final posters & site plan model

torquay high school renders

The following renders in order:
1: from aphitheatre toward cafe
2: along western facade of cafe & library
3: through staff?admin areas
4: from western facade of staff/admin areas

sketch models

These are some initial thoughts on form. I'm trying to achieve a smooth transition in building height which peaks in the library building. The second model is a little more successful ..but it's still early days

admin staff library cafe food-tech design

The design responsibilities have now been assigned. The following models and drawings describe my process in designing this section.
This is the face of the school. All the various parties who will visit each need to understand where they need to go, and also understand that this building is primarily for the students. The circulation routes should be wide and views through the building are important for orientation.

The building form needs to be legible to students. For them, there are areas where they cannot go, ie administration and staff areas, so these will be indicated with different materiality. The following sketch shows how their areas may link. Admin is the first meeting point for students initially when they first go to the school with their parents or receive information. This area will be combined with a student gallery. Then the areas which students use more regularly will be towards the southern end, ie student welfare and counciling.

rethinking the masterplan

After some constructive criticism from lecturers, we rethought out our plan. We learned our solution created a lot of 'negative space' ie unuseable space, and didn;t respond to the climate particularly well. So we opened up the building shape to allow much more northern sun in, and gave the campus more protection from the westerly wind.

We're yet to get comments back, but this solution seems an improvement. We're hoping to elaborate on the breaking down of built form from the multi-use performance/sports spaces through to the separated classrooms and tech/agricultural areas.The admin areas will reduce in form towards the sunken landscaped areas which will also function as meals, outdoor teaching, circulation and meeting zones. The key will be to come up with a legible theme, both in planning and material form, for the 14-17yr old students.

school masterplanning

The site for the senior secondary school is part of a rural coastal town; Toquay, about 100km by road southwest of Melbourne. Currently, senior school students travel to Geelong, a large township 20km away. With forecast population growth from 11K to 21K by 2100, Torquay should have a complete school education program.

As a group (3 members) we regarded parking and flow of traffic during peak times critical to the masterplan. We proposed a drop-off/pick-up thoroughfare through the rear properties of all three campuses, starting from the entrance to the new senior school on Grossman's road through to Eton road on the western edge. This would be open only during peak times and doubles amount of dropoff pickup zone to the schools.

We then began feeling out the volumes on the site and began considering the impacts of climate, weather, and social/educational needs of students from this rural coastal background. Group members then came up with these sketches after discussions.

A bubble diagram was created to clarify planning.
basic form was drawn

and a basic masterplan was drafted

group 27 presentation

internal view

first rendering of parametric model

Here is one version of the parametric model. The fins have a large surface area, so can provide good thermal mass. One concept is to make a composite material that contains pcm (phase change material) as one problem with lightweight structures such as portable classrooms, is fluctuations in temperature. The 'fins' can be altered for shading, provide common spacings for proprietry systems such as louvres, shelves, storage, skylights, fans.etc.

mod5 parametric model

prototypes for adaptable spaces cont...

concept 'bloom'

The second example was based on folded triangles bended from a sheet of card scored in 4 directions ... both diagonals, vertically and horizontally. The way it folds up into a bud and extends into a squarish form was stumbled upon by accident. It's cute, but probably too complicated a form for a building.

prototypes for adaptable spaces

The following photos show 2 examples of adaptable spaces. Both use repetitive geometric modules which stretch and contract according to the desirable function or weather.


concept 'concertina'

1. flat mode
ideas ... eaves for sun protection
... flat packing

















2. semi open mode
ideas ... ventilation/allowing sunlight in









3. fully open mode













further thoughts:
possibilities as layered cellular wall structure & furniture