Morwell Primary School, Performing Arts

The Morwell Performing Arts Centre is offering Primary School children an opportunity to learn music and drama in specially designed classrooms and tuition rooms.
The building is now a place for school children and their community to come together and to display their artistic talents in a 300 seated auditorium.

Project Details

Architects
Kneeler Design Architects

Address
MacDonald Street Morwell, Victoria 3066

Submitter
Robert Bienvenu

Cost
3,352,623.76

Photographer
Silvi Glattauer

Project Overview

The newly performing arts, constructed for the local Primary Schools, in located in Macdonald street, former site of the Morwell secondary college.

This new facility, funded by the Commonwealth Government (BER), has been designed to give local primary school children an opportunity to be taught in all disciplines of art. Special purpose built classrooms and individual tuition rooms allows the new facility the ability to provide all needs necessary for music, drama and dance. More importantly the students will be able to perform their artistic skills in the auditorium capable of sitting 300 people.

Entering the Performing Arts Centre via MacDonald Street, students and visitors are immediately struck by the vibrant orange and pink colours. The café equipped with a kitchen, protrudes out of the angled wall and the design shows the ceiling as an extension of the façade.

Through the entry, the foyer provides students a space to interact and to display their art work.The two levelled foyer with its translucent wall and skylights gives further access to the lower and upper level auditorium. The auditorium with its colourful acoustic panels has a large stage fitted out with lighting bars and audiovisual equipment to facilitate a stage set up for a diverse range of activities and concerts.

The specially designed classrooms, fitted with sports floors and mirrors are orientated on the North side. The idea was to connect it through landscaped paths with the future coexistence of the new ‘super’ school.

This building uses some passive ESD principles. It features natural ventilation through the incorporation of louvres and night purging, and natural light through the use of translucent walls and skylights.

The enclosed auditorium is surrounded by space between external walls and internal walls and therefore reducing the heating and cooling requirements.

The Performing Arts Centre supports the idea to open up the centre not only to the local Primary schools but also to invite the broader community of Morwell and Gippsland to any concerts and activities. This has been made largely possible because the new Performing Arts Centre has given the site a new identity and provided the schools with voice a for art.