Gregory Burgess Architects

In the move from their Monash University Campus the staff of the Catholic Theological College requested that their new building engage with the life and culture of the city, become a living expression of the aspirations and aims of the college, a representation the diverse expressions of Catholicism in today’s society as well as an inspiration for its unfolding identity in the middle of urban Melbourne. The challenge was heightened by the fact that the new building, accommodating the Daniel Mannix Library, administration and office space, was to adjoin a tall 1870’s neo-Gothic building, housing the teaching spaces and a chapel.

The resultant design facilitates a dynamic complementarity between the old and the new. The stability and formality of the old contrasts with the fluidity of the new - the past and future are both alive in this new facility. A crisp, transparent connection links the buildings at two levels and allows the new to grow out of the old with respect and unity. From this point the fluid structure follows the site perimeter on the west and south boundaries and unfolds around its inner courtyard towards Eades Street it in a unifying powerful double curve - comprising many angles and many views – an imagination of an inclusive Catholic Culture.