Nudgee Junior College

The Nudgee Junior College redevelopment is a response to the school’s expansion and includes new classroom building, new hardcourt facilities and refurbishment to existing classrooms. The focal point of the college campus is the original, modernist brick building, constructed in 1939 based on a design by Charlie Fulton, which houses the school’s administration, art, library and music facilities and forms the main entrance to the school. The original heritage listed building has informed this latest project.

The new building has two storeys, with tiled gable roofs and an L-shaped plan that steps towards the river along the site. The forms, material and colours used intend to reiterate the original while providing a modern playful twist.

The street frontage of the new building is wrapped in brick to reflect the original features of the existing school buildings. Rich red brick with a lustrous blue/grey brick banding is used for the two main wings of the new building. The two wings are connected by a timber and block work curved courtyard link. This courtyard features a V-shaped roof, a dynamic mixture of steel and timber battening which is grounded by a rendered block work base. The curved hardwood timber battening and steelwork that frames the space creates a lightweight more modern, open architectural feel to this significant corner of the building.

The more subdued street aspect of the building is in contrast with the inside elevation which utilize bright splashes of colour and pattern. The colour selections are an arrangement of primary bright blue and red with bold orange and green adding to the liveliness and an expression of the youthful exuberance of the school community. The new building pays respect to the original forms and materials of the existing building while providing a measured contrast of a modern, open and lighthearted architectural expression.

The Mt Sion Library demonstrates a bright and friendly response to the site surroundings by utilising vibrant colours throughout the building. As part of the Nudgee Junior College master plan, Mt Sion is an addition to the existing focal point of the college campus the original, modernist brick building, constructed in 1939 based on a design by Charlie Fulton. The new library provides vital connections along the ridgeline by enhancing the sites relationship and new exciting learning and play spaces.

Mt Sion Library was conceived as two solid brick boxes, containing supporting rooms, with the library as a transparent volume connecting to the brick boxes, with a curved glass facade. The transparency of the library connects the classrooms through to the river. Formal and textural qualities have been abstracted from the Original Building connecting the brick bays with the curved volume. The butterfly roofs sailing over the faceted glass walls creates a dynamic mixture of steel and timber battening which is grounded by the rich brick boxes on either side. Rich red brick with a lustrous blue/grey brick banding is used for the two main wings of the new building.

The library has responded to the client’s brief, coming from quite traditional school values and spatial planning. The new building responded to these traditional needs whilst maintaining flexibility within the library and connections to play spaces on each side. The consultant team worked closely to create a cost effective and efficient solution whilst achieving a quite complex structural solution, as well as a number of sustainable design principles humbly incorporated throughout the project (rainwater tanks, bio-retention, solar hot water, low e-glass and a building management system).

A high quality outcome has been produced within the budget constraints, with a high level of finish and large extent of works achieved. Mt Sion pays respect to the original forms and materials of the existing building while providing a measured contrast of a modern, open and light-hearted expression. The forms, material and colours used intend to reiterate the original from Charles Fulton’s modernist brick building, while providing a modern playful twist.

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For more information, please visit the Nudgee Junior College website.