Primary Education Spaces OUR CONTACTS Steven Cortese | 0414 458 448 | scortese@bcarchitects.com.au Shirley Cooper | 0414 786 921 | scooper@bcarchitects.com.au
www.bcarchitects.com.au
Primary Education Spaces
Contents
Our studio
03
Our people
05
Spaces we’ve created
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the spaces and places where we work, and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We honour the design ingenuity of First Peoples over millennia, their unique contribution to our understanding of place, and care for the Country on which we create.
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Primary Education Spaces
Our studio
39 years young. City and regionally based.
Our collaborative approach.
We’re Baldasso Cortese, a 45-strong architecture, interior design and master planning practice based in Naarm, Melbourne and Djiling, Geelong.
Our collaborative team focuses on designing and delivering projects with community at the heart.
Founded by Anthony Baldasso and Steven Cortese, our practice is well known for the depth and diversity of our portfolio. We have completed master plans and built projects across aged care, child care, colleges, community centres, health centres, schools, and social housing. We are also experts in commercial and retail rollout projects.
We work at the intersection of people, place, and wellbeing. Each project is thoughtfully designed with the client’s needs and surroundings at the forefront. We create spaces that connect people … the practical, emotional and social spaces between us.
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Primary Education Spaces
Images of our Geelong and Melbourne studios. Photography | Hilary Walker
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Primary Education Spaces
Our people
Our people make great spaces.
Our diverse workplace.
Our strength as a design and delivery partner comes from our talented, committed team.
We encourage individual voices, and a workplace culture that champions equity, diversity and inclusion.
We bring together diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences across urban and regional contexts.
This enables true design innovation, underpinned by our shared vision and values.
This shared understanding helps us listen closely, connect with our clients and work collaboratively to deliver successful project outcomes.
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Primary Education Spaces
Meet our Education sector leaders
STEVEN CORTESE Co-Founder and Design Director Registered Architect, Victoria Steven co-founded BC with Anthony Baldasso nearly 40 years ago. Since then, he has led the design and delivery of numerous care projects in Victoria, NSW, and New Zealand. He is BC’s Education lead. Steve is an inspirational mentor to both established and emerging architects at the practice. He maintains strong ties with the University of Melbourne, his alma mater, and serves as Chair of the Newman College Council’s Building Committee, a co-educational residential college affiliated with the University. Steve is a strong advocate for First Nations partnerships and environmentally sustainable design. He believes intelligent design can reduce operational costs while enhancing wellbeing.
ANTHONY BALDASSO Co-Founder and Executive Chair Registered Architect, Victoria Anthony believes that the best projects come from lasting relationships built on trust and integrity. He knows that when passion and ability coincide, great people deliver great results. Anthony holds a Bachelor of Architecture (Honours) from the University of Melbourne and has been practising continuously since graduating. Combining his design skills with his passion for strategic planning, finance, and team building in architecture, Anthony has pursued management training. He is a member of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and the Order of Malta KMG. He has served as Deputy Chair of Zimele, an Edmund Rice Foundation Charity, and Deputy Chair of Sacred Heart College Geelong’s School Advisory Committee. He was also Chair of the College’s Planning and Facilities Subcommittee.
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Primary Education Spaces
Meet our Education sector leaders
SHIRLEY COOPER
TIM PYKE
Principal, Interiors | Geelong
Principal, Design Lead Registered Architect, Victoria
Based at our Geelong studio, Shirley leads education sector interior projects across Victoria. She designs and delivers refined, learning space interiors for our clients.
Tim is an award-winning architect and BC’s Design Lead across care, community, education and health sectors.
With over 20 years of experience across various project types, Shirley collaborates with teams to develop award-winning and highly refined interior solutions. Shirley ensures each interior space is environmentally sustainable, welcoming, tailored to the client’s needs and vision, and beautiful to live in.
In addition to his refined design approach, Tim is an expert in 3D modelling, allowing him to resolve complex spatial issues efficiently. Tim leads our Reconciliation Action Plan working group and facilitates regular internal design critiques, bringing together diverse perspectives to explore ideas for ongoing projects. For the past 15 years, Tim has led RMIT’s Design Studio (Masters and Bachelor-level programs).
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Primary Education Spaces
Meet our Education sector leaders
NICOLE MECKAROFF Senior Project Architect | Melbourne Registered Architect, Victoria
REBECCA HUYNH
Nicole has over 20 years’ experience delivering education and community projects.
