Rockingham SHS was in desperate need of a new Specialist Performing Arts Facility – drama lessons, storage, green room and performance were all currently being managed through a transportable classroom. Our concept had to balance a range of conflicting concerns. As a theatre the building needed to be open and welcoming to the public, but it also needed to be an integral part of the private community of the school during the day. It would be a place to teach and also a space in which to provide entertainment. It would be a place of work for the school’s creative departments and students, but it would also need to be comfortable and aesthetically pleasing for visitors.
We began with the functional aspects of the design; the materials and the construction would need to be robust and hard-wearing enough to withstand daily use. We chose face brick for the walls and corrugated metal for the roof cladding, in keeping with the other school buildings. The roof is highly sculptural giving the building a literal sense of ‘drama’, and it also mimics the form of an overturned ship’s hull, in reference to Rockingham’s coastal location. We also installed lighting and translucent sheeting into the overhanging canopies, which gives them a lantern-like quality at night. This not only brings a little of the theatre atmosphere outside, but also assists with way-finding for visitors.
To be comfortable and functional, performance venues must essentially be sealed, air conditioned compartments. This represented significant energy and maintenance costs over the life of the building, so we reduced the size of the main chamber and implemented several energy efficient design elements. Alongside extensive insulation and solar passive design, the depth of the roof form creates an insulating pocket of air to help regulate the temperature inside. The multi-purpose teaching/rehearsal rooms also utilise cross-ventilation to reduce their reliance on air conditioning.
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Hampton Senior High School’s Eric Strauss Specialist Performing Arts Centre was in need of a substantial upgrade. Its dual purpose as both a place for learning and a venue for performance placed unique requirements on the new design. It would need to be functional and hard-wearing enough for the school’s requirements, as well as offering a comfortable, visually appealing space for the visiting public.
We took our cues from the surrounding school buildings. Built in the 1960’s, they were simple Brutalist structures with a raw, functional feel and the new theatre is similarly pragmatic. We remodelled the exterior of the building with a dramatic new canopy, which gives the Centre real presence from the street and leads visitors up from the car park below. Inside, we installed a full-size dance floor for students and a public theatre with full theatre lighting, a proscenium arch, a sprung timber floor and retractable tiered seating. The interior walls are ‘dressed’ with bright shards of colour to add a sense of movement and excitement. The behind-the-scenes areas were equally important; new dressing room facilities were included and we positioned the loading and back-of-house zones for easy servicing during school hours. Flexibility is also built into the project, with the provision of operable walls and zoned lighting enabling the hall to be used as two classrooms when required.
We also faced some unforeseen challenges, as sometime happens. Midway through the design process, significant additional requirements pushed the time and budget of the project to their limits. Hampton SHS’s basic infrastructure was very outdated and needed to be brought up to current code as part of the job. We connected the school to sewer (previously it had been on a leach drain system), provided a new Western Power substation and implemented a fire service where previously there was none. Those parts of the school included in the theatre upgrade were also brought up to current accessibility requirements with the provision of ramps and a unisex equal access toilet.
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Dianella Heights Primary School was built in the 1960’s, and was in desperate need of a new library for its young pupils. As a design for a state school with a tight budget, the project would need to consider not only the immediate construction of the building but also its future maintenance costs.
We began with the Modernist architecture of the surrounding buildings and designed the library to match. A flat, low-pitched roof opposes the slope of the land, making the building quite imposing from the outside and giving the impression that it is rising from the hillside. As a place of learning, the library would need to be engaging for students as well as functional. The furniture and fitout were robust and cost-effective, but also infused with plays of colour and form to make the space interesting and fun for kids. Sections of brick were finished with bright orange paint or tiles, and the smaller children’s furnishings are reminiscent of coloured toy blocks.
Face brickwork and corrugated metal offered a low-cost, low-maintenance solution for the main structure, with low, deep eaves to offer protection from the elements around the entrance. The project also involved installing a new access ramp to connect the existing school with the sports ovals, and a link to the new building on the other side of oval. With so many disparate elements to the project and the school calendar marching on, we were very proud when the library was completed on time and on budget.
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This project, an upgrade of Perth Zoo’s Labouchere Rd entry, consisted of two parts and was a winner at the 2013 RAIA WA Chapter Architecture Awards, in the Small Project Architecture category.
