44
Vision Magazine
Right
Main entrance employs the
glass lantern effect of filtered,
dappled shade.
“IT’S A GOOD TIME
TO BE DOING
ARCHITECTURE IN
THAT THERE ARE
UNPRECEDENTED
POSSIBILITIES.”
Stefan Mees,
Principal Architect JWA
There’s physical and design light and shade rather
than as the one-trick pony. There are many small
moments and details that add an appreciable grain.
SM: e really tried to layer and drape the detailing
W
and this is very evident along Domain Road
where there is the combination of steel and
glass and that layered quality that also has the
fritted glass pattern. Behind that again is some
very careful joinery so hopefully it’s something
that provides plenty of additional, subsequent
readings. Similarly the bricks were specially fired
at the top of the kiln to get that particular colour
and those things all add to overall texture.
You could have easily saved costs by going for a
much cheaper glass and cheaper brickwork for
instance?
JW:
Yes and yet they are the principal elements of
the construction and represent a vast array of
construction technologies, each exemplifying
an intense level of craftsmanship. Over time
there will be maintenance and operational
savings because of their very high performance
values and durability.
The early modernists could only dream about the
kind of materials you use here. The glass is really
beautiful with its tint, frit and varying dimensions.
What was once a fantasy is now a reality.
SM: t’s a good time to be doing architecture in that
I
there are unprecedented possibilities. The two
main glass panels that frame the year 12 area
are huge. They weigh around 700kgs each
and I understand they are among the largest,
single panes of glass on any project in Australia.
We borrowed the biggest crane available in
Melbourne to lower those steel portals into
place. The steelwork cantilevers at least half a
metre or so off the structure and really cradles
the glass beyond the envelope, so there is that
technology of presenting the glass as a veil
rather than simply a curtain wall facade.
pecialist facade advice provided
S
by Con Kantis of Viridian.