A world-class elite training environment for the CommBank Matildas’ exclusive use, designed into a mixed-use football community facility.
INTRODUCTION
Set within La Trobe University’s Sports Park, the Home of the Matildas is a first in Australia as the largest football-specific infrastructure project and represents a major step forward in cultivating opportunities for people playing football from grass-roots to the world stage.
Supported and embraced by the Victorian and Federal Government plus community, state and elite football organisations, the Home of the Matildas was designed to deliver for every user group across education, community sport and talented player pathways.
As the Principal Design Consultant, Populous created a modern, centralised, gender neutral, facility to support a ‘Football for All’ venue for players and officials of the ‘World Game’.
The intersection of universal design principles and designing for equity were used to deliver the project vision and unite a football organisation into a new home. Working together with a range of stakeholders over the life of the project, Populous designed and delivered solutions for equitable access and universal spaces for a flexible age group from young children to elite.
The growth in professional women’s sport in Australia and around the world is encouraging advances in the way elite training facilities are designed to engage with and service local communities and the education sectors.
The mixed-use, flexible design of the Home of the Matildas shows that women’s teams don’t necessarily need different, stand-alone facilities, rather a commitment to deliver equitable access which is more efficient and affordable in the long-term if a ‘designing for all’ approach is adopted.
The Home of the Matildas, Elite Training and Community Facility
Location
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Client
Football Victoria
Completion
2023