Rebecca has been with BC for over ten years, starting as an Architectural Graduate. She earned a Master of Architecture in architecture and environmental design from the University of Melbourne. As a Student Ambassador for the Faculty of Architecture for nearly three years, she demonstrated strong interpersonal and participatory skills.
At BC, Nicole manages a portfolio of P-12 education projects for both faith-based and independent schools. She is adept at facilitating workshops with stakeholders, user groups, and design teams on brief development, strategy development, and project delivery. Nicole is a strong advocate for justice and equality and is a member of BC’s Reconciliation Action Plan working group. Her industry involvement includes serving as the Australian representative for the International Union of Architects’ Education and Cultural Spaces Work Program. She was a former president of Architects for Peace.
Architect | Melbourne Registered Architect, Victoria
At BC, Rebecca is a dedicated and enthusiastic educational architect. Her calm approach to project management is a key asset, and clients consistently praise her steady presence on-site and in meetings. Rebecca is fluent in Cantonese, English, and Vietnamese, which enables her to communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
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A selection of Primary Education spaces we’ve created
Primary Education Spaces
Parkhill Primary School CLIENT Parkhill Primary School/VSBA FACILITY TYPE Primary School Upgrade TRADITIONAL LAND Wurundjeri and Bunurong
Apart from Parkhill Primary School’s Administration Building and Hall, the campus, was previously a teacher training facility, comprised mostly of relocatable buildings concealed behind bricked up walls.
These buildings spanned the site from east to west, partially framing a formal a central courtyard, but also bisecting the campus from front to rear. There was no connectedness between the oval, playground and views to the south to the prime gathering space in the entry courtyard. Student toilets were in a separate building across campus. The buildings were worn and outmoded, contained asbestos, mould, insular and compartmentalised classrooms, which did not support current day pedagogical approaches.
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Primary Education Spaces
The replacement buildings are light timber and steel framed, clad with brick and Innowood, with interconnected teaching spaces, and surrounded by generous decks that respond to significant trees. Photography | Peter Clarke
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Primary Education Spaces
Amsleigh Park Primary School CLIENT Amsleigh Park Primary School/VSBA FACILITY TYPE Primary School Upgrade TRADITIONAL LAND Wurundjeri and Bunurong
Amsleigh Park Primary The existing buildings, with their individual classrooms, no longer suit School is a school today’s way of teaching and learning. with an historical Our design has enabled the provision of an exciting contemporary educational two to three storey environment that includes a focus on the development of a Professional Learning building and a cluster Community (PLC). Working in a PLC of old Bristol classroom facilitates the development of collective efficacy, enabling teachers to work more buildings. The school collaboratively on the design of teaching whilst also building their occupies a site that has programs, capacity as teachers. good permeability to As a result of our work, the school’s teaching programs are more consistent the surrounding area. across classes and teachers take shared responsibility for student learning outcomes. All elements of the school’s design brief in the educational rationale were well incorporated into the design features.
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Primary Education Spaces
The interconnected learning spaces now function as intended and exceed expectations in terms of flexibility, accessibility, and comfort.
Bringing all students in a year level together, enhanced team teaching, and breaking into targeted teaching groups. Transitioning between spaces is both easy and practical, with high quality operable doors meaning that spaces can be quickly opened.
Photography | Peter Clarke 13
Primary Education Spaces
Glowrey Catholic Primary School CLIENT Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) FACILITY TYPE Primary School TRADITIONAL LAND Wurundjeri and Taungurung
Glowrey Catholic Primary School’s Stage Two works include a new learning community building incorporating nine classrooms, project space and a variety of breakout spaces at the heart of the plan.
New landscaping including green play spaces, planting, sandpit and playgrounds will surround the new building and create a new central focus on the campus. The design of the new building contrasts with the existing stage one building. A singular skillion roof form is angled and splayed in a plan to provide shade in summer and sunlight in winter to the external walls and windows whilst highlevel pop-up windows bring light into the centralised breakout spaces.
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Expressed columns on the perimeter of the building and batten screen frame the deep loggia spaces that encircle the building, providing shelter and a variety of gathering spaces. A warm, enclosed ‘cave’ has been created in the central breakout space, creating a threshold and transition between the two larger open breakout spaces and providing a place for focused small group work. Highlighted in red and framed by faceted panels, the ‘cave’ provides a very special and unique experience at the heart of the interior, contrasting against the clean bright lines of the main spaces.
