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The experience of place is obviously key.
This isn’t the Arts Centre in St Kilda Road and isn’t the
local hall. It has to find itself somewhere in the middle.
It still needs a sense of occasion. When visitors arrive at
this building as a parent or a student, they experience a
certain “wow”. It’s not overcooked, but it does give a sense
that this building treats the idea of dramatic events as
part of its assemblage.
Glass has an important role because it’s much more than
a game of appearances or performance. It has to meet
environmental and aesthetic standards in one sweep.
That’s true. The south-facing foyer has a significant
advantage because it means glass has a reduced heat load
problem. Southerly light is much softer and very suited to
this large interior volume. We devoted a lot of time to the
foyer glazing which is really a very long, linear, wrapping
element linking the two main performance boxes.
Did the school have a point of view about your
use of glass here?
We were very keen, and the school was enthusiastic
about glass because these gathering spaces are used so
extensively during the day and shouldn’t need lighting to
enter that foyer space. I think they were willing to see what
we could achieve with the material and were convinced
of the benefits.
ProfilitTM is a very distinctive product and treatment.
It Is beautiful. We have tried to use it on other occasions
and so are very pleased to finally do so. This installation
is perfect. It’s an interlocking, double-plank system with
excellent thermal performance with a very soft, diffused
light. The idea is a low-level viewing window with a
continuous seat inside and out. People typically gravitate
to the edges and here they are really beautiful. The foyer
links to the landscape which is a sea of green. The
LED back-lighting to the ProfilitTM makes the floor and
ceiling appear to hover.
Viridian’s Seraphic™ Standard
in Night Sky and Brilliant White
Colour-back glazing contributes
a reflective lustre in the foyer.