FIRST FLOOR PLAN
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
Bute Lane . The size of the building was such that the architects wanted to create a unified ground floor which was bigger than the upper portion of the slab . To overcome this , a new suspended ‘ bond-dek ’ slab was created that floats over the lower portion of the existing concrete slab . It also created a useful void space for dealing with the new services from the building .
The different uses that the architects wanted to incorporate into the building all had their own unique design requirements and the building needed to be flexible enough to accommodate all of these while also remaining economically viable . This was achieved by creating a central services core that then supplied the various different use areas on the different floors , freeing up the bulk of the floor plate to be used as necessary .
One of the big organisational questions was around where to position the EduCentre . Initial thinking was that it needed to be situated on the ground floor to accommodate an external play area . This created a clash as the piazza space is used through the day by staff , and is fully open to the public . The counter intuitive solution was to lift the EduCentre to the second floor , and create an open air play area on that floor . This allowed the security question to be resolved while also given maximum freedom of use of the space to the EduCentre . The play area is wrapped by the running track on level 3 which creates a shaded zone . To enhance the sense of exterior , a 4m high olive tree was planted in the centre of the play area to provide shade and a sense of the natural environment . To make sure there are no safety concerns the play area is enclosed on all sides by floor to ceiling glass , but is open to the sky .
Sustainability The building is designed and constructed in line with Green Star SA principles and has recently achieved a 4-Star certification under the Public and Education Building scheme . The mixeduse development provides additional utility and promotes health and wellbeing to the Merchant Place Campus community .
Enhanced indoor environment quality is achieved through increased ventilation rates , glare control elements , optimised external views and connection to nature , thermally comfortable
776 8 Merchant Place