2020 National Architecture Awards: National Award for Educational Architecture

Jury citation

Senior Centre is the new piece in the MLC School campus at Burwood in Sydney that is realizing a transformation under the guidance of BVN’s masterplan. The building rises above its surroundings to four storeys, the upper three being veiled in pleated sunshades like perforated roman blinds. Extruded pop-out windows with automated louvre panels punctuate the veil to make a clear connection between the activities within and those in the adjacent courtyards.

However, the real magic is on the inside, where the pleated sunshades create a beautiful distribution of light without glare; this is complemented by natural light from the atrium at the centre of the plan. The atrium affords high legibility and wayfinding through an ordered openness of exposed stairs, clear glazed study pods, glass doors to traditional learning spaces and contemporary collaboration spaces, circulation balconies and vistas that connect across, up and down. An amphitheatre steps down from ground level, effectively extending the atrium to five storeys.

Further, the building has another reading and level of legibility with exposed services, cable trays, steel rods, cantilevers, exposed sprinklers, natural concrete, suspended acoustic panels and cranked steel stair stringers spanning the atrium, all artfully revealing the workings of the building to curious minds.

The School acknowledges the success of the Senior Centre’s learner-centred design principles that enable students to take increasing responsibility for their own learning and to be more self-directed. The glass pods suspended throughout the building encourage students to make the most of opportunities for private study, small-group study and meetings with teachers, balancing the experiences of open collaboration and performance with the more traditional classroom learning spaces This stateof-the-art building has truly raised the bar for learner-centred design in the future by creating a collaborative, democratic and interactive space for students and staff.

Project credits

Architect BVN; Project team Phillip Rossington, Marco Montevecchi, Kim Small, Sam Sweeney, Lucy Rimmer, Gary Cai, Ali Bounds, Martin Stacey, Joe Fiumedinisi, Duncan Moore, Olivia Hyde, Jaime Gonzalez, Craig Burns, Nikita Notowidigdo, Elena Bonanni, Mateusz Sum, Barry Cantor, Renae Tapley, Christopher Bickerton, Jonathan Caparelli; Builder Lipman; Project manager Farrell Coyne Projects; Structural and civil engineer Taylor Thomson Whitting; Services and ESD consultant WSP; Acoustic consultant Wilkinson Murray; BCA Vic Lilli and Partners; Town planner JBA Planning.

MLC School Senior Centre is located in Burwood, New South Wales, on the land of the Wangal and Darug peoples of the Eora nation.