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opened to allow daylight - and rain -
into the space, whilst in other areas
the roof is retained in its original
form to provide the prescribed
protection from sun exposure. This
measured variation in enclosure
presents an intriguing blurring of
internal and external spaces.
Innovative detailing employs a
simple palette of robustly finished
timbers which bring both warmth
and economy to the construction,
allowing for site assembly of timber
joinery as well as its potential
disassembly and re-use.
This is a delightful example of
an environment for learning. The
subtle inclusion of elemental shapes
and platonic forms conjure the
playspaces of Aldo van Eyck. As a
whole however, this is the making
of a building which in its nature
could be momentary, as it could be
enduring.
one for the sweeping drama of
the atrium. On entering below
the sculptural void, one feels truly
connected with this large and
sophisticated ‘organism’, expressed
by the blood colours and graphics
of the bounding wall. The six-level
void is defined by the curves of
beautifully-built white-finished
cascading stairs and balconies,
washed in daylight from the roof.
The atrium succeeds as a place
to unite researchers and students,
staff and patients.
Throughout the building, scale
and program are reinterpreted
for the human user, with vistas
to the surrounding landscapes,
excellent daylight and frequent
breakout spaces linked by the
interconnecting stair. The high-tech
‘super lab’, a teaching space for
300 students, celebrates the entire
program as a massive engine-
house of future-focussed learning.
EDUCATIONAL ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE AWARD
Camperdown Childcare creates a
warm and engaging learning and
care facility within the surprising
environs of a former industrial
warehouse. Aptly harmonious, the
interplay between scale, shelter
and material allows a space where
a child’s ability for imagination and
discovery is nurtured.
A series of child-scaled ‘houses’
line the southern wall, this façade
stepping outwards towards the rear
of the warehouse to accommodate
the varying functions for different
ages of children. A low ceiling to
these spaces provides enclosure
and protection, with openings to
temper light, warmth and noise as
required, as well as being a strong
datumwithin the warehouse
structure.
These playrooms look onto a
combined open circulation and
communal play area or ‘public
street’, portions of which have been
This innovative union of medical and
social research disciplines is targeting
the contemporary issues of obesity,
diabetes and heart disease. Housing
labs, teaching and office spaces, a
lecture theatre and a treatment clinic,
the building has a clear demarcation
of functions and a robust grid,
adaptable to the rapid developments
in current research needs.
The sculpted sandstone northern
façade, with its array of deep,
vertically-articulated reveals, relates
to the scale of Parramatta Road
and the similarly bluff elevations of
the adjoining St John’s College by
WilliamWardell. The south façade
is less formal, an open composition
of metal and glazing, whilst the
ends celebrate their extruded
forms with extended blades and
curved volumes housing stairs and
plant services.
The four-square and often
enclosed elevations do not prepare
Photography: Ross Honeysett
Photography: John Gollings
Camperdown Childcare
CO-AP (Architects)
Charles Perkins Centre
Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt) +
Building Studio (architects in association)
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