Rosemont Stud Yearling Stables and Administration complex
Location: Gnarwarre, Victoria
Services: Property and facility master planning, Architectural design
The purpose of this project was to create a new state-of-the-art thoroughbred yearling stable complex and administration head office building. The concept was to direct clients, VIP’s and other industry visitors to this facility as a showcase of the stud operation. The result was a critical interpretation of site, landscape and ‘traditional’ barn models to create a design response that met horse welfare needs and everyday functionality whilst complementing the historic site.
Rosemont Stud is a historic property of some 580 hectares located at Gnarwarre, about 18.5km west of Geelong. Set on the banks of the Barwon River, it was created as part of some of the first sales of rural crown land in Victoria, Australia c.1840, and since the 1850s until 2002 it was known as ‘Roxby Park’. In 2002 it was converted for the first time from sheep country into a horse property and re-named Makybe Diva Stud; once again in this project our connection to this famous racehorse made a nostalgic return.
Our clients named the property Rosemont as an expansion of their premier thoroughbred horse stud operation in Ceres, Geelong. We were asked to assist with master planning a large open paddock area near the historic homestead, to complement and expand the existing stable and training facilities.
The facility would include 40 stable boxes, associated storage and management facilities, washes, feed store and vet inspection areas, car parking for both staff and visitors and a purpose-built parade arena with the original homestead as a backdrop. The administration building would include a reception, offices, board room facilities, lounge area, kitchen and staff amenities. The administration building would also serve as a gatehouse, thus preventing visitors from driving up to the private homestead (and knocking on the door asking for directions to the stud operations!).
Our first task was to develop a masterplan for the site, completing a thorough analysis of the sequence of stud operations and how the property currently functioned, as well as understanding some the unique picturesque features of the site and how people arrive at the homestead via the 3.2km-long driveway.
The masterplan also included access from the main facility to new spelling paddocks for the yearlings, as well as other facilities such as round yards and walkers.
Siting of the complex became a critical factor in the development of the design for the facilities. The location of the complex was on a parcel of land elongated north to south and wedged between the homestead gardens and an ornamental dam. The eventual design approach for the facilities was to present a plainly visible and engaging ‘public side’ including the admin building and one wing of the stables, and a ‘utility side’ that employed a separate earth berm built up from the edge of the gardens to both hide the stables’ presence from the homestead, as well as provide protection for the facility from prevailing winds from the south and west.
With its intentions to be a premier stable facility - and our roots planted firmly in horse welfare - the design concept for the stables took the common yearling barn model and deconstructed it into a parasol shelter structure with operable side walls. The result was a completely new ‘barn’ typology – a familiar four-walled enclosure that nevertheless provided excellent and controllable ventilation, gave the horses visual access to each other and outside to other animals and landscape at any time, allowed the natural daylight rhythms to permeate the structure which also benefitted energy use, made use of north sun while tempering prevailing wind, and, importantly, provided for ease of staff management of the horses and the facility generally.