“A key driver for this project was the school’s desire to promote learning in a visible and active way. This transparency fosters a stronger connection between the school, its students, and the broader community.”
Anthony Apolloni, Senior Associate
The Duigan Centre
The Duigan Centre
The Duigan Centre was tasked with the ambitious of goal of promoting ingenuity, innovation and invention in the student’s daily lives through the promotion of science, design and art.
The project was born from the needs of distinctly different stakeholders that coalesced on the same site – Brighton Grammar School, the local church and the local tennis club.
Fittingly named after John Robertson Duigan MC, a Brighton Grammar alumnus who designed and flew the first Australian-made aircraft. A replica of Duigan’s aircraft, ‘The Duigan Flyer’, is suspended in the 1882 Gallery acting as the embodiment of the school’s values and pioneering spirit.
A key driver for the project was transparency and porosity. Not only for students to learn from each other but to strengthen the school’s connections to the community. Four key design moves brought this idea to life: the laneway, the cloister, the courtyard and the windows. Together they create a spatial journey far beyond a typical classroom that engages with light, context and the school’s ideals.
The design concept is underpinned by four guiding principles: respect, integrity, porosity and transparency:
- Respect for site (heritage, buildings and landscape) and for each other (different user groups).
- Integrity in honest expression of form, function and materiality.
- Porosity describes the porous nature of space, which allows physical and spatial connections.
- Transparency is central to visual connectivity and accountability. It will be used to create windows into the life of the school, making learning visible.
We would like to acknowledge this project as one of the late Paulo Sampaio’s defining works and we thank Brighton Grammar for generously honouring his contribution by naming a link bridge within the facility after him. The centre’s lofty spaces, extensive sky lighting and material choices reflect Paulo’s remarkable ability to design inspiring spaces for teachers and students alike.
MoreLess
Key People
John Sprunt
Principal
Sector Leader Schools
Melbourne
Dr Kellee Frith
Associate Principal
Education Environments Strategist
Melbourne
Anthony Apolloni
Senior Associate
Melbourne
Simon Farr
Senior Associate
Melbourne