The first component forms part of the nation’s $94million Solar Cities program. We remodelled the Zoo’s bus shelter into a steel-framed solar pergola, which now supports 452 solar panels with a power rating of 145kW. Visitors arriving by bus are greeted by its dynamic galvanised steel frames and playfully constructed columns, creating a unique first impression of the Zoo.
The second part of the project was the upgrade of the main entry. More than a simple canopy, we needed to create a light, airy space to offer much needed shelter to visitors, while also adding to the Zoo’s visual presence from Labouchere Rd. Without the functional restrictions of solar panels, we were able to design a more organic canopy, inspired by the concept of a faceted ‘cloud’ of folding forms floating above the entry. Colour was crucial to the project’s visual impact, so we raised the sheltering structure high on angled yellow poles, creating a playful effect like stilts or the anchors of a giant stretched canvas. Viewed from within, the canopy’s rectangular polycarbonate roof panels are framed with galvanised steel beams, and decorative laser-cut steel screens depict the different sections of fauna inside the Zoo. An irregular layout of battens also diffuses the view skyward and offers filtered shade, replicating the natural dappling of a tree’s canopy or cloud cover. At night this effect is reversed as the entry fills with light from within, becoming a lantern and adding a sense of drama to the approach.
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The proposed Oxford Youth FOYER is a joint partnership between Foundation Housing, Anglicare WA and Central Institute of Technology. The project brings together Chindarsi Architects (Design Architects), GHD Pty Ltd (Project Manager and Engineering Services) and GHD Woodhead (Project Architects). The proposal is consistent with the intentions of the City of Vincent Leederville Town Centre Masterplan & Built Form Guidelines and the Oxford Centre Study, and has been warmly received by the City of Vincent Council. We were also incredibly proud to receive a UDIA Award for Excellence in 2014 for this design, in the Sustainable Urban Development category.
Located on Oxford Street in Leederville within the Central Institute of Technology campus, the FOYER currently provides vital housing and support services for young people. As part of the lively Leederville entertainment precinct, it also offers new spaces for a café, a retail outlet and offices. It is a sizeable project, comprising 98 studio and one-bedroom apartments for up to 74 young people and 24 young parents and their children (aged below 3 years). It also offers on-site support and case worker services, coordinated with education, training facilities and other essential services.
The building is designed to wrap around the south-east corner of the site in a ‘C’ shape. This gives every occupant a view while shielding the west-facing aspect from the worst of the sun. It also creates a large private courtyard for residents to make social connections and enjoy their own ‘backyard’, a crucial part of creating a sense of home for them. The public forecourt also houses the iconic heritage-listed Oxford Street Lemon Scented Gum.
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The Ellenbrook Pavilion houses the change rooms, storage areas, club rooms and kiosk for the adjoining synthetic playing fields – currently the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The facilities are also open for use by the wider public, with the provision of general purpose meeting rooms.
While the design is intended stand alone architecturally, we were also aware that its chief role was as a support building for the main North Pavilion. With this in mind, we developed a humble, pragmatic design which serves the community and gives them a sense of ownership of the space. Simple, hard-wearing materials will withstand daily use, while the unique roof form and bold blocks of colour give it an aspirational, welcoming aspect. The Pavilion is divided into two buildings – the club room and the change room block – connected by a low roof. This not only provides a clear distinction between the different uses of the building, but also reduces the overall size for the purposes of fire engineering – an important consideration with any public works project.
The unique raised skillion roof design delivers an elevated, ‘opening out’ quality to the civic end of the building and allows us to create a strong visual presence for the front and the spectator verandah. This helps to distinguish and clearly identify the pavilion from the roadside and car park, particularly at night, as well as assisting with wayfinding.
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Sanitation is never the most exciting part of a public facility, so we were quite intrigued to take on Perth Zoo’s new Eco Toilet project. More than a necessary amenity for visitors, the aim of the project was to create a practical and convenient facility using ecologically sustainable strategies, including active and passive systems, technologies and materials.
We began with the chief function of the facility: it needed to be an appealing, comfortable space for visitors’ sanitation needs. We built it around the concept of a ‘village’, with a loose collection of pavilion style buildings and a series of interconnected courtyards. The resulting space is fresh, pleasant and natural, without the secluded, dingy ‘cell’ feeling of typical toilet blocks. Natural ventilation is facilitated by the ‘floating’ roof structures, which also allow abundant light in. We balanced this open roof with solid concrete walls, to maintain the necessary sense of privacy for visitors.
