Located in the regional setting of Ballarat, Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility has been designed to provide leading edge sporting and social facilities for elite A level as well as international level games. Designed as a series of stages that form part of a Master plan for the site, Stage 1 includes the BRSF building, a 2 star FIFA rated turf playing pitch and synthetic training ground. k20 Architecture also developed a masterplan for the site which will allow Council to continue to expand the facility in the future, and achieve their vision of a 10,000 seat stadium.
Project Name: Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility
Studio Name: k20 Architecture
Project size: 808 m2
Completion date: 2015
Location: Ballarat Central, Australia
Photography: Peter Bennetts
Completed in 2015, the design concept emerged as a response to client’s brief to provide a stadium for world-class soccer. With Ballarat’s rich cultural heritage in mind, the concept of the Eureka Stockade wall emerged as the leading design principle and enabled the facility to be built in segments and in stages as various funding streams became available over time. The Eureka rebellion, which is often referred to as the ‘Eureka Stockade’, is a key event in the development of Australian democracy and Australian identity. The Battle of the Eureka Stockade was fought between miners and the Colonial forces of Australia on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict. The stockade itself was a makeshift wooden barricade enclosing about an acre of the goldfields.
In contrast to the hastily constructed barricade, the stockade wall by k20 Architecture is designed to embrace the community and protect the building’s program and playing field from the prevailing winds and harsh western sun. The wall emerges from the landscape and is made up of equal proportions of grey ironbark, spotted gum and stringy bark. Its curvilinear form in plan is the starting point for the stadium which contains the grand stand with 500 seated capacity, conference and catering facility for 200 people, external viewing decks and players change rooms, media rooms, and sports administration facilities.
In addition to the distinct and rugged outline of the Stockade wall, the BRSF building is characterized by distinct sectional cuts to the North and South accentuated by bold black skeletal forms and flashes of red in the eaves, the team colours of the host team the Ballarat Red Devils.
The entry to the building allows a visitor to see into the heart of the club with the clubs honor wall and function rooms visible via the double height glazed entry.
The facility is unique in that it has been designed specifically for the soccer community of regional Victoria. As a result, k20 Architecture was able to customize the design to emulate the experience of a world standard soccer stadium. This is illustrated in the alignment of the primary player’s race to the centre line of the playing pitch, which enables players of all ages and standards to experience key aspects of playing on the “big stage”.
Although it continues to evolve, with a master plan for future development still “in play”, the completion of Stage One of the BRSF provides a world-class home for soccer in the region.
This was highlighted by its selection from a pool of national sports facilities to host to Bahrain’s national soccer team in the 2015 Asian Cup. The building plays an important role in creating a link to the past with its Stockade wall whilst providing a valuable stimulus to the cultural, economic and social sustainability of the community.
