South Regional Tafe – Esperance Campus
Located approximately 720 kilometres southeast of Perth is the new South Regional TAFE Esperance campus , which delivers training to skill the community for local industries and services to support the town's infrastructure.
?Hassell was engaged in designing the new campus to cater to the current and future training and workforce development needs of the Esperance industry, community, and surrounding region.
"We designed a series of buildings that responded to the streetscape, which the previous buildings had not been able to fully achieve," said Hassell Project Architect Chris Pratt.
?"The new design is made up of a series of distributed pavilions oriented east-west to maximise northern light to the learning areas and to create a number of courtyard spaces in between buildings."
?The campus is divided into north and south precincts with a central pedestrian axis connecting the buildings for wayfinding purposes. The north precinct accommodates administration, childcare, aged care, and beauty therapy, while the south precinct houses the training facilities, including automotive, metalwork, and construction. Tying the whole campus together is the central Student Hub, with its accompanying facilities, which both the north and south precincts are directed into.
?Due to the Campus' exposed location, weather conditions at times can be unfavourable, with strong prevailing winds and southerly storms being a common occurrence in the region.
?Student spaces feature courtyards protected against harsh climatic conditions, and the buildings' structure is designed to integrate seamlessly with the landscape.
?"Inspiration was drawn from the granite outcrops in the nearby ocean, which led to the idea for the buildings to rise out of the ground, reflecting the remnant dunes and archipelago located off Esperance," says Pratt.
?“The building materials and colours used were also inspired by the surrounding landscape's visual form and complemented with a simple architectural language of pitched roofs and verandas, opening onto landscaped courtyards that connect with the Esperance' farmhouse' vernacular.”?Paying further respect to the Esperance landscape, much attention was given to the site's landscaping.?Native flora common to the area was sourced from local nurseries embedding the campus fully into its surrounds.
领英推荐
Sustainable design and outcomes were important to the client. Attention was placed on the use of simple roof forms and northern light was directed to internal learning spaces to minimise energy costs. The selection of materials and use of exposed brick were also chosen to reduce the maintenance required on the building’s external.
?Flexible learning spaces that could be adapted to suit future needs was a key design feature identified by the client.
?“Most of the buildings are open-planned with internal spaces freed from significant internal structural items and with minimal partitions," says Pratt.
?“The simple floorplans foster learning and productive interaction, while full-height internal glazing and window suites were central to creating interactive learning spaces while simultaneously creating acoustic separation.”
In a colder environment like Esperance, the glazing and framing often form the building's weak points, as they are prone to leakages or thermal failure. Capral was used for the framing and glazing of the buildings.
?"We rely on each glazing suite to be sealed, properly manufactured, and correctly installed, because it is through the windows where the building connects to the outside and where the magic really happens - in terms of opportunities to bring natural light into the building, framing views, or highlighting an internal activity from the outside," says Pratt.
Project Credits:
Products Used: