The Connection, Rhodes re-envisions the traditional community centre & civic space. Instead of a large public building, Crone Partners separated the programs to generate multiple themed public spaces, each with their own unique style and pace. The pavilions provide a mix of community facilities. This arrangement allows each space to have multiple interfaces. This rich network will work to create an optimistic and playful public open space for the people of Rhodes.” Katharine Turner, Project Leader – Crone Architects.
The Connection, developed by City of Canada Bay, is a multipurpose community precinct of four themed pavilions on the Rhodes foreshore, right next to the new Bennelong Bridge.
The Learning Space, The Event Space, and The Meeting Space will all be operated by City of Canada Bay, and the fourth pavilion, a waterside restaurant called Bare Witness, has been leased to a commercial operator. The four distinct spaces are designed around a central amphitheatre and deck that juts out over the river.
While essentially a community facility for Rhodes, The Connection’s leading-edge art, library services and event venues are also expected to attract a Sydney-wide audience.
The P.A. People supplied the AV installation for three of the four buildings within the Precinct. The Learning Space features interactive facilities with a number of studio setups where we installed large screen TVs, ceiling speakers and AV inputs. It includes a quiet study area with an interactive projector used for whiteboard presentations.
Within the main space of the building there are small portrait video walls used for digital signage and occasional video games. The building also houses a digital art gallery which features a 4×2 video wall and two projectors, which are controlled by an AMX touch panel system.
The Event Space was designed to accommodate a range of community, business and individual events including social gatherings, meetings, conferences, exhibitions, seminars and more. The AV installation for this building includes four projectors that are mounted in projector lifts which enable the projectors to be concealed within the ceiling when not in use. In addition, ceiling speakers were installed along with AV inputs in the walls and floor boxes. The space can also be divided into two separate rooms and this is all controlled by several AMX touch panels.
The Meeting Space comprises three meeting rooms, each having a ceiling mounted projector and screen with AV wall and floor box inputs. There is also a multi-purpose Activity Room catering to playgroup and children’s activities and include a projector and interactive wall. Each area is controlled by its own AMX control touch panel.
All buildings are separate, so there is no linking from an AV perspective.
