School Administration Building
St Joseph’s College, Ferntree Gully, Melbourne
“The jury admires the original concept followed through with clever resolution of siting and orientation which achieves gathering spaces with a multitude of functions. It seems that the Architects have fully realised the grand ambitions of the client with humour through form, colour and materials.” - Jury Citation Public Architecture Award AIA 2011
This zig-zagging oval building is a new administration and public reception area for a Catholic school. The metaphors used, the concertina file and the brain, allude to the function and role of the building, importantly the zig-zagging concertina file enabled us to develop a façade with north facing windows on a west-facing site. The egalitarian oval plan dispensed with corridors and created a beautiful central room that has become the nucleus for the congregation and organisation of the school. This central drum is an important continuation of the external skin of the building which draws the visitor inside.
Awards
- Australian Institute of Architecture Award for Public Architecture (Victorian Chapter)