MUNARRA CENTRE FOR REGIONAL EXCELLENCE
Traditional Custodians - Yorta Yorta, First Nations-led
Location – Shepparton, Victoria
Client – Department of Premier and Cabinet, First People State Relations, Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA), University of Melbourne
Architecture – ARM Architecture
Construction - TVN on Country
The Munarra Centre offers pathways-based education with Yorta Yorta knowledge and culture embedded in its curriculum. This includes activities on Country that are proven to better academic and employment outcomes for First Nations students, and contribute to prosperity for the entire community.
Photography: Jesse Judd
The Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence is a world-leading, First Nations-led education, sporting and community gathering space in Shepparton, on Yorta Yorta Country.
The project is a result of the vision and determination by the local community and was shaped by an extensive co-design process to support and platform educational, community and cultural programs. The design team, led by ARM Architecture in collaboration with Emergent Studios, the client, stakeholders and consultant team, worked within a process of sustained co-design, involving ongoing workshops, gatherings and consultation engagement with community member groups and representatives. Engagement took place over 12 months and involved the input of over 1,000 community members.
The design features extensive artworks by members of the community, representing cultural narratives of the centre and developed in participatory workshops Led by Kaiela Arts and facilitated by Spacecraft Studio. The landscape features local plant species and materials, nominated by local community elders for their cultural uses and roles in forming a connection to Country.
Photography: Peter Benetts
The project comprises two parts: an upgraded Rumbalara Football and Netball Club to the north and a new community and academic building of the centre to the south.
Forming a connective link between the sites, a meandering path reflects the nominated thematic of the local river systems - the Dungala and Kaiela - and shape a learning landscape designed to host cultural workshops such as weaving, outdoor classes and social gathering. A series of external courtyards support various programs of learning, social use and play, a centralised internal courtyard hosts outdoor learning, events and ceremony, developed in close collaboration with stakeholders.
The northern site includes an upgraded First Nations sporting club- the Rumbalara Football and Netball Club, including new netball facilities, renovated clubrooms, and canteen, the development supports the community in hosting regional sporting events. A new landmark blue bridge reflects the club colours and forms a new vital link, connecting the club to the township’s broader sporting precinct and community.
Photography: Peter Benetts
The project was funded by the State of Victoria and delivered by the Department of Premier and Cabinet, First Peoples State Relations, in partnership with the Department of Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA), and supported by a financial contribution from the University of Melbourne. Munarra Limited, an all-First Peoples board, oversaw the project and will manage future operations.
Significantly, the Centre was built by Indigenous-owned company TVN On-Country. The project is the largest ever awarded by the Victorian state government to a First Nations owned and operated company.
The consultant team included ARM Architecture, Kaiela Arts, Spacecraft, Codus, MGAC, PLP Building Surveyors & Consultants, Spiire, Vivid Wayfinding, WSP, and 21-19 Pty Ltd. Landscape contractors: Michael Hatton Landscapes.
Photography: Peter Benetts