Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre (BLaKC)

Underpinning the design and development of the BLaKC is the adaptive reuse, salvage, recycling and renovation of the existing Bankstown Town Hall. Salvaging high quality materials (ie. timber, precast concrete, aluminum and stainless steel) from the existing building enables the BLaKC to set a new benchmark for applying recycled materials to future building projects. Such extensive reuse and repurpose is very uncommon in projects of this scale.

The BLaKC embodies sustainable design philosophies and innovative environmental systems. It is an integrated, flexible, state-of-the-art community hub that includes: a new library wing over three levels, a three hundred seat theatre, IT lab, community conference facilities, meeting rooms, cafe, and a landscaped public domain. Combining these modernised features creates an open public community facility which fosters a sense of community, a series of formal and informal collaboration spaces, administrative spaces, teaching and learning spaces, engineering workshops, engineering research display spaces and a cafe.