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design
mag |
63
The Hale School is Western Australia’s
oldest private boys’ school, founded in
1858. Its alumni includes mining magnate
Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest whose family
name adorns the school’s new teaching
and learning precinct.
The Forrest Library is at the centre of a
cluster of buildings linked by patios and
colonnades.The building structure is a
concrete frame with glazing and
limestone masonry at the ground level
and lightweight cladding commencing
above the window heads.
As well as a 1500 square metre library, the
$16 million complex houses an IT centre,
27 classrooms, student cafe, meeting
rooms, uniform shop and support rooms.
The overall building is rectilinear but
punctuated with pop-out, semi-circular
classrooms which CHRISTOU describe as
“a tool to encourage students to group
and collaborate.”
Again,Terraçade was chosen as the
cladding material for its low maintenance
requirements and clean, natural aesthetic
which blends with the character of the
exiting campus, especially the adjoining
brick dining hall.The colonnade pillars are
also clad in Terraçade over precast
concrete.The colour chosen, Gibson, is
again in the traditional terracotta spectrum
but more towards orange.
Possibly the most unusual feature of this
building is the use of Italian-made extruded
terracotta louvres, set at fixed angles and
supported on concealed steel frames.
The Forrest Library is a flexible facility that
promotes individual and group learning
and caters to today’s more wide-ranging
teaching demands.The selection and
detailing of materials demonstrates
craftsmanship and quality of the first order.
The Forrest Library won the AIA (WA
Chapter) 2010 Design Award for Public
Architecture.
from left.
The precast
colonnade pillars are clad in
Terraçade facade tiles, adding
colour and texture.Although
the building is largely
rectilinear, the complex also
features pop-out semi-circular
classrooms shaded with
Italian-made terracotta louvres.
Hale School