-20 acres under cultivation, a good house and other buildings. The property was conveyed to D'Arcy Wentworth in 1825. Wentworth conveyed some of Cossar's grants to James Jenkins in 1825. The original 200 acre grant (including Warringah Civic Centre Precinct) was eventually formally assigned to Jenkins by Crown Grant on 29 August 1834. In 1880, a Deed of Partition was drawn up between the various descendants of James Jenkins. His daughter Elizabeth was awarded 250 acres of Warringah land. She became involved with Salvation Army and due to issues with the Australian Banking Company in 1892, she approached Salvation Army for help. She requested that they assume potential liability and provide successive annuity to the remaining family members and she and her brother would hand over all their property to them. The property handed over to the Salvation Army also included the 200 acres at Dee Why (part of which is now the Warringah Civic Centre Precinct). Elizabeth Jenkins also provided 400 pounds towards the building of a Home of Rest, which is now the administration centre for Pacific Lodge, owned and operated by Salvation Army on the site adjoining Warringah Civic Centre Precinct.
During 1960s, the decision was made to move the Warringah Shire Council to a larger site and The Shire and Municipal Record notes that: The site of a Salvation Army industrial farm on Pittwater Road was selected c1964 to establish a new Warringah civic precinct (CMP).
The proposal put forth by Edwards Madigan Torzillo & Briggs Pty Ltd was accepted and they envisaged the eventual purchase of the remaining Salvation Army land and the building over time of a community precinct. Colin Madigan described it as follows:
'The centre would be built on top of the hill forming a complex; a new Acropolis. A people place, a vital city centre with amphitheatre for drama and music and community activity rooms for art and or cultural pursuits. As you travel north from Brookvale, along the car yard strip past the award winning factory, recently Wormalds, still for sale in total neglect, over the Stoney Range Hill, there on the next ridge you would see this shining place on its green prominence.
A large Public Hall with gymnasium was proposed on the car park facing Howard Avenue (St David Avenue), opposite the church steeple. Even a real market was discussed, how vital that would be. It was recommended that the whole block be acquired for public use, including the Salvation Army facilities. Their charming old house, which still commands the site would be an art gallery and historical museum. And to top it all a War Memorial was to be built at Pittwater Road street level for the moments of introspection, displaying memorabilia. (Talk given by Col Madigan 23/11/91 for Warringah library 25th anniversary)
Warringah (Dee Why) Library
Warringah (Dee Why) Library was the first building built within the Warringah Civic Centre precinct. The library was one of the earliest Sydney metropolitan library services when the council voted to adopt the Library Act in May 1964. The first Chief Librarian Mr. John Ellis took up office in 1965. The Council's vision for the library was: 'A central lending library to house 45,000 books, with pre-fixed cost limits. The library was designed as an element of a civic centre that maybe built on the plateau behind the new building. The architectural forms, a direct interpretation of programme and function, seek to establish a civic place - an urban core for the rapidly expanding Warringah Shire (Sowden, nd).
When the Library opened in 1966: it 'existed in splendid isolation; standing like a citadel alone on a hill.' In the words of the architect Madigan: 'The library breaks away from the Sydney school - clinker bricks, rocks and sleepers, and joins the landscape in a more determined way with its earthy exterior virtually erupting from its location. It becomes part of the landscape, enclosing an interior soft shell of light and repose intended for quiet contemplation as you would feel in a forest - books are made of wood...'
The Library won the meritorious Sulman Award for architecture in 1966 against some stiff competition. The RAIA Sulman's jury report stated: 'The Library, which is sited on a rock platform above the Dee Why shopping centre, blends admirably with the surrounding sandstone outcrops and buildings. A fine choice of materials - base walls and ramps of manganese brick and wall cladding of exposed aggregate precast concrete panels, together with copper roofs, help to achieve an excellent relationship of building to site'.
Dee Why Library enjoyed great initial success. Ultimately, however, the library proved too small. The library was extended in 1979 on the northern and western sides of the building. The additions did very to alleviate the problem. In 1985, a master plan that assessed the requirements of the site concluded that the Library had less floor space ration per capita that other local government areas and inadequate administrative areas. It was also concluded that the problems could not be solved by changes in layout or furniture. The options were to extend the existing library by 322 sqm, relocate the administration area or reduce the library service. As a result the administration section was refurbished in the 1980s.
Although there were plans in 1989 to relocate the library, the plans were never carried out. Alterations to the existing building in recent years include the addition of sun control to the work room, modification of the box gutter, sheeting placed over the timber panelling in the foyer and carpeting over the brick paving.
Warringah Civic Centre
The Library building was considered as the first of a series of buildings for the Warringah Civic Centre Precinct. According to the Shire and Municipal Record (1973): 'It was always envisaged that the second stage, built of the Civic Centre site, would establish the necessary civic centre, an urban core for the Shire in the heart of Dee Why business and commercial district.'
The Library building covered only 3% of the site. The next phase of the site's development, was the construction of the Civic Centre. EMTB were not automatically awarded the project. As Madigan recalled: 'In 1971 we had to fight to retain our position as architects for the Civic Centre.'
The Civic Centre was designed to be complementary and supportive of the existing Library and to create a unity between the two buildings. A model for the envisaged Civic Centre was published in 1971. The building was designed with regard to the rugged terrain of the site and the vistas it afforded. The Shire and Municipal Record of 1974 recorded that: 'The magnificent site on which the new building had been erected rises steeply from the flat coastal plain and blend perfectly with the native foliage and craggy natural rock. The integration of this setting with the ocean views to the east and north and view of the Terry Hills to the north and west, required the building to be carefully located to realise advantages for the building, the public and the staff.'
