Lauriston Girls School
13 september 2019
Project: Lauriston Girls School, Melbourne | Australia
Architect: Selwyn Blackstone Architect, Melbourne | Australia
Fabricator: Hawyn, Richmond | Australia
Installer: Schefman Group, Victoria | Australia
Façade System: Fixed Cassettes
Year of Construction: 2018
Product: ALUCOBOND® PLUS solid & metallic colours Steel Blue 350 + Sunrise Silver Metallic 600
EDUCATION AND EXTENSION
Lauriston Girls’ School, a leading independent school in an idyllic Melbourne suburb, caters for pupils from kindergarten age to their final year, with special emphasis on a holistic personal development programme. Alongside the conventional school syllabus, the focus is also on sport, music and outdoor pursuits. This is reflected in the large sports fields and play areas around the extensive campus. And, because the school was founded one hundred years ago, the campus buildings come in different architectural styles and are linked together by covered or leafy courtyards with numerous shady trees. The campus is still growing: there are more pupils, a wider range of school subjects and very busy spaces. This means buildings need to be extended. But it is not easy to add extensions without destroying the valuable open spaces and leafy areas. So, it was decided that the smallest possible area of courtyard was to be used to create the maximum amount of space for music and study rooms. In addition, the new-build was expected to offer great transparency whilst still providing good und proofing and, despite a very tight construction schedule, to be of a high standard. With these prerequisites in mind, the school management selected prefabricated steel modules. By stacking one of these modules on top of another, two two-storey towers were created and then positioned in front of the existing building. The horizontal design features on the building façade were reiterated in Steel Blue and Sunrise Silver ALUCOBOND® elements on the modules. Four new spaces, measuring approximately 10.5 m² each, are connected by seating steps and a large glass door to the small courtyard, and on the upper floor, there is a seamless link to the existing arcade. The result is not only space-saving and cost-effective, it enhances the ambience in the courtyard. Birchwood and carpeting improve the interior acoustics, insulation panels and an empty space left between the modules improve the soundproofing. Prefabrication, including all interior fittings, took six weeks; the actual assembly on site only ten hours.