The Multipurpose Hall required strong visibility from the street to allow it to serve as the public face of the school and provide a clear arrival point for visitors.
Visitors approach the school alongside the new building where a new colonnaded canopy/giant portico signifies a formal entrance to the school and its grounds. The building form is based upon a parabola, which was selected to most efficiently contain performance and sporting functions. As the roof tapers downward, the apparent scale of the building is reduced, and views of the existing building and trees beyond are maintained.
The building is clad in a mixture of black metal sheet cladding, brickwork, semi-translucent sheet, and painted cladding. A series of doors behind the stage alleviate overheating by providing cross ventilation. From within the building, a strip window along the east wall affords expansive views of the surrounding area and over the oval.
The east façade is painted to refer to the ubiquitous ‘Olympic Stripe’ exercise books. In using this pattern, a powerful visual memory common to many Australian childhoods is recalled and an institutional identity based upon elements of school life is established.
