St Edmunds College, Ipswich

St Edmunds College, Ipswich welcomed the celebration and opening of four new buildings last Wednesday, with a memorable blessing and civil ceremony.

The master plan design philosophy revolved around the buildings being connected by a series of courtyards and bridges and a concept of connectivity and open circulation. The visibility from one end to the other assists in eliminating hiding spaces for bullying, as well as improving general navigation within the campus. Tiered seating spaces within each covered courtyard act as retaining walls on the sloping site and at the same time, give the College gathering spaces for year groups.

Three of the four buildings are 3 storey classroom buildings in close proximity, so the building forms are articulated and use a mixed palette of face bricks, fibre cement and metal cladding to break down their mass and scale.

The four buildings built over the past four years consist of the Doody building, containing general learning areas and science laboratories; Lynch building catering for year 7 and 8 learning areas including media and drama; Horan building catering for general learning areas, business and languages; and the Tuckshop which opens to a large covered outdoor area to allow for catering events.

The colour theory introduced strong bold patterns and colours to reinforce the masculine energy at the school. Bright colours were used in specialist learning spaces in a dynamic way to provide energy, while other general learning spaces used subtle and neutral tones, letting the materials become the focus.

Feedback received during the opening ceremony was positive with comments on the fantastic facilities and wonderful open circulation and seamless connections between buildings. Others remarked on how this series of buildings has positively transformed and injected new energy into the campus. One of the new courtyards was successfully used as the venue for the ceremony.