Sacred Heart College Middle School

The design objective was to provide buildings that were sensitive to, and took reference from the collection of existing 1960s institutional school buildings.  Reference was made to the materiality of these buildings and to the structural rhythm evident in their facades.

Part of a more extensive development that involved a new Administration Building and Technology Block, the buildings were conceived as an addition to the existing campus rather than an intervention, extending the existing pattern of linear blocks shaped to form courtyards. 

Within this pattern the Middle School seeks to establish its own territory. The relationship between the new Middle School and the other buildings represents the actual programmatic and organisational condition whereby the younger boys are separated but still part of the larger institution. 

The last of three new courtyards created in the overall project is the outdoor area in the north-facing crook of the Middle School wing, a series of sunny platforms that step firmly down a small hill.  It is designed to provide the younger pupils with a separate homebase and identity.

The new classrooms are grouped around the courtyard and are designed as uncomplicated spaces with large sliding doors opening onto exterior walkways which connect them to one another and also back to the main school.

Project Sheet

• Project Sheet