Designed by Cox Architecture, Wesley College’s Music School provides a central and dedicated facility for the St Kilda Road Campus to celebrate its creative arts education program.
It brings together the departments of music, performing arts, and digital arts.
And it also presents a centrally located Middle School Hub that closely connects with existing built and landscaped elements.
Each department has varying requirements that dictate its location within the building and are expressed externally through different façade articulations.
The size and type of internal spaces generate a rhythm across the exterior, working to complement the striking representation of the school’s crest that has been ‘carved into the facade of the building.
Offering exceptional facilities – with individual spaces for band rehearsals and recitals, as well as tuition studios, multi-purpose classrooms, and recording studios, the design of the building offers a network of spaces outside of formal classroom settings for collaboration and allied activities that stimulate interaction and the exchange of information.
The building incorporates a purpose-built auditorium and stage with associated backstage, side stage, and fly tower as well as a dance studio and drama theatrette, new staff administration areas, recital spaces, a band room, and additional flexible spaces suitable for teaching and rehearsal.
At the heart of the building, an exceptional space referred to as the ‘sound chamber’ features a grand stair that also functions as an engaging and flexible events platform.
Spaces within the building are connected by materiality, voids, and continuity of form, creating the feel of a single volume that morphs as it rises through the levels, to bring in natural light and provide access to each floor.
Project Details
Project Size – 5,500 m2
Project Budget – $30,000,000
Completion Date – 2013
Project Details
Architecture
Cox Architecture
COX is a design-focused contemporary architectural practice with studios located in every major Australian city and a history spanning 60 years.
The key to their ethos is supporting the public life of our cities. Cox does this by ensuring each project makes positive contributions to its public realm – giving more than it takes.
Photography
Sarah Louise
Sarah Louise Jackson is a long-established Melbourne-based Construction and Architectural Photographer.
www.sarahlouisephotography.com.au
Photo Gallery
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Design © 2021 Cox Architecture. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2021 Sarah Louise. All Rights Reserved.
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