Site 360

Drone technology has made regular aerial documentation of construction site more accessible. Here is a quick 360 over the building site at NCC featuring bulk excavation in preparation for the next phase of the build. We look forward to documenting this project as it raises from the ground.

Discussing Design Iterations

A recent article in the New Yorker focused on the career of Sir Norman Foster. It was an interesting look into an architect who has been practicing for many years and navigated downturns, technology developments and all that comes with practicing architecture internationally for decades.

While our practice is light years away from the size and notoriety of Foster + Partners, one part of the article in particular struck a cord - design iteration.

“This is the core of the business: people draw ten versions of a stairway, or a lobby, and agree to develop the best one, and then someone—possibly Foster—starts to wonder about an eleventh version.”

While our projects and fees pale in comparison, we always aim to iterate for the benefit of the project outcome. It can be a frustrating process when you are in it. An outside might view any of the options viable. Why would we waste time and fee in developing multiple versions of the same design solution when you are only being paid for one outcome? The answer is every iteration can be an opportunity for improvement. Each new version solves a problem or approaches from a different angle and builds on the previous. Then you can stand back and compare strengths and weakness and adjust accordingly.

To the students reading this; we encourage you to learn the power of iteration.

To the architects reading this; aim to allow both time and fee for this process to occur.

To the clients reading this; know that this process is money well spent.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-new-yorker_norman-foster-whose-career-is-now-in-its-activity-7287839084767559681-VHEg?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Commendation

We are pleased to report the NCC Early Learners project has been recognised in the recent Learning Environments Qld Chapter awards with a commendation in the small project [sub $2m] category.

Thanks to LEA and the jury for recognising the hard work of the client and consultant team that worked very hard to sculpt this small and joyful project.

Jury Citation:

“Simplicity in education design is often overlooked. This crafted project has been carefully considered in plan and in section in response to the need for wellbeing, supervision, family appeal, sustainability, and inclusion. Separate infant and toddler zones are arranged either side of a central support spine balancing physical, staffing, and experiential needs with careful consideration given to human scale, safety, and dignity.

 

Space is calming with soft indirect light, fresh air, and visual connection. Students can retreat to ‘pockets of volume’ within the playful ‘Swiss cheese’ fringe or enjoy the contrasting spatial openness. High level ceilings, acoustic treatments and low-level windows also contribute to the very successful section with base principes such as natural convection assisting operational performance. An enduring external palette will protect the longevity of the asset.

 

This project is successful as it does not try too hard: it is simple, well-articulated and considerate of the needs of both children and staff. The jury can imagine users feeling comfortable here and the sectional interplay, drawings and diagrams are to be commended as an integral part of the design journey.”

Image by Cieran Murphy

Contract Signed

After a lot of hard work from a large group of people, a contract has been signed to commence construction on a new staff / student facility at Nambour Christian College. The project is delicately placed deep in the campus to create logistical and sequencing challenges for the building team.

The project improves the core exam capabilities for the College as well as much needed staff accomodation. The project also takes this opportunity to vastly improve accessibility to this area of the campus via a lift and connecting bridge link to a neighbouring building.

We look forward to sharing the construction process

Farewell to Ys!

Earlier in the year, we said farwell to one of our junior staff, Ysabel. She has been part of the Conwell Architects team for multiple years until she found a fantastic opportunity to move forward in her career. Ysabel started as a student of Cameron’s at QUT, then progressed to a WIL internship where she demonstrated her skillset that resulted in her being brought on board.

Ysabel brought great graphic skills to the team where she worked on many presentations in creative ways. In more recent times, we saw her technical skills develop in the form of detailing on the NCC Early Learners project. As this project comes to completion, we look back and thank Ysabel for her time at Conwell Architects and wish her all the very best for her bright future in architecture.

Half Way

The project team have been busy and InSite have reached the 50% mark on the NCC Early Learners extension. Maintaining safety to the community has been first and foremost in the minds of the building team as the existing centre remains open.

With framing up we can now see the spacial geometries forming. The high spaces are starting to hint of what the resulting soft light to the internal spaces. The roof sheeting and external cladding are well advanced as the team focus on the internal fit out.

