Long Reef is a rare jewel on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. It’s a sanctuary for native flora and fauna, as well as people who come to escape the nearby suburban sprawl and reconnect with nature. Our renewal of the Long Reef SLSC vastly improves the amenity for these visitors, while remaining quiet in the landscape, preserving the rugged beauty of this special piece of coastline.

The new facility is in fact, a series of smaller pavilions set within the landscape, book-ended by an existing dune to the east and a man-made dune to the west. The pavilions are clad in timber rainscreens that are allowed to silver and settle into the natural scene.

The pavilions are arranged around a central courtyard, the main social hub. They provide amenity to outside spaces, in turn reducing the building footprint and reliance on enclosed space. Outdoor furniture collects shifting sands and vegetation as well as creating opportunities to linger and initiate serendipitous interactions between different user groups. The main pavilion hosts a function room on the second storey, providing breathtaking views to North Head, and intimate views into the existing coastal landscape and Banksia Grove. The kite shaped roof is designed to gently rise to maintain a low scale.

The needs of different community users of the site were considered through extensive consultation. The result is a balanced scheme that provides critical infrastructure for club members and volunteer surf life savers, as well as a place to interact with your neighbours, take a yoga class or stop for a coffee.

Across the seasons, the Long Reef Surf Life Saving Club is in a constant state of flux, a flexible building that dramatically increases the amenity of the site while preserving and celebrating the landscape that people come to enjoy.

Photography by Kris Martyn and Martin Mischkulnig