The Civic Centre building was officially opened 1 September 1971. The Shire and Municipal Record of 1974 recorded that: 'The Civic Centre has four levels, with the Council Chamber on the lowest level. The Council Chamber can be opened up by means of large black vinyl sliding doors onto the central circulation space The central space flows on and up giving access to all departments which are planned on office landscaping principles. The main departments are organised on three levels above the Council Chamber. The central gallery has a half level walk up ramp system which connects the departments and is the main public access way through the building. A public reception area with views of the ocean is at the base of the central gallery. Consideration was given in master site planning to accommodate future extensions to the various departments and to make allowance for multi deck car parking The possibility also exists for the development at a later date of a Civic Theatre to complete the amenities of the Civic Centre for the fast developing Warringah Shire.'
Civic Centre Precinct Landscape
The landscaping of the Civic Centre Precinct was designed by Bruce Mackenzie in parts and carried out by Council's Parks and Gardens Staff in conjunction with the building of the Civic Centre. The original qualities of the site defined Mackenzie's design. The management of the existing natural elements was the most significant design decision. The main purpose of the landscaping was to 'conserve' and not to 'impose'.
The Shire and Municipal Record of 1974 recorded that: 'Sandstone boulders that had to be moved during construction were stockpiled and relocated in conjunction with the landscaping programme. A large bush area on the southern side of the building was left in its natural state and pathways have been constructed through this area from the front to the rear of the Centre and on to the adjoining Shire Library. Gardens around both buildings have been planted with native trees including eucalyptus, banksias, acacia and casuarinas and grass trees have been planted among the weathered sandstone outcrops.
Special lighting has been used which compliments the architectural design of the building and the landscape, and the bush growth and rock formations are highlighted by concealed floodlights.'
Modern Architecture and New Brutalism in Australian Architecture
Modern architecture was an invention of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was a reconciliation of an idealised vision of society with the forces of the industrial revolution. The Dee Why Library symbolises this attempt at reconciliation in the face of the rapid progress that the Shire had made in recent years. In November 1966, Manly Daily identified the building as an expression of the forces of change in the local area:
'Warringah Shire Library is the hallmark of the 'coming of age' of the shire; its emergence from the era of the week-ender, through the sprawling, swiftly passing years of record development to a future of vigorous yet gracious living As contemporary as to-day the library brings to the shire that stature of maturity it is an expression of faith, a faith in this and succeeding generations, and it is, too, a citadel of knowledge from which will march forces of knowledge and culture'
Although modern architecture had begun to make an impression on the Australian landscape in the 1930s, it did not get underway until the late 1940s following the lead of architects such as Harry Seidler and Sydney Ancher. During the 1960s and 1970s Australian architecture generally conformed to worldwide trends by breaking away from the simplicity demanded by the prevailing Functionalist styles towards more sculptural and often extroverted forms of expression. The preference for lightness and minimalism in design and construction, which were long established tenants of modern architecture, were gradually rejected in favour of 'weight, toughness and elaborate articulation (Apperly et al, 1989). The robust and raw architecture that resulted was inspired by the later works of Le Corbusier. Peter and Alison Smithson in England put a theoretical leadership to what was referred to as the 'New Brutalist Movement'. The first recognised Brutalist building was the Smithton's Hunstanton Secondary School in Norfolk, England, 1949-54 designed by Peter and Alison Smithson.
'The Brutalist ethic was one of social concern, urban responsibility and integrity in the expression of material, structure and function. The aesthetic, in theory, would be as powerful image that derived from these considerations' (Taylor, 1990). Col Madigan, in a letter to Anne Higham of the RAIA (dated 1 June, 2004), stated in reference to the Warringah Civic Centre: '...(the building) expresses the integrity and the veracity of the structure and finishes in no uncertain terms...'
The New Brutalist movement had a profound impact on Australian Architecture. Key Australian architects who worked in this style include EMBT (Edwards Madigan Torzillo and Brigs); Harry Seidler; Ancher, Mortlock, Murray and Woolley; John Andrews; and Cameron, Chisholm and Nichol. Some Australian examples include Seidler House in Killara, NSW (1967); Sydney University Law School (1969); Union Building, Macquarie University, North Ryde (1968); National Carillon, Canberra (1968); Canberra School of Music (1976); High Court of Australia, Canberra (1980); and National Gallery of Australia (1982).
During the 1960s, evidence of New Brutalist influences was found commonly in the buildings of the Sydney School, a regional movement that modified Brutalism with a combination of influences from Arts and Crafts, traditional Japanese architecture and the work of Flank Lloyd Wright (Apperly et al, 1989).
In its purest form, New Brutalism cannot be regarded as a 'long lived' architectural movement. The movement waned in the mid-1970s as the validity and relevance of such an unadorned and abstract form of aesthetics was questioned.
Australian Native Landscaping
Although the use of Australian flora had been a constant theme in Australian gardening since 1788, this has always been used with reservations. By the 1960s, however, the use of native plants was becoming a popular enthusiasm. One of the chief promoters of this concept was Bruce Mackenzie. He focussed on the extension of natural flora; hardy natives took the place of green lawns and important plants. Existing contours, rocks and trees were used as the main determinants of landscaping composition.
Understanding the natural environment was further encouraged through the early landscape courses established in Australia in the 1960s. Government departments began to adopt positive policies by employing landscape consultants and the National Parks and Wildlife Service was formed in 1967 and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects was formed in 1967. |