Sister Marie Centre St Pius X High School

Adversity was turned into opportunity by re-thinking the site to integrate a new multi-function gathering space which included chapel functions.

Client

Catholic Schools Office

Location

Adamstown, NSW
Sister Marie Centre St Pius X High School

 

The original Sister Marie Centre at St Pius X High School, Adamstown NSW, was destroyed by arson, leaving the school without a dedicated communal gathering space. Adversity was turned into opportunity by re-thinking the site to integrate a new multi-function gathering space which included chapel functions. The chapel was designed as one quadrant of this new common space at the school entrance.
 
A simple robust exterior palette of materials is contrasted by a warm enveloping timber interior. The building framework has subtle geometrical references including symmetry, repetition and mathematical proportion as seen in the fractal tree ceiling pattern.
 
   
The new Centre provides a flexible multi-purpose space for use by the school, parish and community. The building is a simple square plan, with two sides which open out onto a future landscaped courtyard. It encloses this public domain and protects a flexible space for children to sit both internally and externally.
 

 

Processes used in this project