Auburn South Primary School Library
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Auburn South Primary School: Library and Learning Centre
Architect: McGauran Giannini Soon Pty Ltd (MGS Architects)
Project Team: Eli Giannini, Ryan de Winnaar, Sheri Haby, Anthony Po
Builder: Johns Lyng Commercial Builders Pty Ltd
Masonry Contractor: TST Bricklaying
Brick Manufacturer: Austral Bricks (Bowral Blue, Pressed Red and Pressed Cream)
Euroa Clay Products (Vanilla Glazed Brick)
Photographer: Peter Bennetts
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Auburn South Primary School Library and Learning Centre comprises a library and art room at ground level and four general purpose teaching spaces on level one. The project is an addition to a 1920s school building and seeks to match the quality of the original red bricks while adding interest with variations in colour and texture.
Aesthetically, a series of projecting brickwork elements provide visual structure to the building, as well as accommodating a number of specialist and supports spaces within. The rhythm of these projections is broken by the major entries, which are expressed as recessed, lightweight elements. The extension of the brickwork pattern into the building at these recesses helps blur the edge of the building with the public realm.
The building is designed to be flexible, allowing the adaption of spaces to cater to differing teaching requirements. Here again, brickwork is employed to structure the building, often used to delineate the transition between spaces within the building.
The transition of the brickwork pattern from dark to light up the walls, the protective roof with its bright red lining, and connections to the landscape design, all work together to enhance the public realm. Together they create the primary gathering space for the school community.
