The new Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) STEAM Precinct, designed by WilsonArchitects, has set an impressive benchmark for buildings that facilitate STEAM teaching and learning.
The design complements existing BGS buildings, with the new precinct sited on the western edge of
the campus and spanning more than 16,000m ², featuring four storeys all designed to accommodate
interdisciplinary learning.
At the heart of the design is a central atrium, a large ‘incubator’ space, which houses a series of suspended circular group learning pods. Each pod signifies a different discipline, and their transparent casing ensures students and teachers are highly visible — inviting opportunities for interconnected learning.
WilsonArchitects Director Hamilton Wilson says the learning pods also have another advantage:
“The inclusion of this circular motif became a symbol around a collective learning community, promoting conditions around curious enquiry,” Wilson says.
BGS Director of STEAM Education Tanya Neilsen agrees and says, “the design of the building has been created to provoke trans-disciplinary learning – the intersection of science, design, art and mathematics”.
“It’s also highly transparent, so there’s a real visibility of learning that happens in the building.”
Prioritising flexibility
Hamilton and his team worked closely with BGS teachers, students and parents, as well as the wider community, to best understand their needs. The result, he says, is a highly flexible precinct design
where classrooms, studio spaces, advanced co-laboratories and collaborative areas can be adapted to different teaching styles and learning activities.
Interiors have been designed to enable both theory and practical-based activities to take place with ease. The floorplan also allows for classrooms to be reconfigured to accommodate small and large groups of students.
The inclusion of a unique art gallery within the STEAM precinct leverages the school’s already significant art collection to enable the students to access new ways to interpret, connect and inspire cross-disciplinary conversations.
Bringing contemporary learning to life
The connection between the teacher-led environments (classrooms) and the student-directed spaces was another important component of the design.
Hamilton describes the interior design as multi-faceted — with elements that feel exciting, stimulating, calming and performative.
“The interior really is a theatre of demonstrable learning,” he says.
BGS Headmaster Anthony Micallef describes the new STEAM Precinct as “significantly” enhancing both student and staff experiences:
“This contemporary facility has enabled staff to better deliver curriculum and has provided students with a conducive environment for learning and our community with a place to connect and celebrate.”
Smartly sustainable building systems
WilsonArchitects’ aim was to balance the need for advanced technological infrastructure with sustainability goals. The solution involved incorporating smart building systems that reduce energy consumption while supporting the technological needs of a modern educational facility.
Another challenge was creating spaces that are both flexible and durable. This was resolved through the use of high-quality, sustainable materials that can withstand heavy use while allowing for reconfiguration as educational programs evolve.
The design of the BGS STEAM Precinct has won WilsonArchitects a slew of architecture awards, including the recent honour of an international architecture award from Architecture MasterPrize, in the category of educational buildings.
WilsonArchitects is Australia’s oldest continuous architectural practice and has been operating for 140 years.
The practice also received the highest honour for education architecture at this year’s Queensland Institute of Architects Awards. In summarising the success of the project, the awards jury described the design as a
“compelling example of a modern teaching and learning environment”.
“Taking a holistic approach to the multidisciplinary learning requirements, the architects’ skill has generated evocative, adaptable, acoustically mastered, sunlight-filled, and dynamic learning spaces.
“Respectfully integrating the calming landscape, the architects venerate the school’s heritage fabric, visually embracing the 150-year continuum of Brisbane Grammar School’s built environment.”