We look forward to sharing more photographs as the project continues…

Underway

Years in gestation, our early learning extension project is finally commenced on site. Conwell Architects were commissioned to expand an existing facility to cater to younger age brackets that have different physical and staffing needs. We congratulate our clients f or their commitment and faith to the project. We worked closely with the operator and staff to understand the practical needs required to deliver excellent care, while pushing design principles around natural light and airflow.

The building has been marked out, screw piers placed with a major concrete pour on the horizon. We look forward to sharing both the construction progress and the ideas behind the design.

the importance of detail

Detailing is key in delivering successful buildings. They are the fusion of the design intent, buildability and meeting environmental requirements. Details need to be able to be built, they need to perform in a way that protects the building from the environment; all while maintaining the original design intent. Too often, when the fee is running out, it’s the detailing time that is compromised. In a rush to get the project delivered, details are recycled without individual consideration.

These sketches look at various details from our projects, projects when working in previous practice and revisiting a modern classic. We find it a valuable experience to look back at previous details to unpack what worked well, what could be improved. This results in a catalog of detailing concepts that can be adapted to suit specific building typologies, material and design directions.

LEA Tour - St Rita's College Trinity Building

St Rita’s College - Trinity Centre - m3architecture

Education facilities are complex structures that often require combining existing and new programs, provide efficiency and flexibility, while promoting safety and well-being for all in a single entity. 

 

Earlier this year, Conwell Architects along with other architects and educators, had the opportunity to attend a learning Environments Queensland site tour which involved a visit and tour St. Rita College and their new Trinity Centre building designed by m3architecture.

The new Trinity Centre was designed to reflect the unique values of the college in its architecture. The event commenced with a debate between students of St Rita and St Joseph’s Nudgee College titled; “What comes first, The Building or the Pedagogy?” The students questioned the importance of architecture in educational experience. St Rita students argued the physical learning environment in which learning occurs is primary to learning outcomes while Nudgee students [while acknowledging the value of the space in which students are taught] put forward arguments to suggest the teacher and by extension pedagogy trump the space in which it is taught.

 

Both teams had considered and well-constructed arguments. As creators of teaching spaces, the team at Conwell Architects were left to wonder and reflect on our design thinking and priorities. How can we foster this dynamic relationship between architecture and pedagogy? Which comes first, or rather, is the driving force behind the resulting design?

To help answer these questions internally, we chose to look at a project as a case study: The Early Learning Centre at Nambour Christian College. In designing this extension, we were faced with the challenges of integrating the functional aspects of age specific pedagogy with the practical requirements facing built form such site, council constraints and of course, budget.

 

Through the research and client consultation process, we determined that the services and amenities (blue) should be located between the two classrooms (pink) to efficiently manage and supervise both toddlers and infants, with a connecting corridor (yellow) to the existing building. While the planning is guided by programmatic function, the architecture of the resulting space is pushed and pulled to consider how the occupying students and staff will work and lean in these spaces. This pushing and pulling included designing breakout spaces or pods for individual learning, low height windows for crawling infants fostering curiosity, high level south facing windows for soft indirect light and a constant visual connection to green outdoor learning spaces.

 

Although learning can exist under a tree and without a building, our role as architects is key in creating the physical built environment in which the pedagogy is delivered. We aim deliver spaces that allow the best possible conditions from which to both teach and learn. As for the question ‘Building or Pedagogy’, we feel neither can be isolated without considering the other. To ignore one is to compromise the overall goal of learning spaces. Which leads to the conclusion that collaboration is needed between teachers and designers to marry and space with teaching as pedagogical delivery evolves.

 

Do you have an interesting case study, or an idea for new pedagogy that needs an equally responsive architectural solution? Reach out, we’d love to be involved.

Ysabel Usabal

St Rita’s College - Trinity Centre - m3architecture

NCC Early Learners - Functional Planning

NCC Early Learners - Breakout wall

NCC Early Learners - Natural light study

Isometric Exploration

At Conwell Architects, we generally produce drawings for the communication of concepts to clients, or to describe technical information to builders and/or consultants. With the assistance of QUT Work Integrated Learning students, we have been exploring drawing typologies that aim to consistently catalog our work for internal review, and external presentation. Here is an isometric drawing produced by Baikun Goa of an as yet un-built project. This project explores ideas around increasing density in urban Brisbane settings. We look forward to sharing more about this project as it unfolds.