Albert Park College

01 . 10 . 2020

 

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Albert Park College (APC) has every reason to be pleased. Not only is the school enjoying a decade of success in education but the refurbishment of the main campus in Danks Street, Albert Park has also been completed. As one of the newest and most dynamic secondary schools in greater Melbourne, APC has organically grown and now boasts multiple campuses situated across the inner-city Bayside areas of Albert Park and Port Melbourne.

The latest project on the agenda for APC was the refurbishment of two buildings at the Danks Street campus and project manager for APC, Dr Neville Boyd, was intimately involved with all aspects of the build. The commissioned architects, JCB with lead architect Graham Burrows and his team, and Boyd have created an excellent learning environment that is a resounding success for both school and architect.

The project began in late 2019 and through a detailed and collaborative process the final design was selected and work completed in July. The brief entailed a total re-fit of 15 classrooms in six areas across two buildings, each with three floors. The new interior design was to be bright and light, include new lockers and furnishings and transform the idea of the traditional schoolroom into a modern learning environment.

The new interior includes polished concrete walls and floors, green carpet, a bright colour palette and new lockers. Central to the design was the inclusion of Planex xLocker2 lockers with 256 mid-rise stacked lockers with planter boxes positioned in each of the 15 classrooms.

The buildings at the Danks Street campus encircle a landscaped courtyard and all rooms look inwards to this garden area. It was important for health and well being that students could see the outside, enjoy the flow of fresh air and that the interior complement the green exterior. To accomplish this, multiple plantings have been incorporated in Flox Planter Boxes that sit atop of the new xLocker2 lockers and the banks of lockers have been stacked low to facilitate unimpeded views. The colour chosen for the lockers is a bright gold and this pays homage to one of the school colours.

Dr Neville Boyd commented, “The Planex product was the best and most suitable, largely because of the capacity to size them in the way that we wanted, in the configuration that we wanted, as the intention of the design was to open the classrooms up. Previously they had a wall of lockers running parallel with the corridors which prevented any viewing from the classrooms out into the courtyard.”

For APC learning is enhanced through fine architectural design and the use of premium products. The new Danks Street classrooms are state-of-the-art and help promote better connectivity, understanding and community within the college and Planex has helped make this a reality.

Link to project click here.
Photography by Dianna Snape