Ipswich Trade Training Centre

The project is comprised of a new stand-alone automotive centre, as well as a building construction annexe attached to the adjacent manual arts complex. The automotive centre is situated between the manual arts building and a group of tennis courts. The facility is managed by the Manual Arts teaching staff. The very limited site available dictated that the new building backed up to the tennis courts to allow vehicle movement to both the new and existing buildings.

Housing 5 vehicle bays, 3 teaching spaces, and various support spaces, it is designed to reflect the type of environment students will find in the actual facilities in which they may end up working, and is set out to be capable of functioning as a commercial operation mimicking a working business.

The building’s linear design is borne out of both the site constraints and a teaching model where students move from practical activities through varying levels of supporting practical works and theory rooms. The northern side of the building collects together all of the smaller spaces sequentially from office to change to work spaces to storage.

Poor foundation conditions and tight budget constraints dictated a bored pier and suspended slab construction with light weight superstructure in structural steel and metal sheeting walls and roof. The chosen building aesthetic reflects typical commercial / industrial forms and materials reinforcing its “learning for the real world” function.

The larger practical and theory spaces on the south side have a high roof structure with polycarbonate sheeting allowing plentiful natural light, while the smaller northern spaces have a linear continuous window overlooking the tennis courts. The metal roof over the northern spaces wraps down over the northern wall allowing errant tennis balls to find their way back to ground level.