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design
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19
Principal design architect Rob McBride and
interior architect Debbie Lyn Ryan chose the
materials for this project very carefully because
of the civic significance of projects of this
nature.
“I love brick because it lasts. So much that
is built in our world is short term. Brick
demonstrates a belief in the future. Public
buildings were once the centre of a community
and the buildings showed it.A school, a church,
a bank and a pub would make a town.They
were stable, solid and lavish compared to other
buildings.What do we value as a society
today?” Ryan contends.“Penleigh and
Essendon Grammar School is predominantly
BER funded. I think we have given the school
something that has value: It has meaning, it is
knitted into its neighbourhood and I hope it will
last.We intended to show that this building is
important and in turn that education is
important.
“Brick allowed us expression – its size allowed us
to shape easily with a standard component.The
component comes in many finishes; the black
glazed brick was perfect for `the upsized
silhouette’ of the Federation house – not quite
residential, not quite institutional, a new hybrid.
Pure silhouette, no articulation, no windows
– just black shiny bricks.The west facade has
the stripes of the Federation grandstand – the
brick seats with a view over the playing fields for
generations to come.”
MCR’s Fitzroy High School project stands proud
with a multi glazed brick curvilinear forms which
is a fitting reflection of the school’s pioneering
new teaching methods.
Facing the climate challenge
We are again in a time of housing crisis and
contemporary Australian architects are
reinterpreting many of these ideas in
interesting ways.
Today’s designers however are facing the
fresh challenge of climate change and the
important role that housing design and
material selection can make.
“The environmental potential of bricks can be
maximised if their thermal mass is designed for,”
comments sustainability architect Scott Willey.
“With brick’s ability to store warmth and ‘coolth’,
building bricks into the interior can help make
us more comfortable at home by evening out
day/night swings in temperature.This means
warmer winter nights and cooler summer days.
To boost this effect, allow low-angle winter sun
into the interior on sunny days. In summer, the
sun should be excluded. Opening windows
overnight when the air is coolest (usually the
hours after midnight), allows for the stored heat
to be purged.”
Of all the material choices, wall selection
accounts for 60 to70 percent of the thermal
mass of the building, with the floor largely
accounting for the balance. Generally, the
more thermal mass the better.A well-designed
double brick or masonry home on a concrete
slab offers the highest potential comfort
benefits and energy savings.
The architectural community has long
understood the changing nature of the city to
a denser, more design-conscious urban centre.
To meet this evolving need the brick industry is
changing not just its products but the way it
does business.
Melbourne’s population growth and the
growing awareness that we need to live within
the existing infrastructure footprint has led to
densification of the inner city, a pattern that is
being repeated in Australia’s other capital
cities. Retro fitting and reworking infill sites is
big business. Inner city local government
authorities have recognised that housing
demand can be met by rethinking many of
the underutilised/undeveloped sites or
redundant light industrial sites.
To meet the challenge of growing from a
city of three million people Melbourne, for
example, is undergoing a complete
renaissance to one of potentially eight million
by 2080, more akin to major European cities
such as Barcelona or Berlin.
Four architectural responses
A series of clever projects have been
designed by leading architects who have
demonstrated foresight in not only meeting
the challenge of a changing city, the
demands of designing for climate change
and affordability but also making buildings of
real civic meaning.
McBride Charles Ryan’s recent AIA award
winning Penleigh and Essendon Grammar
School project is a striking building in itself.
However, what is not commonly appreciated
from the glamorous photos is that this project
has very clever passive design features that
are intimately linked to a major architectural
feature, a black glazed brick wall.
The extruded silhouette is an amorphous
cloud-like form that allows the internal spaces
to be passively cooled by drawing in air from
the south façade and expelling hot air
through a thermal chimney, thereby creating
a source of light and a means of naturally
ventilating the classroom spaces.