Geelong Library wins the Sir Zelman Cowen Award

Now a year old, this building is proving to be exactly what our client had hoped for: a busy community gathering place and techno-resource centre for residents of one of Australia’s fastest growing regional cities. Geelong Library represents our third Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture, but we’re even more proud of how popular it is with its community. Over the past 12 months it has recorded over 6000 new members (compared to the library it replaced), 290,000 loans, more than 20,000 wi-fi sessions and, so far, over 51,000 visits.

It is also a venue for meetings, public and private functions, and events. This weekend, it will host the Word for Word Non-fiction Festival.

“ARM Architecture has designed a vibrant and energized vertical village where the community can meet, collaborate, engage, learn and celebrate…”

—Jury Citation, 2016 Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Best Public Building, Australian Institute of Architects

Geelong Library and Heritage Centre has also won an Interior Design Commendation and, earlier, several 2016 Victorian Chapter awards:

• Victorian Architecture Medal
• William Wardell Award for Public Architecture
• Marion Mahony Award for Interior Architecture
• Regional Prize