Mt Atkinson Vision Centre

Mt Atkinson Vision Centre

A competition-winning mixed-use community facility in Truganina comprising office, maternal health, retail, and community spaces across two storeys. Designed as a civic anchor within a substantial residential growth area, the building addresses infrastructure demands from rapid population increase whilst engaging with developer-led community infrastructure within Stockland Communities' master-planned development. The stacked volumetric form establishes visual prominence and neighbourhood identity, with street-level public spaces maximising accessibility and activation. The design used a prefabricated construction methodology with Prebuilt, an approach that proved critical during COVID-19 lockdowns when traditional site construction was constrained. Prefabrication enabled continued progress whilst reducing site congestion and labour coordination challenges, though requiring early resolution of building systems and detailed design coordination for off-site manufacture. The project examines how community infrastructure functions within speculative residential development: establishing genuine civic presence rather than commercial extraction, and delivering facilities efficiently within constrained construction circumstances. Sustainability was embedded through material specification and site-responsive design, addressing Western Melbourne's climatic conditions. At Tandem, Carey Landwehr worked alongside Priscilla Finn, Tim Hill, James Murray, Bianca Horsley, and Kayla Dunn from competition entry to design development and delivery. The completed building demonstrates contemporary approaches to community infrastructure within growth areas and the possibilities for substantive contribution within developer-led frameworks.