Australian Institute of Architecture Awards – NSW Country Division 2020

If you have been following our socials online you would have seen that our Q Block Project at the Wagga Wagga Christian College received the Australian Institute of Architects NSW Country Division Architecture Award for Educational Architecture! We absolutely loved collaborating with Mark G Golden and Associates, Xeros Piccolo Consulting Engineers, Building Services Group and Matt Beaver Photography and we are thrilled that our fellow local architects have also received recognition at this level.

Inspired by Reggio Emilia Pedagogy, our main focus for this project was to seamlessly integrate the internal  areas with the outside covered zones. To encourage self-directed and experimental learning with nature as the “third teacher” we decided to savour the richness of  the natural surrounds around the school through glass sliding doors and exposed timber trusses that all help to bring natural light and views into the transitional learning spaces. Nature inspired interior selections where incorporated harmoniously with contrasting steel structural elements including plywood lined ceilings, exposed steel beams, window paneling and hessian used as a neutral backdrop for students to display their art and educational discoveries.

We were recently featured in the The Daily Advertiser and walking through the school we were able to get a sense of the free flowing connection between the primary and secondary areas, a sense of community to be further enhanced by the development of the middle school phase of the schools master plan.