Project Description

Sutherland Shire Council Community Centres – Virtual Tour

Double-click on the Sutherland Shire Council virtual tour of Engadine Community Centre to make it go full screen, or click here.

The Brief – 360 Virtual Tour, DSLR Photography, Google Maps and Branded Floor Plans

Sutherland Shire Council approached Simply 360, seeking a consistent, brand-aligned way to showcase its network of community venues. After collaborative discovery sessions, we mapped out an ongoing project that will ultimately cover more than 30 halls, youth centres and multipurpose facilities across the Shire—eight of which are already live.

Our team is refreshing outdated imagery with crisp DSLR photography, creating monochrome floor plans that highlight capacity and accessibility details, and weaving those plans, alongside contextual still photos, directly into each immersive 360-degree tour. Every completed tour is published to Google Maps Street View, enabling residents to explore spaces online, obtain directions instantly and lift each venue’s local search visibility.

By releasing each tour as soon as it’s completed, Council staff can review the visuals in context, gather feedback from venue managers, and fine-tune navigation, labelling, and floor-plan details for the next shoot. This rolling improvement loop ensures that every new location launches with refinements already built in, steadily raising the bar for the visitor experience.

What We Loved About This Project

Exploring venues across the Shire, from surfside halls to bushland community centres, showed us just how varied the council’s portfolio is. The Sutherland Shire team worked side‑by‑side with us to stage each space and secure the perfect shoot windows, ensuring every hall and meeting room looked its best before we pressed the shutter.

As their familiarity with virtual tour technology grew, they began recommending vantage points, annotation ideas and floor‑plan tweaks that would make the tours even more helpful for residents. That ongoing collaboration provided our crew with deeper insight into local needs, allowing us to create experiences that are intuitive to navigate and genuinely beneficial for the wider community.

Coordinating access around busy hire schedules, aligning shoots with optimal lighting conditions, and standardising floor‑plan legends across such a varied property mix also sharpened our logistics. The shared problem‑solving fostered a strong partnership and ensured the final tours felt cohesive even though they were captured weeks apart.

About The Client

Sutherland Shire Council administers a 370 km² swathe of southern Sydney that stretches from the Georges River and Botany Bay to the fringes of the Royal National Park, about 26 km southwest of the CBD. The area is home to 230 211 residents (2021 census) across more than 30 suburbs and is known for its mix of beaches, bushland and vibrant town centres.

The council’s halls, community centres, and meeting rooms form a comprehensive network of venues that support social, recreational, and cultural activities year-round, providing locals and visitors with adaptable spaces for a range of activities, from playgroups and dance classes to exhibitions and civic events.

From the sweeping dunes of Kurnell to the bushland border of the Royal National Park, the Shire blends iconic coastline, green corridors and lively town centres. Council operations are coordinated from Sutherland, supporting initiatives such as coastal management, environmental conservation, and community engagement.

View all the Sutherland Shire Council’s Community Centres Virtual Tours:

  • ANZAC Youth & Recreation Centre – A dynamic hub for youth programs, indoor sports and community events, offering adaptable halls and breakout rooms.
  • Bundeena Community Centre – Coastal venue ideal for workshops, social functions and local markets, with a bright main hall and kitchenette facilities.
  • Caringbah Seniors Centre – Purpose-built space for seniors’ classes, meetings and social activities, featuring accessible rooms and a well-equipped kitchen.
  • Engadine Community Centre – Modern complex with an auditorium, meeting suites and landscaped surrounds, perfect for community courses and larger gatherings.
  • Gymea Bay Community & Recreation Centre – Versatile facility beside Gymea Bay Oval, offering sports courts, function rooms and activity spaces for all ages.
  • Gymea Bay Resource Centre – Intimate venue featuring training rooms and a kitchenette, ideal for local workshops, study groups and small meetings.
  • Gymea Community Centre – A centrally located hub with flexible halls and breakout rooms that suit cultural programs, fitness classes, and community forums.
  • Oyster Bay Community Centre – Spacious hall overlooking bushland, perfect for family celebrations, fitness sessions and neighbourhood gatherings.

For more information on Sutherland Shire Council community centres, please go to sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/play-and-explore/venues-and-facilities/book-a-community-venue/

Interested in showcasing your own council or government venue or facilities with a 360-degree virtual tour? Sutherland Shire Council is already updating their community spaces online. Which tour has caught your eye? YOu can email us, book a consultation, or call us.