22
Vision Magazine
Sustainability has been on everyone’s lips for a
long time. How do you work that here?
We wanted to make it a breathable building. Every
one of the major areas in the building can open up
and be naturally ventilated. It’s almost like digging
back into the past to imagine the future. Operable
facades were very big in the ’60s and ’70s before
they became fully sealed by the ’80s.
Did you have a particular ratio of window to wall
area in mind with this design?
We aimed for around 30% and ended up with
almost 35% with the larger openings. This was as
much a limitation of the pre-cast, as there are only
so many holes before it becomes a clip-on system.
There are of course huge areas of glass outside of
the pre-cast system.
So how are those windows changing the way
occupants and visitors experience that linked
experience of environment and education?
We took specific views. For example, the view
towards the specimen eucalypt just beyond the
moat has a figurative window that focuses totally
upon the vista to the tree rather than copying it as
a motif. We use a type of geometric system across
the building that really breaks from the standard
grid and we hope gives it a generous nature. Glass
technology is changing. It seems to be more
affordable than ever and allows for very beautiful
expanses. The glazed treatments throughout the
building elicit a fantastic response for our client.
Above
West elevation celebrates the
podium for informal meeting/study
and effectively expands the building’s
squashed doughnut footprint.
Bridge Builder