Lovell Chen designed this teaching building on the grounds of Ormond College.
The building embodies the values the Wade Institute strives to impart to its students of the Masters of Entrepreneurship program – creativity and sustainability.
Lovell Chen’s design of the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship presents a series of contrasts.
By turns it is serious and celebratory, a garden pavilion and university cloister, and structurally innovative yet simple in form.
The building combines unconventional teaching spaces with a roof-top tennis court, a Passivhaus approach, flexibility, and a coherent design response to the complex architectural context of its site.
Built on the footprint of a carpark and a tennis court, fronting College Crescent, the L-shaped teaching building provides two main working spaces, with offices and ancillary rooms, all on one level.
One of the tennis courts it replaces has been ‘lifted’, creating usable space between two massive exposed concrete slabs — the roof and floor of the building.
Both slabs slope gently, gathering rainwater from the court.
The upper slab seems to defy gravity, supported on seemingly too-light steel mesh columns inside the building, and tied to the ground at its perimeter by further mesh columns.
Full height glazing surrounds the teaching spaces, making the building transparent.
Inside is a surprising combination of tranquillity and energized possibility.
Project Details
Completion Date – 2016
Project Team
Architecture, Heritage Consultants, Passive House Design
Lovell Chen
Lovell Chen is a multi-disciplinary practice with more than 40 years of experience in architecture and heritage. Their project team for this project included Kai Chen, Anne-Marie Treweeke, and Milica Tumbas.
Structural and Services Engineering
WSP Group
WSP believes believe that for societies to thrive, we must all hold ourselves accountable for tomorrow.
Passive House Consultants
Grun Consulting
Grün Consulting is a unique, multi-disciplinary collective of experienced architects, designers, engineers, and contractors who work both independently and in partnership to make a positive contribution to our built environment.
Photography
John Gollings
John has been the photographer of choice, the go-to guy for many Australian architects.
He is renowned for his ability to almost always compose the best shot, the one defining image that makes a building memorable, etches it into the psyche.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2022 Lovell Chen. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 John Gollings. All Rights Reserved.
The Builtworks Quest
At Builtworks, we’re on a multi-year quest to document, showcase, and spotlight the best of Australia’s built environment.
That’s why we’re creating this comprehensive online archive and educational resource that showcases a diverse and eclectic range of project types and scales.
Together with showcasing older exemplars of enduring merit, we spotlight and celebrate new and recent additions to Australia’s built environment.