AV Case Study: Pyrmont Community Centre
How a careful blend of heritage sensitivity and tech smarts has brought Sydney’s Pyrmont Community Centre into the 21st century.
11 July 2025
The Pyrmont Community Centre isn’t your typical council-run facility. For starters, it’s housed in a handsome, heritage-listed building in the heart of Sydney’s inner west. Its 19th-century bones are protected by planning law, and its significance is tied closely to the people it serves.
Owned and operated by the City of Sydney, the centre recently underwent an ambitious and highly considered refurb. The new Pyrmont Community Centre is now a multipurpose hub for locals of all ages, with spaces for after-school care, fitness, community markets, classes and events. But delivering the technology to support that functionality, within the limitations of a heritage envelope, was no ordinary job.
That task fell to The AVIT Group, led by Managing Director, Brad Magri, who won the AV integration contract as part of the Belmadar-led building project, with the AV spec delivered by consultants Advisen Group.
“It ended up being a long process,” recalls Brad. “There were heritage restrictions, plus asbestos, lead, mould… you name it. It was about two and a half years between signing the contract and handing over the system. But the result is something the community can really own.”
CONSISTENT EXPERIENCE
The brief was to design a system that was consistent across all the centre’s rooms and simple enough for non-technical staff to operate. Every space now features a similar AV backbone: Crestron control, Q-SYS DSP, QSC loudspeakers, Sennheiser wireless microphones (EW300 dual handheld/lapel kits), and a choice of either Samsung QM displays or Epson projection, depending on the size and function of the space.
Wireless presentation is handled via Crestron AirMedia, which integrates with the room calendar to show scheduled events and allows staff to preset spaces ahead of time. BrightSign media players, managed centrally/remotely, take care of digital signage. Content is fed via HDMI using Crestron DM.
“We trained the council staff and gave them cheat sheets and how-to videos,” says Brad. “They don’t need to be techs to use the system.”
This Epson projector is installed up and out of sightlines and above a fabricated shroud.
WHY PROJECTION MADE SENSE
Although most rooms use Samsung QM displays, two of the larger spaces called for large-format projection. And it’s here that AVIT’s attention to architectural detail, and their choice of Epson EB-L610U projectors, really shines.
“Those rooms are used for everything from weddings to large community presentations,” explains Brad. “The spaces seat about 100 to 120 people comfortably, and the brief was to make them as AV-capable as possible without permanently altering the heritage character.”
The projector and screen installations reflect that goal. AVIT custom-mounted the Epson projectors on shelves supported by Ultralift hardware, hidden above the line of sight and nestled among period light fittings. The 130-inch Screen Technics ElectroCinema screens are finished in high-contrast grey to help with ambient light rejection, and even they are concealed in bespoke stainless steel shrouds to visually blend with the building’s features when retracted.
“Epson was the only choice, really,” says Brad. “Because of the mounting constraints, I needed a centrally-mounted lens. I can’t stand off-centre lens designs, it throws the symmetry, especially when the projector’s suspended in the middle of the room. The EB-L610U has great output, looks clean, and fits the form factor perfectly.”
FLEXIBLE TECH, FLEXIBLE SPACES
The need for retractable projection and invisible tech was driven not just by heritage sensitivity but by flexibility. “Council didn’t want permanent displays in the heritage areas,” Brad says. “With projection, you can retract it all and the room looks like a traditional hall again.”
The projection solution allows the space to seamlessly transition between uses – from a seated seminar to a weekend market – without any lingering visual clutter.
Meanwhile, AVIT’s Crestron programming ensures that the user interface is tailored to each space, but with a consistent look and feel throughout the building. “We never just drop a system in,” Brad says. “We go through the UI design with the client in advance, iterate it until they’re happy, and they sign it off before we even touch a processor.”
The Crestron UI is worked up well in advance by AVIT in collaboration with the client.
QSC loudspeakers provide the audio reproduction with Q-SYS DSP in the background.
COMMUNITY-READY
The finished centre has been warmly received. “When we posted about the project on LinkedIn, the response was fantastic,” Brad recalls. “People who grew up in Pyrmont remembered going to the centre as kids. Now they’re bringing their own kids. It’s a proper community space again.”
And that sense of civic pride runs through every detail. From the galvanised piping used to preserve the heritage aesthetic, to the hidden Epson projectors ensuring events look sharp and professional without disrupting the architecture – it’s a showcase of modern AV working hand in hand with historic preservation.
In short: Pyrmont’s old hall is looking sharper than ever.
Pyrmont Community Centre: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/community-centres/pyrmont-community-centre
The AVIT Group: theavitgroup.com.au
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS
- Projectors: Epson EB-L610U
- Screens: Screen Technics ElectroCinema, high contrast grey, 130-inch
- Displays: Samsung QM series (indoor), Samsung OH series (outdoor)
- Control: Crestron (with AirMedia and DigitalMedia)
- Audio: Q-SYS DSP, QSC loudspeakers
- Wireless Mics: Sennheiser EW300
- Signage: BrightSign players with BrightAuthor & cloud management
RESPONSES