Catholic Ladies College
Catholic Ladies College in Eltham is a school that prides itself on educating young women in contemporary and innovative programs.
There was a need to upgrade the learning environment with the latest technology and facilities for the students while also catering for the teaching staff.
The classroom upgrades provided a state of the art Food Technology Room and Theory Room with all new appliances, along with TV and video projection for class tutorials. The teachers’ Store Room and Preparation Room provided staff with flexible and sufficient room that exceeded their expectations and ticked all the boxes for a functional working space that they previously did not have. The Science Classrooms were upgraded to provide a more functional floor plan for group learning and setting up for future landscape works whereby external doors were installed so that teaching can eventually take place outside under supervision.
The colour scheme selected for the project was driven by several inspirations. The first being the client, Catholic Ladies College, whose website portrayed a beautiful picture of the school’s branding and marketing ‘Girls Flourish Here’, displaying imagery of bright pinks and a warmer palette of soft ochres and green tones. The landscape in which the school sits helped derive the palette and finishes. Nestled among beautiful trees and earthy rock, the interiors took on part of this natural landscape bringing the outside in.
Because the nature of both teaching environments involves a lot of interaction and group learning, the spaces demanded a bright, interactive and positive feel, where the play of colour could be expressed through joinery and wall treatments to give a sense of an energetic environment for the girls to learn in.
The choice of colours used for Food Technology and Science had to complement the joinery where there were pink drawers and green doors as the theme and charcoal exposed carcasses. Resene Gumboot (deep grey) matched perfectly to the charcoal joinery and grey vinyl and was used on all skirtings and entry walls.
Resene Westwood (green oxide) was used within Food Technology for the main bulkhead that spanned the length of the room. Because the bulkhead ended up having to be quite large to cater for the size of the mechanical ducts, it meant this element could become a main feature in the room. Resene Westwood and Resene Half Linen (ash green) are colours that complement each other, themed from the landscape outside and playing on the floral vinyl graphic used as a feature to the prep room, these colours brought freshness to the space.
Light became a really important factor in each of these rooms as projection was very important. Food Technology having cameras and TV screens and Science having short throw projectors meant that there needed to be really good use of light, which was enhanced by using Resene Thorndon Cream (understated neutral) for walls and Resene Half Bianca (fleecy off-white) for the perforated plasterboard ceilings with Resene Triple Truffle (rich taupe) on doors.
Resene Knock Out (bold cherry pink) was the ideal colour to highlight the structure of the existing building. While it is feminine and ties in with the joinery in both Science and Food Technology, it is a colour that oozes drama and vibrancy, a colour that gets you excited when you walk into the room, perfect for the desired dynamic and energetic learning environment.
The unexpected colour palette of the Eltham Catholic Ladies College Food Technology and Science Refurbishment by Williams Ross Architects was awarded the Resene Total Colour Education Senior Award.
The judges thought: “so strongly architectural the use of colour is sophisticated, surprising and unexpected, drawing you in. Colour is used to bring the outside in. Brights are used in conjunction with a warmer soft palette to complete perfection. Colour has been applied to create a bright, interactive and positive feel giving a sense of an energetic environment for learning.
The clean lines and positioning of colour work well together, for a project that is colourful without being garish and interesting without being overpowering. A well thought out use of colour.”
Architectural specifier: Michelle Jepp and Amanda Meiklejohn
Building contractor: Concept Builders
Client: Catholic Ladies College, Eltham
Interior designer: Amanda Meiklejohn
Painting contractor: GA & JC Jacobs Proprietary Ltd
Photographer: Hyatt & Associates
Services engineer: BRT Consulting
Winner:
Resene Total Colour Education Senior Award
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2014
From the Resene News – issue 2/2015
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