Photography | Peter Clarke 15
Primary Education Spaces
St James’ Catholic Primary School CLIENT St James’ CPS, Brighton FACILITY TYPE Primary School Upgrade TRADITIONAL LAND Bunurong
The St James Catholic At the heart of this transformation is the reinterpretation of existing building stock, Primary School into bright modern teaching and learning The existing facilities were modernisation project facilities. enclosed, and opaque in a traditional classroom format. The school wanted was ambitious. We facilities that had lots of transparency renovated 50% of the and connectedness with breakout opportunities. school while it was still school footprint is tightly constrained operating. A necessary The and located over two adjacent sites split by a public laneway. modernisation as Our idea was to connect them together the existing learning via an internal air bridge over the lane, areas significantly dubbed the ‘Sky Bridge’. Crucially, the bridge allowed the students to travel deteriorated. safely between the two parts of the school and create additional breakout spaces.
Photography | Peter Clarke 16
Primary Education Spaces
St Monica’s Catholic Primary School CLIENT St Monica’s CPS, Moonee Ponds FACILITY TYPE Primary School Upgrade TRADITIONAL LAND Wurundjeri
The St Monica’s Middle School and Senior School project represents the completion of a Master Plan prepared in 2009.
The objective had been to modernise the existing Edwardian school building to accommodate 390 students across four year levels. We designed new learning environments to be highly permeable through creative planning, making large openings in previously solid walls. The newly interconnected spaces create a great sense of community. Classrooms now open into shared learning spaces enabling students to explore new ways of working together. This project carefully integrates the existing building fabric, reconfiguring the courtyard into an internal modern learning space that will operate as a single facility.
Photography | Peter Clarke 17
Primary Education Spaces
Our Lady of the Southern Cross Primary School CLIENT Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) FACILITY TYPE Primary School TRADITIONAL LAND Wurundjeri and Bunurong
In response, a flexible and adaptable Our brief was to learning space has been created, create a learning incorporating environmentally sustainable design features. It encompasses group community to support discussion areas for large or small groups, multi media, a study/resource area, play a student-centred areas and a performance space. learning approach for Acknowledging the future direction of 150 primary school education, innovative design has replaced formal classrooms with far more effective children. flexible learning spaces suited to a range of learning styles within a varied curriculum.
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Primary Education Spaces
The learning space is surrounded by support facilities such as: science, art and music, as well as staff and student amenities.
Photography | Peter Clarke
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Primary Education Spaces
St Mary of the Cross Mackillop Primary School CLIENT Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) FACILITY TYPE Primary School TRADITIONAL LAND Bunurong
We brought together current ideas in contemporary learning, community engagement, sustainability, and technology to create a community hub.
The first stage in the master plan is designed to accommodate 250 students. An inclusive design process with the Catholic Education Office, Parish and School community has led to the creation of a flexible-agile learning environment interconnected with specialist spaces and outdoor learning areas.
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Primary Education Spaces
Two scultptural ‘Bee Hives’ are a main focus within the two learning areas. These create opportunities for group and individual learning. The transparency of the ‘Bee Hives’ maintains connectivity as well as being playful and giving scale to learning.
Photography | Peter Clarke 21
Primary Education Spaces
Our approach to Primary Education design
We’ve created more than 200 learning spaces for schools across Victoria, and beyond. While every project is a tailored and unique response to community, heritage, pedagogy, site and vision, our learning spaces consistently feature the following elements: •
Colour play that invigorates
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Creative use of space and materiality to spark moments of joy
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Environmentally sensitive design that addresses climate, light, planting, and sustainable materials
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Learning spaces that reflect a deep understanding of our educational client’s individual pedagogy
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Narratives or storytelling based on the school’s history and values, or both
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Optimised site orientation to make use of natural features and climate
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Smart incorporation of technology
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Universal accessibility
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Thank you. Level 1, 103 Oxford Street, Yálla-birr-ang, Collingwood VIC 3066 83a Little Malop Street, Djiling, Geelong VIC 3220 (D) + 61 3 9090 2604 studio@bcarchitects.com.au www.bcarchitects.com.au ABN: 71 445 953 215 Registered Architect, VIC #50201