Secondary 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
Secondary Education Spaces
Contents
Our studio
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Our people
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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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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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Images of our Geelong and Melbourne studios. Photography | Hilary Walker
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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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Secondary 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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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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Secondary 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 Secondary Education spaces we’ve created
Secondary Education Spaces
Edmund Rice Centre CLIENT Emmanuel College, Warrnambool FACILITY TYPE Dedicated Year 9 Centre TRADITIONAL LAND Gunditjmara and Eastern Maar
The building is designed around the A dedicated school’s pedagogical model, ‘9 at Rice’, which emphasises three interconnected Wisdom, Communications, Year 9 facility domains: and Discovery. Each zone features large collaborative spaces or studios inspired for 250 by artists’ studios. students, the The centre supports project-based through dedicated spaces Edmund Rice learning for arts, food technology, media, and workshops. Centre is a complete a capstone project school within Students that integrates their studies across the three core domains, culminating in a year-end exhibition in the breakout areas. a school, and A fully enclosed multipurpose court a transition supports physical education and provides space for the entire Year 9 cohort to between junior agather. and senior education. 10
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The building’s curved yet robust form follows the natural contours of the site.
Studios open onto a central reflective courtyard, while project-based spaces on the lower level connect to a functional working courtyard. To minimize bulk and maximize space, the double-storey indoor court is set into the side of the hill, which is a remnant sand dune. We selected the rust-red cladding to reflect the roof of the historic convent building at the school’s centre and the common red rooftops throughout the Warrnambool region. Photography | Dan Farrar & Nicholson Construction (drone) 11
Secondary Education Spaces
Middle Years Learning Centre CLIENT Westbourne Grammar School FACILITY TYPE Dedicated Middle Years Centre TRADITIONAL LAND Bunurong and Wadawurrung
Westbourne’s Middle Years facility accommodates over 800 students within 32 general learning areas.
The facility also houses dedicated project spaces, staff work areas and the school’s health and wellbeing centre. The building features a light-filled, multilevel central zone organised around two large atria. Our design approach was guided by the concept of ‘a world within a world’. We designed immersive spaces that foster creativity, imagination, and personal growth. The building reflects the spirit of the school community and emphasises collaborative learning. These spaces encourage connections across year levels and staff, promoting a vibrant sense of togetherness. A ‘soft grand’ aesthetic defines this building and will inform future projects. We used natural materials and prioritised light and fresh air to create healthy environments for students and staff.
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The building’s form reflects the sculpted granite ridges of the nearby You Yangs, with entry points marked by cracks and crevices. Inspired by Australian artist Fred Williams’ depictions of the western plains, the building’s shape and colour reflect the surrounding landscape. The tower anchors the building within the school, while open ground-level edges connect to an external boulevard, welcoming students inside.
Photography | Dan Farrar 13
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Huntingtower PAC CLIENT Huntingtower School FACILITY TYPE Performing Arts Centre TRADITIONAL LAND Wurundjeri
design features a curved, precast Huntingtower’s Our façade, cantilevered and curved stairways, high-level steel gantries, and state-of-the a segmented, acoustic curtain wall with glazing that spans the full height art performing faceted of the two-tiered auditorium. Our dramatic, drum-shaped building has arts centre is a significant visual impact. It sits at the of the school and presents a curved structure entrance strong and impressive public interface. . featuring unique design elements.
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Huntingtower believes that music and performance have lasting benefits for students. Hence, the new Performing Arts Centre was a critical addition to the campus, pedagogically, physically and as a legacy to future generations of students. Our brief was to design a fully functioning theatre with a 750-seat auditorium and ability to accommodate a 160-person choir and full orchestra. The space needed to be suitable for music, performance and school assembly. Not only did we deliver beautiful interiors that accommodate sight lines and acoustic parameters, we ensured that quality materials and finishes added ambience and distinction to the spaces and building overall.
Photography | Peter Clarke 15
Secondary Education Spaces
Science and Arts Centre CLIENT St Francis’ Catholic College FACILITY TYPE Science and Arts Centre TRADITIONAL LAND Wurundjeri, Wadawarrung, and Bunurong
St Francis Catholic Secondary College in Cobblebank, Victoria, is a significant new education facility for 1,500 students.
We are the architects for a triptych of buildings located on the plains west of Melbourne. Drawing inspiration from famed Australian artist Jeffrey Smart’s compositions that feature bold block colours on flat landscapes, we’ve created a suite of buildings with individual identities that also read as one.
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A triple suite of buildings for a greenfields Catholic college.
