Client Name: Lavalla Catholic College
Area: 815m²
Construction Budget: $1.6m
Builder: Becon Constructions
Slap Architects were engaged to design a project that fulfilled the College’s requirement for a new education building that showcased their practical, graphic and technology based arts programs. Part of the brief was to create a building that was distinctly contemporary on the existing campus.
The building comprises a low rectangular brick form that houses the classrooms and that is sympathetic to the surrounding buildings architecture and materials. A pyramid roof rises from its centre and forms the dynamic central gallery area below. Due to the requirement for the classrooms to use the wall space extensively, the external windows were placed above the surrounding benches and used to emphasise the horizontal.
The building contains 4 classrooms with a central corridor that is also the gallery space with a ceiling that rises towards an apex with skylights at both ends. The gallery displays the students work, making it available to both the public and school community as required. There are also associated service areas.
The central gallery area is a play of dark and light colours, positive and negative light formed by the skylights and the high ceiling. The classrooms use orange and green colours to distinguish them and to generate lively, creative spaces. The classrooms are open plan and regularly have the furniture arranged so that the space can be used for different education modes from traditional based teaching, to group based or individual arrangements.
Slap Architects acknowledges the Gunaikurnai People, the Traditional Owners of the land on which Slap Architects stands. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in East Gippsland, and their Elders past, present and emerging.