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A new Integrated Studies Hub for Macarthur Anglican School uses Cemintel Barestone and Surround for the interiors and exteriors to create a thoughtful, creative and hard working educational space.
There is no doubt that schools – and students – are hard on buildings. Between the rough and tumble of everyday play and ever-changing educational demands, materials chosen need to be super resilient.
Construction of the new Integrated Studies Centre at Macarthur Anglican School came with a brief that specified that materials needed to be tough and as maintenance-free as possible.
Modern, two-story building featuring clean lines, large grey panels, a balcony with glass railings, and a prominent, curving, overhanging roof. Adjacent structures and greenery are visible under a partly cloudy sky.
A building wall with the sign "Warren HUB Integrated Studies" prominently displayed. The design features a modern, minimalist aesthetic with clean lines and a light, neutral color palette. The upper part of the building extends outward with a sleek overhang.
A prestige high school in Sydney’s south-west, Macarthur Anglican School engaged Mayoh Architects to design the centre, which combines Science, Design and Technology, Art, ICT, Agriculture and Mathematics into a single facility.
The curved, split-level design centres around a landscaped garden, allowing for cross-discipline study so students can interact with one another through the co-location of labs, workshops, classrooms and breakout spaces.
View the Integrated Studies Hub at Macarthur Anglican School video …
A modern architectural building with a wooden and glass design, featuring a large overhanging roof with "HUB INNOVATORS STORIES DESIGN" signage. The structure includes a landscaped area with plants and trees, and a covered walkway with a circular glass elevator.
A modern school courtyard with curved architecture. The design features an open space with large windows and a central circular structure. Several students in uniform walk along the paths, and landscaped areas with rocks and plants are in the foreground.
Interior spaces
A highlight of the design is the seminar room in the building, which allows for whole-of-year-learning, says the school’s IT Systems and Special Projects Administrator, Kent Palmer, and helps prepare senior students for university. The tiered seating is bookended by walls clad with Cemintel Barestone complemented by acoustic tiles.
“The Cemintel Barestone is beautiful; we love that look. It’s not just poured concrete – it’s so much more,” Palmer says.
The use of Barestone for selected elements of the interior means that the seminar is visually connected with the striking exterior, also featuring Barestone, along with Cemintel Surround Blackish, to create a cohesive design that links indoors and out.
A modern, semi-circular educational building features large glass windows and a central courtyard. Several students in uniforms sit or walk in the courtyard, surrounded by landscaping and seating areas. Bright, partly cloudy sky overhead enhances the open atmosphere.
A modern house with large glass windows sits on a manicured lawn. The building has a curved façade and is surrounded by tall trees and greenery. The sky is partly cloudy, casting a serene atmosphere over the scene.
Exterior cladding
Project Architect, Mayoh’s Jonathan Henley, says Barestone was chosen to clad the building for many reasons.
“We liked that it was prefinished,” Henley explains. “Because it’s a school, we wanted something very hardy and wouldn’t have long maintenance schedules. The school didn’t want to have to repaint every couple of years. That was definitely an attraction with Cemintel. It’s also in a bushfire zone, so we couldn’t use combustible cladding.”
A modern, two-story building with large windows and vertical wooden slats stands under a partly cloudy sky. The building is surrounded by a well-maintained grassy area with trees in the background, and a small sapling in the foreground.
Several students wearing uniforms are seated on and standing near wooden, tiered seating steps inside a modern building. The high-ceilinged room features large windows and a geometric, green and beige wall design. Some students are seen engaging with each other.
The addition of Cemintel Surround Blackish on the exterior adds to the building’s sleek contemporary look and allows the Barestone to be the hero surface.
The natural choice
“The whole building is designed on the philosophy of biophilia, so it’s essentially in touch with nature,” says Henley. “We wanted a natural-feeling material and Barestone had that natural concrete look. And it contrasted well with the timber or timber-look products that we used.”
A modern, spacious lecture hall with tiered wooden seating and large windows. The back wall features a geometric pattern of green and gray triangular shapes. Ceiling fans and lighting fixtures are mounted above. The space is well-lit with natural light.
Modern school courtyard with a circular building featuring large windows and a second-story balcony. Students in green uniforms walk along pathways and steps surrounding a dry, landscaped creek bed with plants. The sky is partly cloudy.
“It was an aesthetic we wanted, but it also came from the school which was really passionate about sustainability and biophilia. For them, it’s a completely different architectural style from what they had previously, which was the red-brick, tin-roof kind of look. They changed their architect, they changed their style, and they even changed their whole pedagogy from how they teach, moving from standard classrooms to cross-disciplinary collaborations. That’s really where they’re trying to move to and that’s how the building was designed.”
A modern architectural design featuring a curved walkway with light gray walls and large round concrete columns. The ceiling has wooden paneling. A white planter with a small plant stands on the left. The walkway's railing curves following the structure's contour.
Connection with green space
The school is situated on 85 acres, including a working farm for the agricultural students, so Henley says that it was important to specify materials that complemented the surrounding open spaces.
“I think that the mix of the dark Surround, the Barestone, and the timber was the aesthetic that we were going for, surrounded by greenery on the inside and the outside, which made the greenery pop,” he says.
A modern, curved building with wooden slats and large windows on the ground floor. It is surrounded by a grassy area with a wooden fence in the foreground. A tree is visible on the left side of the building, and the sky is clear and blue.
A modern building with a combination of wooden and concrete facades. The left side has vertical wooden panels and metal mesh covering a glass section, while the right side features smooth, light-colored concrete panels. Greenery is visible around the base.
Because Barestone is manufactured locally, material delays were minimised during construction, which was largely done during 2021’s extended lockdown.
Acoustic assistance
Acoustic management is always a challenge in a school, especially for STEAM subjects, so Henley relied on CSR products to assist with the acoustics in the new building. With many noisy events occurring throughout the building during the average school day, including the use of industrial machinery, it was important to keep noise transfer to a minimum.
Bradford Acoustigard Insulation (75mm and 90mm) was specified for the walls and roof for acoustic and thermal comfort; while Gyprock Ceilings Rigitone Matrix 8mm Round was chosen to minimise sound transfer between the two levels of the building. Indeed the ceilings are particularly impressive, with the plasterwork configured around the rooms’ curves, while maintaining acoustic integrity
A modern building with a curved facade features wooden vertical slats and large windows. The structure includes a cylindrical support column and is surrounded by a grassy lawn on a clear, sunny day. Trees are visible in the background under a blue sky.
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