One of Australia’s oldest surf lifesaving clubs has won the IPC/IAKS Distinction for Accessibility in Architecture Award.
Built in 1907, the Coogee SLSC in Sydney patrols a beach with over four million visits each year. It reopened in December 2020 after a transformative redesign of the club house followings severe storm damage.
The now single-level club house has a new lens-like view to the beach. A critical reform is the new platform elevator from street entry to all levels, giving the club house wheelchair access for the first time. The new sightlines to the beach from the north window and east balcony offer another club milestone, enabling people with physical disabilities to become life savers and participate in patrols and be in radio contact from the club house to life savers on the sand.
Coogee SLSC is set to become the pilot site for a state-wide initiative, training surf life savers of different abilities for other clubs around New South Wales to become more inclusive.
The awards recognise excellence in the design and operation of fully inclusive and universally accessible indoor and outdoor facilities, organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS).
An official awards ceremony took place on October 26 at the international IAKS Congress and FSB trade show in Cologne, Germany.