Waverley Bowling Club is on the cusp of an exciting redevelopment by Altis Architecture and the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, with wayfinding expertise from BrandCulture.
Located up the road from Bondi and Tamarama beaches, Waverley Bowlo is much-loved by locals as the home of Waverley Bowling Club (WBC) since 1967. But with an under-utilised, outmoded club house, Altis Architecture was tasked with transforming the site into a brand-new club with two bowling greens, childcare facilities, seniors living apartments and a café, too.
Their vision is to provide “an integrated social community hub for the local area with a high level of amenity and public benefit”. We are delighted to contribute to the site’s evolution as wayfinding consultants.
The importance of wayfinding design documentation
Altis Architecture’s designs take inspiration from local contemporary architecture and the historic bowling club, with a colour palette inspired by local natural materials and tones.
The architects also designed a stylish signage suite, but needed help expanding their concepts into a refined signage strategy that would comply with requirements set by the Waverley Design Excellence Advisory Panel, which reviews development applications in Waverley.
BrandCulture worked quickly to develop a wayfinding strategy and circulation plan, which shows different paths of travel for vehicles versus pedestrians. With five entrances, we needed to direct different user types (residents, visitors, customers, staff, suppliers etc) to the correct mode of access, while also taking into account accessibility ramps and signage requirements. We also developed a detailed signage location plan that specifies sign types, sizes, and messaging, expanding the signage family, while proposing a more legible type face to improve readability.
A respectful partnership
We’ve taken a “gentle” approach to signage placements so as not to damage the heritage fabric of the original club house, or encroach on the architect’s vision for the site overall.
With a quick turnaround of just one week, it’s been a wonderful collaboration involving Hamptons Property Services and Altis Architecture. We have loved playing a small but important role in a project that will bring Waverley locals together.
Development Applications often require very high standards of wayfinding documentation. If you need help refining your signage strategy to comply with DA requirements, we’d love to help – get in touch via [email protected]
