Project Overview

The Ivanhoe Grammar Senior Years and Science Centre is a circular learning hub punctuated by a colourful wedge at the heart of the building.

Project Commissioner

Ivanhoe Grammar School

Project Creator

McBride Charles Ryan

Project Brief

The brief included a variety of general learning areas, provision for the senior year teachers and a science centre which was to be also used by the younger students in the school.

The circular shaped plan form was adopted for the building; this shape had an appropriate civic quality which seemed to build upon the schools original masterplan. The circular plan is an alluring one for architects, clearly it is a definitive human mark upon the landscape, and yet its many precedents, from Grounds to Stonehenge to indigenous gathering, show that it can, perhaps paradoxically, coexist with and not disrupt a native landscape.

However, rather than adopting a circular or radial pattern dictated by the shape of the plan, the architects chose to overlay an angular geometry. This geometry was used to define the central courtyards, the light wells and a mosaic of learning spaces. This geometry contrasts and disrupts the building’s circular motif, highlighting key entry points and providing a distinction between the outer world (singular, civic, circular, executed in a muted landscape palate) and the inner world (complex, dynamic, expressive & colourful).

Project Innovation/Need

Great consideration was given to the configuration of these learning spaces. Some of the key characteristics were transparency into and between spaces, a variety of spatial type, interconnectivity, multiple-use, flexibility and adaptability of the learning spaces.

Staff work stations are peppered throughout the facility; the lower levels are generally multiple-use teaching spaces, the upper levels predominately science focused. Provision for outdoor informal gathering of students is provided throughout the complex.\

The building floors are reinforced concrete with band beams supported by concrete and steel columns. The roof is steel framed. The outer cladding is Colorbond Longline, the inner cladding Vitrapanel. The exterior shading fins are glue laminated Queensland spotted gum. Windows are aluminium, double glazed & thermally broken. High quality acoustic glazed doors are used between learning spaces.

The contrast so evident in this building’s language encapsulates the contemporary pedagogical approaches for a well-rounded education. The circular form is a classical representation of order, rigour, and the certainty of knowledge – the buildings inner world, with its complex mosaic of spaces, amplified by pattern, colour and multiple reflections, represents the uncertainty and complexity of modern life and scientific understanding, and the necessity of the qualities of wonder and imagination to advance and see us through.

Sustainability

The building is designed to blur the distinction between the inside and the outside environment. The learning spaces have been configured to generally maximise both light and shading through upper-level walkways. Large, easily operated sliding doors are included to encourage the staff to maintain connectivity between the inside and outside and reduce the reliance on conditioned air. Most spaces are configured so as to maximise the opportunities for cross ventilation to the learning areas. The exterior shell is shaded by vertical fins and the window size modified to respond to its immediate context and orientation. The external fabric of the building is heavily insulated. Materials chosen are robust and not reliant on regular maintenance regimes.