A new $9.15 million public library featuring an innovative circular design, planted roofscape and an amphitheatre has been officially opened by City of Greater Geelong Council.
The Boronggook Drysdale Library in Wyndham Street was opened with a Wadawurrung Traditional Owner Welcome to Country, Smoking and Didgeridoo Ceremony on Friday by Mayor Trent Sullivan and Member for Bellarine, Alison Marchant.
The Council contributed $8.156 million and the Victorian Government $1 million to the project.
Boronggook (pronounced Bo-rong-gook) is the traditional Wadawurrung name for the area, which was a place of gathering and connection and means ‘turf’.
The building, designed by Melbourne firm Antarctica in collaboration with Architecture Associates, evolved out of careful consideration of the greater context, including conversations with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners, local residents and key community stakeholders, said Mayor Sullivan.
“I am certain our new Boronggook Drysdale Library will bring people together for lifelong learning for years and years to come. It’s an inspiring building with a unique design,” he said.
“Continuous learning is so important as it helps to innovate new ideas. Spaces like this help our community to thrive because they foster a culture of learning.”
The two-storey building references the rich Aboriginal and masonry history of Drysdale’s town centre, while at the same time providing a contemporary reinterpretation, he said.
The library’s features include:
- Communal multi-purpose spaces;
- Quiet study areas;
- Adult changing places facility;
- Internal courtyard garden;
- City of Greater Geelong customer service point;
- Resource-efficient systems;
- Print and multimedia collections for loan;
- Public Access Internet PCs;
- Free WIFI access for library members;
- Weekly sessions of Story Time, Toddler Time, and Baby Time; and
- Self-checkouts featuring multiple language settings other than English.
The innovative green roof is the first of its kind in the region, featuring 4,300 plants (including 18 different native species) that are already providing habitat for birds, bees and butterflies.
The City also commissioned artist Sanné Mestrom to create The Secret, a curved public artwork of a woman reclining in the grass that becomes both a place of refuge and interaction for the community.
