The Library at the Dock is one of the first public buildings in Australia constructed using a prefabricated kit of parts made from a Sylva™ kit of parts by Stora Enso.

Completed in May 2014, the Library at the Dock is located in the vibrant Docklands area of Melbourne at Victoria Harbour. This area features a mix of residential, commercial, and recreational spaces. The library itself serves as a community hub, offering a range of services and activities, from traditional and digital catalogues to multipurpose rooms for hire. Delivered through a tri-partnership agreement between Places Victoria, the City of Melbourne, and Lendlease, the Library at the Dock is the centrepiece of Victoria Harbour's new civic heart. It provides a much sought-after hub for locals with meeting, performance, exhibition, and entertainment spaces, digital studios, and a café, as well as quiet study areas and a traditional library collection.

The elegant, three-storey lightweight timber building sits atop a heritage-listed wharf. Architecturally, it is finely drawn, with an understated sense of integrity worthy of a civic building. At street level, it is transparent and welcoming, expressive of an open invitation. Lighting and shading through the layered facade change the building's appearance, and natural materials tie it into the adjacent park and harbour setting and activities. Clad in reclaimed hardwood, the design features a passive ventilation system for enhanced natural ventilation. It is the first public building in Australia to be constructed using CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) technology and the first to be awarded a Six Star Green Star public building rating.

Constructed primarily from Sylva™ CLT Floors and Roofs and recycled hardwood, the building boasts a six-star Green Star rating under the public buildings pilot tool from the Green Building Council of Australia. It includes passive ventilation, a third-floor indoor/outdoor room with an operable façade and roof, 85 kW solar panels on the roof, water harvesting, and natural lighting. Solar panels supply approximately 30% of the building's total operational power. The natural ventilation system includes mechanical operable louvres on all four sides.

Heating is provided by in-slab heating for Level 1 and VRV units for Levels 2 and 3. Water collected from the roof is transported to a 55,000-litre tank in Victoria Green for reuse in flushing toilets. Central skylights bring light to the centre of the plan on three levels and act as ventilation chimneys through stack effect. Low VOC and formaldehyde materials ensure a high-quality indoor environment, and all furniture and fit-out selections contribute to the six-star Green Star rating.

The building maximizes views from the park through to the water and vice versa. Constructed 8 meters from the water's edge, thanks to CLT's relative lightweight properties, the 75-year history of the wharf has been preserved as the substructure for the building. The structure is almost entirely Glulam and CLT; columns and beams are Glulam, upper floors and roof slabs are CLT instead of concrete, and structural walls are CLT. The structure went up in 60 days with a crew of six carpenters.

Minimal on-site storage was needed; the elements were received just-in-time, delivered as needed per construction sequence. There were no lost time injuries in over 12 months on site. A nine-tonne stair was constructed next to the building in two pieces and craned into place in less than one hour.

Level three features an indoor/outdoor 'winter garden' with natural light and ventilation, artificial turf, and operable walls and roof; beams and columns are recycled ironbark from an old Queensland wharf and bridge. The façade features recycled tallowwood and ironbark rain screen. Hydraulic heating is laid in the ground floor concrete waffle slab.

The total cost/end value of the Docklands Library and Community Centre was approximately $22 million, including construction, fit-out, and collections. The cost of Dock Square was approximately $15 million, and the cost of the Collins Street tram extension was approximately $20 million.

Awards

The Library at the Dock has received numerous awards, including the 2016 Property Council of Australia, The Victorian Development of the Year, the 2015 AIA National Award for Sustainable Architecture, the 2015 AIA Victoria State Award, Allan + Beth Coldicutt Award for Sustainable Architecture, and the 2015 AIA Victoria State Award, Commendation Public Building. The Library at the Dock continues to be celebrated as a model for future public buildings in Australia and beyond.