At the 2025 Victorian Architecture Awards, Dendy Beach Pavilion and Brighton Life Saving Club was recognised in two categories with an Architecture Award in Urban Design and a Commendation in Public Architecture.

“More than a decade in the making, Dendy Beach Pavilion is an exceptional re-making of a place that is many things to many people: a tourist icon, a local surf lifesaving club, a part of the bay’s edge. The urban design response seamlessly knits together these varying, occasionally competing, demands into a rugged, cohesive whole that seems embedded in place.

A good neighbour that has improved the legibility and public realm along the foreshore, the Pavilion is cleaved in two to create an un-briefed central bleacher stair, the new hero of the site.

The careful urban design of this modest community building offers visitors and locals alike a place to hang, to watch the sunset, a destination to cross the bay to visit. After many long years, the Pavillion feels contemporary and site responsive – demonstrating the endurance of the design.”

Congratulations to the project team, our client, and much thanks to both juries.

Team: Site Office (Landscaping), Waterman AHW (Services Engineering), McKenzie Group Consulting (Building Surveyor), Stantec (ESD Consulting), FOURSQ (Builder).

Photographer: @peterclarkephoto
Traditional Owners: Bunurong Country