The St Peter’s College High Performance Sports Centre was founded on the concept of physical health as a pillar of general wellbeing. The design cues off the overarching themes of the St Peter’s College gym precinct; The Garden of 23; to nurture the balance of physical, mental and spiritual health of the students.
The architectural response is one of simplicity and modesty; a light filled space without external distractions that encourages students to humbly focus on their training and performance. Purposeful selection of structure and materials provides a calm and neutral space that seeks to cultivate a culture of training centred around mental clarity and focused application. It also seeks to inspire beauty; to create an uplifting space that encourages excellence from the students using it.
The site chosen for the addition utilises interstitial space between the rear of the existing sports building and the retaining wall. A space that was previously reserved as a thoroughfare for maintenance vehicles.
Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) was used as the main structural system for the building. The system was selected as it provides a lightweight, pre-fabricated response to an inner city site and minimises the buildings embodied energy, structural depths, construction time and onsite construction noise within the active school environment.
Externally the prominent use of brick veneer aims to relate to both the precast panels of the existing building facade and the volcanic tones of the scoria retaining wall. Materials selected are robust, durable, with little maintenance requirements. The purity of expression and the intentional use of non-toxic materials encourage a healthy and educative environment for the students and staff alike.