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VISION 34— LESSONS IN LIGHT
Tree-like with filleted transparency,
conventional ‘solidity’ is replaced by an
envelope of dissolving elevations and
embraced opportunity. The result is a
school building set for the 21st, rather
than the 19th century. The centre’s three
illuminated levels are dedicated to
knowledge, science and food technology.
A heroic, north-facing elevation of
Viridian glass and steel as broad
blade signals the educational ideals of
transparency and permeable spaces on
the grand and fine scale.
PROJECT
The Gipson Commons,
St Michael’s Grammar, Melbourne
ARCHITECTS & FIT-OUT
Architectus Melbourne
PRINCIPAL GLAZING
Viridian ComfortPlusTM Clear
Viridian Double Glazed Units
TEXT, IMAGES & FILM
Peter & Jenny Hyatt
T
he Gipson Commons sets to work immediately by way
of invitation to ascend and experience truly collegiate
spaces. Despite a boxy plan, little feels or appears boxy at
all. Streamlined elevations connect fluently to the sunlight
and aspect with interiors that unfurl like freshly turned
wood shavings.
Viewed from the adjacent sports fields, or experienced
within, it results in thinking outside of the square. Elegant
glasswork, a bank of central skylights and crafted
transitional spaces contribute a huge sense of release
instead of containment. In all, some clever footwork by
Architectus Melbourne and school principal Simon Gipson,
who is honoured with this building of inventive clarity.
Of all fields of architecture, education is a stand-out,
and mostly for the wrong reasons. Rather than tailored
or bespoke, office blocks and institutions have provided
the phony, ill-suited reference.
The impulse to stake new territory has given rise to the
dull and dreary, rather than bright, nimble solutions.
Generations of school principals, parents committees
and their architects, have repeated the mistake of the
inward-looking, introspective learning environments.
Scan the horizon of most primary and secondary schools
– you can venture to universities too – and the evidence is
in: It has taken far too long for academia to grasp the bigpicture of place in the daily lives and student memory.
St Michael’s effectively realises the North American
journalist Sydney J. Harris’ observation: “The whole
purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
To this end the treatment of clear span double-glazing –
incorporating Viridian ComfortPlusTM Clear – along the
main internal avenue creates an invitation rarely observed
in primary or secondary schools. And the experience
within doesn’t disappoint with thoughtful elevations at
all key compass points. A glazed and projecting veil as
Green wall to the south along Redan Street, for instance,
connects the upper level along the building’s ‘science’
edge to the streetscape.