Regional
The Anthony Costa Innovation Precinct, Sacred Heart College Geelong
Architect: PMDL McGlashan Everist
The Anthony Costa Innovation Precinct establishes a new, contemporary architectural language and presentation to the community within the broader Sacred Heart College campus. The new building respects the heritage of the site and original buildings, while providing modern, architecturally striking new facilities. Adopting a two stories form that relates to the existing campus scale, the building occupies the southern street boundary to release landscape space to the north. The Innovation Precinct provides dedicated space for students to create, construct, collaborate and learn. It incorporates science, technology, art, and general learning using a flexible classroom model with visibility. Stained-glass art throughout the building weaves a narrative linking faith, science & technology, the College’s rich history and the local Wathaurong people.
Photo by Hails & Shine, Christine Francis
The Geelong College Junior School
Architect: Wardle Studio
The new Geelong College Junior School arrangement resembles a miniature town plan. Squares, plazas and landscaped courtyards are sequenced in between the buildings. Some aspects of the project are made more public, others more protected and some frame the landscape.
The new school building is sequentially zoned creating year level communities, each with their own identity. Four early learning spaces and twelve classrooms spanning prep to year three are grouped around shared spaces over two levels. Here the fanning zig zag plan form brings south light into the learning environments, allows cross ventilation and provides long views across the playing fields.
Each of the learning communities are linked by a continuous verandah, promoting outdoor spaces for learning, gathering and play. Within the early learning years, externalised bag areas and dining spaces foster year level belonging. Outdoor teaching spaces and kitchens provide reference points along the veranda in the primary levels. The exterior fabric resembles a “defensive” city wall. Its shifting forms and colour in brickwork provides playful protection from the traffic noise to the east and severe westerly winds.