The Gipson Commons, St Michael’s Grammar School

A sophisticated and mature design that caters for gatherings and learning encounters of a variety of different scales.

The school’s values are well articulated into contemporary learning spaces that will accommodate the current school community now and into the future with changing enrolments.

Project Details

Architects
Architectus

Award
Commendation: Category 2 New Construction/New Individual Facility

Address
25 Chapel Street St Kilda VIC 3182

Submitter
Raymond (John) Sprunt

Cost
$20,000,000

Photographer
Peter Hyatt & Ian Davidson

Project Overview

In designing The Gipson Commons, we wanted to create a building that would cater for the 21st century learning needs of students from Kindergarten to Year 12, and provide an opportunity for the community to come together. The original metaphor which we initially presented to the architects was ‘Spaces for Possibilities’ – to create an environment that permitted a range of different ways of learning and created possibilities for creativity and innovation. It was to emphasise flexibility and be adaptable to a range of ages and ways of learning and teaching. As the design evolved, it became clear that we also had the opportunity to rethink specialist facilities in Science and Food Technology, to look at different ways of housing our text collection that made it fit for 21st century purpose, and a spacious cafeteria which boasts more of a Brunswick Street flavour rather than a traditional school canteen.

The building was designed in four levels, with underground car parking and bicycle facilities and bathroom amenities, progressing to a social learning space on the ground floor, and a further two levels for both collaborative learning opportunities and individual study. We also wanted the building to inspire learning and to provide visible, transparent demonstrators of learning in a variety of different ways, and it has certainly achieved that – the ability to witness different classes operating, student gatherings in the Atrium, and collaborative and autonomous learning in and around the various spaces. One of the critical elements in the building’s design was to anchor students to the rich history of the School. Thus, on the ground floor in pride of place is the Sandra Matheson Archives. Managed and run by our alumni, it’s the repository of the School’s 121-year history and ensures that students have constantly before them a visible connection with the School’s past, its significant moments, and the story which they too will contribute to as the ever-evolving narrative of St Michael’s unfolds into the next century. The acoustics provided a particular challenge in the design given the openness that we demanded, yet it is possible in the finished building to walk from a vibrant, socially interactive cafeteria up through the stairway and enter the first floor to a quiet and calm space, despite the fact that it houses multiple, open learning spaces. The successes in meeting this challenge have been remarkable, and if there’s one element that makes the building work more than anything else, it’s the acoustic treatment. The second challenge was shifting pedagogical practices to accommodate the opportunities and possibilities that the building provides. It is a significant departure in many ways from conventional classroom spaces.

We have been immensely pleased with the final design and the building’s evolution. Its outcome has exceeded all expectations that we had when we first considered the design brief: not only has it provided flexible and adaptable spaces for 21st century learning, it has also privileged opportunities for new possibilities in learning that we had never considered.

STATEMENT FROM MR SIMON GIPSON, HEAD OF THE SCHOOL