Corpus Christi Catholic High School

This project was commended by the Awards Jury for being a vast improvement on the previous landscape. The area is visually appealing and welcoming, and when grown, the treed areas will provide good spaces for students. The Jury also liked “the carving up of the courtyard space”.

Project Details

Architects
Distinctive Living Design

Award
Commendation, Category 6: Outdoor Learning Spaces – Landscaping

Address
Industrial Raod, Oak Flats NSW 2529

Submitter
Nathan Lynch

Cost
$240,000 – $270,000

Photographer
Nathan Lynch

Project Overview

Corpus Christi, when first visited, was a collection of well-considered and well-formed buildings, but the connection to the landscape and provision for outdoor learning spaces was not evident. The school desired to create a landscape that would operate as a mixed use, integrated series of flexible learning spaces.

The space was to be a flexible learning space in which to undertake educational experiences, both teacher driven and student-driven. It was also to operate on a socialisation level. The design needed to provide a series of interconnected, well considered spaces that enabled students of varying years, social groups and interests to gather. It was also to enhance the sense of arrival at the School, due to its prominent location and connection with the entry foyer.

The space itself has a very long linear form with distant connections to the natural landscape beyond and the school sporting spaces. With little internal character, the design needed to define and create its own spaces.  The design symbolically celebrated the values of the School, in the form of ‘the olive on the mount’, and in the provision of space for a future sculptural piece with religious references. This design supports the movement of large groups of people through a variety of spaces, while providing spill-out areas, interactive spaces and outdoor learning spaces within this area simultaneously. The backbone of ‘green’ has a functional role in managing stormwater runoff and overland water flows.

The use of colour in a limited material palette is intended to create a series of visual indicators, derived from the house colours of the school, connecting you from space to space. The intended result is that the observer reads the outdoor area in a dynamic and engaging way from every angle.

Community benefit was evident immediately in the form of school community pride. The design aims to integrate the learning environment into the outdoor space, to provide spaces and opportunities for learning on a variety of levels in an engaging outdoor environment with a sense of connection to the surrounding built form. These spaces are where gathering, socialising and learning can take place.