Prominently sited fronting Barkers Road on its Kew Campus, Carey Baptist Grammar School’s De Young Centre for Performing Arts is intended to embody and express Carey’s commitment to the arts and architecture and their critically important role in education. It is animated by the creative spirit of music, drama and dance using a rich combination of traditional materials (steel, timber, brick, concrete and glass) innovatively, with a playful and dynamic sense of adventure exploring structure, form and skin.
The three storey music school addresses the road with an auditorium to the rear linking back to the historic administration building. With its engaging architectural expression, the facility provides the school with both a striking new building of high quality teaching and performance spaces for music & drama students. The auditorium accommodates an audience of up to 325 people and has a stage large enough to hold a symphony orchestra.
There is a significant commitment to energy efficient building practice utilizing the latest in ESD technology plus natural systems to reduce the energy consumption throughout the life of the building. Techniques such as; thermal chimneys & mixed mode ventilation utilize the natural air flow and night time purging; mechanical plant with full outside air economy operation provides free cooling; rainwater harvesting for garden irrigation; solar hot water panels for hydronic heating; and photo-voltaic solar panels for on-site energy generation. Materials have been carefully considered to ensure that where possible materials are sourced locally, bricks recycled from demolition, timbers sourced from plantation forests, and materials that are robust and durable for low maintenance.
Kew, Victoria2010
Carey Baptist Grammar School