We are exceptionally proud of the sustainable nature of the facility, which was awarded a Certificate of Commendation for Excellence in Energy Efficiency at the 2011 MBA Awards. We used recycled wood and plastic composite battens as organic awning features and recycled granulated rubber for the pathways. Concrete blockwork was selected for the walls instead of kiln-fired clay bricks due to its lower embodied energy, and all columns and beams are sustainably sourced LVL timber. The buildings generate their own power with an array of solar panels and an on-site wind turbine, and rainwater collection tanks are situated throughout the facility, with an additional function as privacy screens.
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This 1950’s red brick house was a classic ugly duckling: an unremarkable suburban home with a fantastic location and huge potential. The owners saw this potential and were willing to invest the time and money to transform their house into a beautiful (and award-winning) swan, complete with city views and contemporary outdoor living spaces.
We remodelled the existing house substantially, removing the roof and major walls to make the most of the elevated block with a new multi-level plan. The new master suite and living spaces float above the basement garage and ground level, with wide expanses of glass and high raked ceilings to drink in the city views and give the owners a real sense of space. A dark weatherboard ‘box’ houses the ensuite and walk-in-robe off the master bedroom, also helping to protect the west-facing aspect of the home from the harsh afternoon sun. From within, the owners have a private, mesmerising ‘Ned Kelly’ view of the skyline. Alongside the graceful white wings of the new roof, this box gives the house unique form and a real presence on the street, as well as providing shelter and shade over the entryway.
The owners love Perth’s indoor/outdoor lifestyle and wanted something a little more than the traditional backyard. We designed courtyards to both the front and rear of the property, linked via the timber platform and decking areas through the house. This gives them a sense of effortless movement between the indoor and outdoor spaces, with each sharing a feeling of both openness and seclusion.
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This striking 1930’s Deco Californian bungalow is situated in Menora’s heritage precinct, with its tree-lined streets, expansive verges and heroic two-storey walk-ups. The owners wanted a contemporary addition including a new master bedroom, laundry, bathroom, kitchen and living area, without compromising the look and feel of the existing home. They also loved the beautiful established backyard, and wanted to make better use of it with the new section of the house.
Our design retains the majority of the existing house, effectively hiding the modern extension from street view. This judicious approach also kept costs down and allowed the owners to use higher quality finishes for the interiors. We maintained the sense of grandness they loved as well as the Deco aesthetic of the house with a palette of chromed metal, black gloss surfaces, red face brickwork, white gloss steel and rich timber finishes. The new section is extensively glazed and allows the owners to enjoy views of the gorgeous magnolias, chestnuts and camellias of the backyard. It also drops down a level from the framed floating timber floor of the original house, giving a real sense of ‘returning to ground’ when walking barefoot between the two.
Angled support columns give the new outdoor space dramatic perspective which draws the living areas into the garden. The new verandah’s framework also helps to unite the new section of the house with the outdoors: in time the garden will quite literally become part of the home as climbing plants grow along the cabled steel. We also kept the home’s established rose bushes safely off-site during construction and relocated them – with pride of place – to the new entry planter.
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This unique North Perth property is situated on the corner of Kyilla Park. The original c.1928 transition Indian-Californian bungalow was very characteristic of the area, developed mostly in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and the owner wanted to modernise and reimagine the home without losing its defining style.
The design centred on the addition of a small loft extension at the rear of the existing house, to create more room and capture more of the outdoor spaces within the main structure. The sculptured shape of the new loft scoops light and air right into the heart of the plan, while complementing the traditional pitched roof form of the surrounding homes. A lot of the Art Deco elements which appealed to the owner in the original house were recreated in the addition, from the shard-like roof form to the patterning of the laser-cut porch screens and fences. This creates a sense of continuity between the old and the new, without blurring the line between them. A courtyard and a flat-roofed glazed link form a bridge between the two halves, with a Japanese maple and a Zen garden creating a peaceful centre beside the stairs.
The addition also provides for many aspects of contemporary lifestyles which the original home did not. The generous outside area offers space for entertaining and enjoying the warm WA evenings, while remaining protected from the harsh afternoon sun. A cleverly constructed study nook offers seclusion and compact storage, and the new bathroom and kitchen are built to accommodate modern technologies, with beautiful materials and clean surfaces.
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