Christian Brothers College – New Junior Campus

An extensive brief development and master planning process helped to replace Christian Brothers College’s dilapidated Junior Campus with a new ‘state of the art’ facility that embraces 21st Century pedagogies and provides a new multimodal, multimedia enhanced educational facility designed around the interplay of shape, colour, texture and light.

Project Details

Architects
Swanbury Penglase

Award
Commendation – Category 1 New Construction, Entire New School

Address
324 Wakefield Street, ADELAIDE SA 5000

Submitter
Kon Michael

Cost
$11.4 million overall

Photographer
Sam Noonan

Project Overview

With an extensive brief development and master planning process, the opportunity by the Federal BER allowed Christian Brothers College to help replace their dilapidated Junior Campus with a new ‘state of the art’ facility that embraces 21st century pedagogies and provides a multimodal, multimedia enhanced educational facility designed around the interplay of shape, colour, texture and light. Designed on a tight CBD site on the fringe of Adelaide’s parklands, the new three levelled campus is based around two wings to help create individual grouping of students and locates administration and staff areas between for better connection. Large breakout spaces up the entire building and to all external areas, including an innovative Roof Play area allow student groups to expand to. With resource material spread vertically throughout, the Resource Centre provides a multi-functional, flexible, casual, fun space for all to interact, which can be opened up further creating the opportunity for a variety of purposes including school presentations and community functions. Also included are a multi-functional performance area which opens up to external areas for large group performances, a ‘Da Vinci’ studio that inspires students to investigate and create, a Kitchen Studio for cooking lessons and a small Prayer Chapel on the top level which helps connect the new campus to the College’s ethos. ICT is interwoven throughout the entire campus to allow mobile use of laptops and ipads, a video conferencing room for linking students globally and large touchscreens to all learning spaces for maximum interaction in the learning process. The use of innovative, sustainable and recycle materials with an array of active and passive features help to achieve a healthy and comfortable indoor environment with abundant natural light and low energy use to allow the students to interact with their new sustainable environment. Colour plays a significant role which encourages stimulation to learn, create and explore. Studios are defined by a single alternating colour which allows student work to better connect and contribute to their space. Custom designed, comfortable and colourful furniture contributes significantly to the 21st century function and creates an inviting, comfortable and stimulated “3rd Teacher” learning environment.