Mercedes College Serisier Building & Coady Centre awarded at the Australian Institute of Architects WA Chapter 2012 Architecture Awards
14 Sep 2012
The Mercedes College Serisier Building & Coady Centre by Site Architecture Studio received a Public Architecture – Commendation.
The project is the most significant development the school has ever undertaken over its 160 year history. Our master plan identified a need for 4600m2 of teaching, staff and sport spaces on a site with significant cross fall, heritage and archaeological issues and existing building constraints.
A contemporary architectural response was considered appropriate, suitable scaled to be complimentary to the college’s landscaped grounds and rich historical context of eclectic mix of architectural styles. In response, we developed a 3 storey teaching block over the ground floor pool, a Gymnasium building and a link of shared facilities in between. The coloured Science Room block projects out to the north over the Sisters Grave site gardens, sheltering the pool from direct sun. Other projections are exposed and deliberately break from the grid to appeal to students’ curiosity of a world beyond the classroom and a City beyond the college walls.
The large spanning structure allows the teaching floors to be reconfigured to suit changes in learning and teaching requirements through curriculum advances. This move away from the traditional cells and bells approach to learning and shifts the learning out of the classroom and into the corridors and outside spaces.
