Banding Together – The River Pavilion by Carter Couch

Cited as an important structure and contributor to Australia’s architectural history, The River Pavilion by Carter Couch is set for demolition. Led by Kennedy Nolan, the passionate local design community is currently fighting to save it.

The River Pavilion is sited in Fairfield as an accompanying structure to the adjacent bluestone amphitheatre. Its carefully curated placement and formation allow for unencumbered views to the river and the maintenance of public space, while also providing shelter and amenity. The Pavilion was designed by Paul Couch in the 1980s, who at the time was a partner at the significant local architects Carter Couch and who has an extensive legacy of modernist building. Against both the advice of Yarra City Council’s own heritage advisor Ruth Redden and pleas from the University of Melbourne’s Chair of Architecture, Professor Philip Goad, and local architects Kennedy Nolan to recede the slated demolition, the plans to replace the structure with a storage facility are still in place. Headed by Kennedy Nolan, with recent engaging imagery by Tom Ross, a change.org campaign is in motion to save the structure.

The River Pavilion is sited in Fairfield as an accompanying structure to the adjacent bluestone amphitheatre.

In response to the established Ivanhoe Northcote Canoe Club (INCC) being in need of large-scale storage, the location of The River Pavilion has been identified and the City of Yarra have granted themselves a planning permit for the works. Having addressed council to discuss the issue and designed pro-bono an alternate structure to allow the preservation of the existing as well as the required storage facility to be provided, Kennedy Nolan is working to gather support from the community to protect this important landmark. The team has nominated The River Pavilion for listing with the Victorian Heritage Register, but in the interim the structure is still currently vulnerable to demolition.

Having worked alongside Robin Boyd for many years, Paul Couch’s work speaks to the significant modernist movement within Australia. Although widely unpublished, his work is highly regarded by the architectural community, with a publication capturing his influence currently in production. The Pavilion is comprised of two substructure levels, with an enclosed workshop at the base level, public toilets on the first level and an open roof terrace at its peak. The ventilating chimney-like structure peaks out, crowning the public structure as a BBQ gathering area, while the lower levels sit disguised into the established surrounding landscape. Details throughout the structure typify Couch’s work and his pioneering work using tilt-slab concrete panels in small-scale design scenarios. The references to the historic pavilion structure are slight, and the modernist interpretation void of ornamentation is a rare sight in many established public spaces.

Details throughout the structure typify Couch’s work and his pioneering work using tilt-slab concrete panels in small-scale design scenarios.

The campaign is committed to working with the much-loved INCC to ensure they can achieve the storage structure needed, while also preserving The River Pavilion intact. Heritage Victoria will meet to review the nomination on September 21, 2020 and, in the meantime, the change.org petition is seeking to direct attention to the pending destruction of The Pavilion.

Designed by Paul Couch in the 1980’s, who at the time was a partner at the significant local architects Carter Couch, has an extensive legacy of Modernist buildings, where an exploration with materiality was key.