St. Monica’s Senior Centre

St Monica’s Senior Centre saw the modernisation of a 1917 heritage building by Baldasso Cortese Architects.

The Catholic school has a rich cultural heritage dating back to 1853.

Over the last 30 years, the school has undergone extensive renovations from the amalgamation of the girls’ and boys’ schools, to the construction of the Junior School, refurbishment of the tuckshop and Year 3 and 4 Middle School, to the construction of the Senior Centre in late 2015.

Baldasso Cortese Architects’ long-term relationship with the client facilitated major works that brought St Monica’s into the 21st Century, while still respecting the school’s profound heritage.

BDA’s contextually driven design re-conceptualised an underutilised courtyard into a central Modern Learning Environment which unifies six learning areas and a presentation space catering for over 150 Year 5 and 6 students.

Their brief was to create a sophisticated and mature space for senior students transitioning to high school, while respecting and working within the heritage framework.

This was implemented through a restricted material palette, custom joinery, and diverse learning opportunities.

Critical to BCA’s thought process was maintaining the feeling of light and sky, designing the ceiling to be a sculptural interpretation of this.

Their ‘sky’ set as a gentle curve, linking two sides of the previous courtyard terminating in a mirrored horizon edge and eroded by repeating organic forms – the “pebbles.”

This development ensures future growth and promotes a mature learning philosophy amongst its senior students.

From the beginning, the project was influenced by existing conditions. A strong respect and consideration was given to the one hundred year old building, as Baldasso Cortese Architects created a positive tension between existing and modern materials.

An example of this approach involved retaining the external heritage brickwork and using it as an internal material.

And by converting the existing highlight window lintels to openings all the way to the ground, BDA created large traversable archways or “portals” which were framed in black steel.

These “portals” enable the free flow of students between the learning spaces, promoting flexibility which was a core theme of BDA’s design.

BDA concentrated on excellence in passive sustainable design principals.

In terms of light, the BDA design team considered it was crucial to obtain a level of natural light that was indirect. Harsh direct light, with the resultant need for blinds, was avoided.

The modern learning environment has five “pebble” skylights.

BDA expended considerable effort to realise the correct specification for the glass.

The facility can be naturally ventilated by the use of louvers set at high level and operated with a single open/shut button delivering ease of use.

BDA’s philosophy was to simplify the user interfaces with all the technology and they worked closely with service engineers to archive this.

The BDA design team also collaborated with a landscape architect to specify resilient plants in self-watering planters to bring some natural relief to a highly-constructed environment.

The 75-seat tiered presentation space can accommodate over 100 people with the inclusion of flexible seating.

It is a space that facilitates a connection between the Senior Centre students and the rest of the school.

The space allows for big or small group presentations. It’s been acoustically treated so adjacent activities remain undisturbed.

Not only intended as a space for students, but as well as the wider community, the presentation space has been designed to cater for after-school community events and for a Senior Citizens program on the weekends.

Critical to Baldasso Cortese Architects’ thought process was maintaining the feeling of light and sky in the architectural expression of the ceiling.

So they designed the ceiling to be a sculptural interpretation of this, highlighting the transformation of an exterior courtyard to an interior space.

BDA thought that this expression would help alleviate the feeling of enclosure.

Their ‘sky’ was set as a gentle curved ceiling that linked the two sides of the previous courtyard, terminating in a mirrored horizon edge.

The new sky is eroded by repeating organic forms – the “pebbles,” some of which are skylights.

In line with the programmatic goal of opening up the classrooms to the central space, the elimination of doors was used by BDA to promote fluid and constant movement between the spaces.

However this meant acoustic considerations were critical to the building’s success.

So BDA worked carefully with an Acoustic Engineer to ensure the facility could absorb the weight of sound.

Other key endeavours in the scheme include high levels of transparency and custom joinery, helping to enhance teaching and learning opportunities within the space.

The transparency across the scheme works to promote the sense of connectivity, visibility, and supervision.

The transparency also worked to satisfy contemporary requirements for safety for students in schools.

Three key pieces of joinery occupy the new facility; “The Learning Lounge”, “The Campfire” and “The Communal Table”.

Each of these were important in addressing the requirements of the client to have multiple opportunities to encourage group learning as well as private study.

“The Campfire” allows for an entire class group to gather within it. Its tiers are capable of holding small presentations or performances, while its upholstered seating and work bench are able to be used for study or group activity.

“The Learning Lounge” creates various spaces around the basement stair. While fulfilling safety requirements to enclose the stair, the booth and moveable tables allow for small group activities and breakout spaces from the neighbouring classrooms as well as lots of storage.

“The Communal Table” is an initiative allowing whole class teaching to occur using the adjacent teaching wall but also encouraging breakout space from classrooms.

The interaction between the classrooms and the custom joinery creates a learning community that enables diverse learning possibilities and options for the teachers and students.

Project Details

Project size – 950 m2
Completion date – 2016
Building levels – 1

Project Team

Architecture

Baldasso Cortese Architects

Baldasso Cortese is a large architectural, interior design, and master-planning practice based in Melbourne, Australia.

They’re recognised for design and customer service excellence across a number of core sectors: Education (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary), Care (Aged Care, Child Care and Health Care) & Lifestyle and Community (Residential, Retail and Commercial).

www.bcarch.net

Photography

Peter Clarke

Peter is an established photographer with over 20 years’ experience in his field. Over the years, Peter has gained extensive knowledge and experience documenting the built environment, as well as natural and man-made landscapes.

His collaborative approach and strong vision has seen his unique graphic style applied to a wide range of industries including architecture, construction, mining and aviation.

Peter works with a diverse range of clients including architects, design practices, government bodies, listed companies, and publishers.

www.peterclarke.com.au