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Power House Rugby’s permanent facility anchors a three-building programme by Modular by SHAPE, designed for relocation, reduced disruption and site flexibility.
Redevelopment works at the Albert Park Pit Building in Melbourne have required more than demolition and rebuild. For three long-standing tenant clubs, the project has also meant displacement — and in one case, a permanent upgrade. (main image: A volumetric module for the Power House Rugby facility is craned into position at Albert Park.)
SHAPE’s Kinglake-based modular construction division, Modular by SHAPE is delivering three modular buildings within the precinct, with the Power House Rugby Union Football Club facility forming the centrepiece. Two additional buildings for Middle Park Football Club and South Melbourne Women’s Football Club sit alongside it as relocation-ready displacement facilities.
While grouped under a single delivery programme, the three outcomes differ in both intent and execution.
“The main driver is flexibility,” says Zarko Milakovic, General Manager – Modular (Vic) at SHAPE.
“Development Victoria and Parks Victoria want the ability to relocate the buildings in the future.”
Power House Rugby facility tailored to use
Unlike the other two buildings, the Power House facility is not simply a placeholder. It is being delivered as a permanent home for the club, with a higher level of specification and more direct stakeholder involvement.
“That one’s a little bit more premium,” Milakovic explains. “It’s their home ground, so it needs to reflect how the club actually operates.”
That shift in intent translated directly into the design process. Although all three facilities were funded by the Victorian Government, the Power House project involved a higher level of engagement with the club to reflect its long-term use.
“For Power House, they are contributing funding as well, so they wanted that buy-in,” he says.
“It’s those client satisfaction items — where they want to serve from, how the social spaces work, sightlines to screens. You design around how they actually use the building.”
This resulted in multiple design iterations, though not driven by aesthetics.
“It wasn’t about anything major or architectural,” Milakovic says. “It was about understanding their pain points in their existing clubrooms and resolving those.”
The outcome is a facility aligned to daily use rather than a generic sporting typology — a distinction that continues to shape SHAPE’s approach to modular clubroom delivery.
Offsite construction reduces impact on a constrained site
Across all three buildings, the majority of construction was completed at SHAPE’s Kinglake facility before being transported to site.
“For Power House, around 60 to 70 per cent of the building was complete before installation,” Milakovic says. “That includes finishes like painting.”
This offsite-first approach proved particularly relevant at Albert Park, where the construction programme had to align with one of Victoria’s most complex event environments.
“The logistics really revolved around the Formula 1,” he says.
“We had blackout periods where no deliveries were allowed, and a full shutdown during race week.”
Working within those constraints required detailed coordination with Parks Victoria and other contractors operating within the precinct.
“The key was making sure we weren’t slowing anyone else down,” Milakovic adds.
“Pre-planning what you needed on site during those blackout periods was critical.”
By reducing on-site construction activity, the modular approach limited disruption while allowing installation to occur within tightly controlled windows.
Displacement buildings introduce a relocation-ready model
Alongside the Power House facility, SHAPE is delivering two additional buildings for Middle Park and South Melbourne Women’s Football Club. These serve as displacement facilities during the Pit Building redevelopment, but with a longer-term intent.
“They’re not temporary in the sense of being disposable,” Milakovic says.
“They’re designed to be relocated in the future if required.”
This distinction sits at the core of the procurement strategy. Rather than short-life temporary structures, the buildings are designed as permanent modular assets that can be repositioned as site conditions evolve.
It also introduces a degree of standardisation not present in the Power House build.
“The two government-funded facilities are very similar,” he explains.
“That’s where standardisation can come in — replicating a design with minor adjustments.”
Even so, Milakovic is cautious about overstating repeatability across the sector.
“You can standardise certain elements — change rooms, umpire facilities — but every site and every club is different,” he says.
“You can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. Each pavilion needs to respond to its context.”
That balance between repeatable components and project-specific design continues to define modular delivery in community infrastructure settings.
Across Albert Park, the result is three buildings being delivered under a single modular programme, but shaped by different requirements — one permanent and highly tailored, the others flexible and relocation-ready.
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