The Senior Years Centre is a 3 story building and provides general learning areas, specialist science facilities and a 60 seat lecture theatre for Years 9-12 students and staff at Marist College. The building has external access at two levels, utilising the sites steepness. A double height atrium spine runs through the buildings heart and draws light into the deep floor plan.
The east wing accommodates the specialist science facilities with 2 chemistry labs, 1 biology lab and 1 physics/theory space. Each is flexible and multi-functional complemented by a shared science prep room and chemical storage. There is also a break-out meeting room adjacent to the theory space for isolated group discussion.
The ground floor houses the main entry and connects both the east and west wings. It is made up of varied small, medium and large flexible spaces that allow for dynamic group activities with flexibility of movable walls and furniture. Large span structure via a timber truss system and consistent grid layout allows for future layout modifications. All spaces are highly visible for maximum passive supervision and for sharing best practice teaching methods. Acoustics is provided through wall and ceiling treatments, soft furniture, carpets, hanging acoustic baffles and mobile joinery units.
The building provides students and staff with general learning facilities orientated at creating a sense of community. There are 2 large learning studios equivalent to the size of 7 GPLA’s with movable walls and flexible furniture which can be utilized to create make-shift break out spaces for varying teaching and learning scenarios. Entwined in the circulation space between these 2 large areas are communal, flexible break out spaces such as the Incubator, Group Meeting, Think Tank, Open Collaboration, Meeting Rooms and the Kitchen. Each space welcomes groups of students to gather for group or individual work and facilitates student collaboration.
The first floor of the west wing provides another large learning studio similar to the ground floor, and also houses the 60 seat lecture theatre. The theatre cantilevers into the void of the double height atrium on the ground floor.
2018 Best New Educational Facility, Australasia
Champagnat Centre [Senior Centre] at Marist College Bendigo has been recognised by Association for Learning Environment, Australasia Chapter as Best New Individual Educational Facility under $8M
https://learningenvironments.awardsplatform.com/gallery/NBkANaRW/gvbLKRpG?search=deecf0fa2bdd2375-2
Photographs : Leon Schoots Photography ©