Stage 1 was completed in 2024. It caters for the initial cohort of 600 students in a Year 7-9 facility as well as the first half of a science, music and science building. Stage 2 is the creativity hub, which is just finished. This building is a lively, active and hard-working facility where students can collaborate across creative disciplines and exchange ideas. From Food Technology to Material Technology, the building houses kitchens and makerspaces that
Photography | Peter Clarke 17
Secondary Education Spaces
St Claire Performing Arts Centre CLIENT Padua College, Mornington FACILITY TYPE Performing Arts Centre TRADITIONAL LAND Bunurong
We designed a building where inquisitive Interdisciplinary in minds could flourish and where talent nature, versatile in could be nurtured. function, the St Claire As the music teaching repertoire is a of contemporary and classical, Centre contains varied blend we created flexible spaces where all genres could be comfortably taught and spaces for creating, performed. collaborating, learning, The largest space is the black box theatre, performing and which is contemporary in look and feel, versatile in function and layout, and researching. technically state-of-the-art.
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Secondary Education Spaces
Spaces are connected via generous circulation with a foyer space that is super activated at all times. Breakout spaces support the college’s philosophy of sharing art and music internally and with the wider community.
Photography | Peter Clarke
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Secondary Education Spaces
The Coolock Centre CLIENT Padua College, Mornington FACILITY TYPE Junior Years Centre TRADITIONAL LAND Bunurong
Padua’s Coolock Centre We created a distinctive building in a Y-shaped form, home to 550 year 7 and functions as a ‘school 8 students. Featuring curved parapets, the building directly addresses site within a school’, constraints such as coastal winds, an providing a structured adjacent oval and easements. The building’s massing creates a and supported sheltered junior student gathering space. transition into A naturally weathering shingle-clad façade and defining loggias establish the secondary education. junior precinct while maintaining visual connections to the wider campus.
Internally, the building is organised into three wings. The three first floors house six general learning areas, reflecting the College’s house system. Central breakout spaces bring the students together. The ground floor wing contains key services like wellbeing, learning enhancement, and administration, with coordinator offices positioned for pastoral care. The ground floor is also home to the science labs and STEM teaching programs. 20
Secondary Education Spaces
A central, multi-purpose hub, carved from the building mass with an overhead oculus, serves as the building’s heart and is the place for assemblies, lectures, and community events. It features a flexible, 140-seat ampitheatre that adapts to support out of school hours activities. Designed collaboratively by our architects working with the school’s leadership and educators, we aligned the building to Padua’s vision. We integrated sustainability measures such as solar design, high insulation and natural ventilation. The landscape features outdoor learning spaces. The resulting centre is a durable and sculptural architectural response that transforms site constraints into a distinctive and joyful campus presence.
Photography | Peter Clarke
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Bishop Joe Grech Centre & Marian Arts Centre CLIENT Notre Dame College, Shepparton FACILITY TYPE Science Centre & Arts Centre TRADITIONAL LAND Yorta Yorta
This state-of-theart learning facility consolidates three former science centres into one specialist precinct.
Notre Dame College commissioned us to strengthen the school’s presence along Knight Street with a contemporary design that enhanced the urban context. The school also needed a future-focused facility to support their longer-term enrolment projection of approximately 1,750 students across its three campuses. The resultant building accommodates two junior houses on the ground floor, providing future amenity for the flourishing co-educational college.
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Secondary Education Spaces
The two-storey building features a long, low form set back six metres to align with neighbouring heritage, educational, and commercial buildings, complementing the streetscape. The building’s funnel-shaped plan, inspired by local Indigenous eel traps, incorporates a central circulation spine. Openable glazed doors connect to outdoor learning areas, softening the building’s scale. A lighter-coloured upper storey clad in white Terraçade tiles reduces visual height impact. We selected materials like red brick and Terraçade to harmonise with existing campus buildings and ensure low maintenance. The chemical symbol for love features on the building’s exterior. Photography | Peter Clarke 23
Secondary Education Spaces
Lockesley Art & Music Centre CLIENT Ivanhoe Grammar School FACILITY TYPE Arts Centre TRADITIONAL LAND Wurundjeri
We designed the upgrade of Locksley House as a joyous, light-filled creative hub.
Ivanhoe Grammar’s Locksley House is governed by a heritage overlay. So, our design solution needed to satisfy strict heritage requirements. Although the building is only two storeys, there are four distinct levels. The new facility incorporates a lift providing accessible entry to all levels. We designed a new glazed entry that incorporates a bold, colourful character. We concentrated on the opportunities that the internal spaces could offer. For example, we reinstated unused stairs linking the ground floor to the lower ground and swimming pool. This reformed pathway connected students to new music practice rooms, percussion studios and recording rooms on the lower ground floor.
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The project maximises sustainability by maintaining much of the existing building fabric and only refurbishing where necessary.
A strong emphasis on acoustic design and IT connectivity brings the heritage centre into the 21st century. On the first floor, we’ve opened up the rooms to create Studio Arts and Visual Communications facilities as a series of collaborative learning studios separated by timber clad pods containing staff facilities, meeting rooms and storage areas. We’ve retained and exposed the existing timber trusses giving the creative spaces ambience, warmth and drama.
Photography | Peter Clarke 25
Secondary Education Spaces
Our approach to Secondary 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