The project centred on the refurbishment of existing buildings, including the heritage listed St Thomas More Centre.

The work was completed in two stages, with the first being undertaken by T&J McGlynn Builders. The contract for the second stage, the refurbishment of the St Thomas More Centre, was won by J&J Killalea Constructions.

With the age of the building — affectionately known to the school as “The ’36 Building” in reference to the year in which it was completed — a number of faults needed rectifying, including concrete cancer, removal of hazardous materials, replacement of corroded wall ties, and strengthening of the roof structure.

Attention was paid to retaining the details of the building, designed by the late Newcastle architect P.J. Gannon. For example, an original blackboard has been reinstalled, door furniture cleaned and left in place, and the first floor timber folding partition walls made operational.

There was some anxiety over the expected budget for the project. However, Morrell Architects were able to complete both stages within the given budget as a result of the close working relationship between the contractor, consultants, and client.

The project is another good example of value for money being achieved through architect controlled lump sum tendering.

The consultants for the project were:

•      Heritage — Heritas (Linda Babic)
•      Quantity Surveyor — Muller Partnership (Grant Muller)
•      Structural Engineer — Lewis Engineering (Lewis Martin)
•      Electrical Engineer — Electrical Projects Australia (Paul Malanchuk)

By definition, the studio theatre, or ‘black box’, doesn’t contain moving stage machinery, but through the configuration of seating and the stage area, the space becomes extremely flexible. The underlying concept is that by reducing the reliance on technology, greater emphasis is placed on the essence of the production itself.

Essential technology is included in the St Pius X theatre, such as fully adaptable lighting and sound capabilities. A fixed grid lighting bar assembly over the stage area, together with back of house lighting and following spots, can be adapted to suit an array of production, performance and staging techniques.

The plan form at St Pius X is an adaptation of a Roman theatre, itself an interpretation of Greek theatre design where the audience occupies tiered seating in a semi-circle overlooking a flat stage area with a permanent backdrop or skene. No audience member is further than 20 metres from any point on the stage floor; a distance from which facial expression can be recognised. The acoustic quality of the theatre is enhanced by the avoidance of parallel wall surfaces and the careful consideration of echoes and resonances through specialised surface treatment.

The main roof truss system at St Pius X, nine metres above the floor level, has been designed to take the loads expected for different types of scenery, lighting and stage settings.

The stage area is directly accessible through large sliding doors from the street. Vehicles can be driven onto the stage floor. Performers have access to a “Green Room” and dedicated shower and change facilities.

Serving the foyer and entry area for the theatre is a cafe and commercial kitchen, designed as a training facility.

The complex also contains a 70 seat theatre designed as a smaller version of the main theatre but with the same flexibility and audio-visual capabilities.

The complex, being constructed by Kingston Building at a cost of $5 million, is due for completion in March 2012 and, even though principally designed for school use, public hiring will be possible.

Students of the school provided a guided tour of the new classrooms, refurbished library and new multi-purpose hall.

The heritage setting of the completed facilities provided certain design challenges, however, there was general agreement that the new works complimented the existing St Brigid’s Church (1862) and the original Catholic school building constructed on the site in 1880.

Ray Collins, Director of Schools for the Catholic Schools Office, remembered, as a Year 3 student at the school, making the transition from the original school building to the newly constructed classrooms designed by the architect G. P. Gannon.

The existing hall and school buildings have a special association with the local Catholic community of St Brigid’s, related to its use by the church and by the school, by both current and former parishioners and students.

It was agreed that the facilities, in particular the new hall, were successful in reinforcing this special association.

The training sessions focus on contractor management with a particular emphasis on contractual mechanisms for enforcing compliance with OTML’s stringent safety procedures.

The training is being delivered in conjunction with Pathways Employment Services, and to date more than 200 participants have attended the course.

The contract management experience and skill developed by Morrell Architects in the procurement of large and complex building projects has enabled the delivery of targeted and relevant training in the effective control of contractors on site.

The completed facilities include the new administration building, classrooms and multi-purpose hall, all designed by Morrell Architects.

The works, totalling more than $3m, have transformed the school, which now offers purpose built facilities that can be utilised by both the school and the wider community.

The school reported that they were extremely happy with the design and that the new facilities had opened up further possibilities for both school and community use.

The seminar would address a key question: How can we best employ modern (often Western) construction technology within an existing cultural setting while maintaining the core aesthetics, values and design principles of the particular culture?

There is an overall desire within the Chinese government to increase the quality of construction and expected useful building life with a view to decreasing consumption of imported raw materials.

Projects include new school halls and major refurbishments.

Individual briefs have been developed in conjunction with each school to ensure the design reflects the exact needs of the school community.

Having architects control the design and procurement process has proved to be very successful both in terms of innovative design and cost effectiveness.