# Walyalup Civic Centre ![[Walyalup Civic Centre/walyalup-01.jpg]] ![[Walyalup Civic Centre/walyalup-02.jpg]] ![[Walyalup Civic Centre/walyalup-03.jpg]] | Attribute | Detail | |---|---| | Architect | [[Kerry Hill Architects]] | | Location | Walyalup Koort (Kings Square), Fremantle, WA | | Completed | 2022 | | Type | Civic centre — library, council chambers, administration | | Site history | Laid out by John Septimus Roe, 1833 | | Sustainability | Carbon neutral operation (solar array + operable windows) | ## About Walyalup Civic Centre is KHA's most recent major civic project, completed four years after Kerry Hill's death and demonstrating the practice's continued relevance under Tanuj Goenka's direction. The site — Kings Square at the heart of Fremantle — was damaged by an over-scaled 1960s modernist intervention. KHA's design poses a direct question: *can modernism be used again, this time to heal the city?* The answer is embodied in the building's central gesture: a **sloping grass embankment** that reads from the street as public park and functions as the roof of the below-grade library, which is naturally lit via east and west courtyards. The embankment pushes into the building, erasing the boundary between civic square and civic institution. At the top of the embankment sits an **elliptical stone council chamber** with large apertures — making the democratic process literally visible from the square. A continuous **perforated-metal veil** wraps the upper levels, providing solar shading while allowing natural ventilation. Through-site pedestrian links reconnect the severed street frontages. The jury described it as *"a true civic building that transforms the heart of Fremantle into an inclusive, transparent oasis for its community."* ## Awards - **2022** — AIA National Award for Public Architecture - **2022** — AIA National Award for Urban Design ## Reviews & Further Reading - [Walyalup Civic Centre — ArchitectureAu](https://architectureau.com/articles/walyalup-civic-centre/) - [2022 National Award for Public Architecture — AIA](https://www.architecture.com.au/awards/2022-awards/2022-act-architecture-awards-winners/national-award-for-public-architecture-walyalup-civic-centre) - [2022 National Award for Urban Design — ArchitectureAu](https://architectureau.com/articles/2022-national-award-for-urban-design/) - [Walyalup Civic Centre — City of Fremantle](https://www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/services-and-support/city-facilities/walyalup-civic-centre/)