Category 2: New Construction Major Facility

Award Winner

Project: James Cook University Education Central, Queensland

Architect: Wilson Architects with Architects North
JCU Education Central is intended to improve student services and to incorporate contemporary methods of learning and teaching. The facility includes large scale active learning spaces that support technology enabled active learning. (TEAL) Learning spaces are spacious, well appointed and flexible.

The overarching strategy was to locate teacher training to the ‘front and centre’ of campus and Education Central is well connected to other services by covered linkages. In a campus as large and diverse as JCU it was important to ensure that legibility of travel was a key design element.

The project started with comprehensive research and visitations to other campuses and collaboration with the JCU community. This was followed by robust briefing workshops resulting in a briefing template that served the final design process well.

Education central embraces a sustainable approach to facility design and provides students with a 21st Century learning facility. The jury was unanimous in selecting this project as the winner of the CEFPI Award in Category 2 for New Major Facilities. Full credit goes to all those persons involved in the planning, design and delivery processes. The judges applaud the recognition by the proponents of this project of the critical importance of changing the way teachers are trained and bring the profession into a 21st Century context and all that entails.

COMMENDATIONS (3)
Project: Mirboo North Secondary College: New Multi-disciplinary Learning Centre, Victoria
Architect: Haskell Architects
Mirboo North Secondary College is located in the heart of Gippsland, Victoria, on a sloping site with expansive views of the Strzelecki Ranges. The challenge of this project was to produce a new multi-disciplinary facility that supported the school’s desire to deliver 21st Century teaching and learning across a broad curriculum while providing a new focus for the whole campus. This outstanding project won the attention of the jurors for its compliance with an expansive brief, limited budget and for the evidence clearly presented that it exceeded the expectations of the school and community in respect to the teaching and learning opportunities the new facility has presented Mirboo College.

Project: St Francis Xavier College Design, Arts, Technology and Science(DATS) Building, Victoria
Architect: Hayball
The new St Francis Xavier Secondary College was conceived to provide Catholic Education to new developing communities on the outer east of Melbourne and is co – located with a future primary school and integrated Early Learning Centre and Community Space incorporating a new chapel centrally located on the site.

Over a period of 15 months Hayball worked with the school planning group, teachers and the community in reviewing the master plan, evaluating the existing facilities and their relationship to the new DATS building, conducting research and school visits, and ensuring that the school assessed their teaching and learning methodologies in relation to the intended facilities.

The DATS building provides facilities for specialist education merging spaces for Science, Arts and Material Technology to promote inter disciplinary research and project based learning. Formal practical spaces are connected by collaborative learning areas for design, theory, presentation and exhibition with communication technology provided throughout all areas of the building. Incorporation of a range of environmentally sustainable design elements have produced an energy efficient building which includes a monitoring system utilised by the students as a component of the school curriculum.

External covered and service areas are integral to the building ensuring connection between internal and external learning spaces while the roof design extends at key points to create welcome canopies to celebrate the school entry points and frame key views of the site.

The use of colour, natural materials and strong emphasis on building angles and design has provided the school with a remarkable range of stimulating education areas which have more than met the schools expectations and requirements.

Project: St Peters College Sister Rosemary Graham RSM Building, Victoria
Architect: Hayball
Driven by the school’s desire to rethink their teaching and learning model Hayball and the school critically reviewed exemplary school models, conducted a series of school visits to other similar schools and collaborated with the school leaders, teachers and community representatives in developing design responses which reflected the school requirements for Years 7 and 8.

The final design provided individual learning communities at each year level connected by a highly intensive “innovation hub” comprising specialist facilities for cookery, art, design, drama and media studies incorporating outdoor workshop and performance areas which connect the classrooms with the external environment.

The Sister Rosemary Graham Building was positioned on the site to provide its own defined precinct connected to the remaining campus body and incorporating community links with the existing centrally located chapel and the intended future TAFE facility.

ESD was embedded with appropriate orientation, generous natural lighting, cross ventilation and wind lock features and zoned mechanical plant connected to a building management system.

The finished building completely met the schools expectations and vision to maximise the physical environment while allowing learning to flow in and out of the building and surrounding natural environment that the site provides. The result is an outcome specifically tuned to the requirements for education al provision of St Peters.