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Lavers Hill Community Fire Refuge

Lavers Hill Community Fire Refuge

Located deep within the Otway Ranges, this purpose-built Community Fire Refuge is designed to protect from radiant heat and embers, serving as a last-resort shelter in bushfires when all other options have failed.

As only the third purpose-built facility in Victoria, we worked closely with representatives from the Victorian Bushfire Authority, Emergency Management Victoria, the Country Fire Association, and the CSIRO, along with fire and services engineers, to provide a building that would perform not only in its day-to-day functions but during extreme bushfire events.

Client
Country Fire Authority
Location
Lavers Hill
Photography
Baade Harbour Geelong
Traditional Country
Gadubanud, Eastern Maar Nation
The facility is user-friendly and functional, providing a space for both residents and tourists during bushfires, with the fully enclosed, air-conditioned 3-bay motor room serving as a shelter.
Responding to the site sensitivities through shape and colour, the building sits within the natural environment, using neutral tones for the external bushfire screen and elevations, with contrasting ‘red’ cladding to draw attention to the main entry points.
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We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands where our studios are located, the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of Yálla-birr-ang, Collingwood and the Wadawurrung people of Djiling, Geelong.

We pay our respects to Elders, past and present, across all regions of Victoria and beyond. We honour the design ingenuity of First Peoples over millennia, their unique contribution to our understanding of place, and their care for the Country on which we create.