FOCUS Building

College’s science and innovation centre prepares girls for workforce of the future

ASouth Perth school has invested almost $11 million in its new Science and Innovation Centre, resulting in one of Western Australia’s most advanced STEM facilities for girls.

For the all-girls Penrhos College in Como, the investment is pivoted towards providing best-practice education to position students for the challenges of the 21st century – and, in many cases, for careers that are yet to materialise.

“Young women of today can expect to have multiple careers, many of which do not even exist yet,” says Penrhos College principal Kalea Haran. “One thing we can be sure of is that STEM-related skill sets are likely to feature in many of the careers our girls choose.”

THE TEAM

Science a high priority When Penrhos College identified science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as high priorities for its students, the most important challenge was the functional inability of the former science block – parts of which dated back half a century – to meet the requirements of 21st century education.

The objective of the building project was to create an inspirational teaching and learning environment for STEM subjects and STEM-related areas by providing a versatile and flexible learning space that would support evolving education delivery.

The three-storey Science and Innovation Centre, which opened in January 2021, houses high-tech resources for the kind of hands-on, task-based projects that help to support the development of critical thinking and the application of 21st century learning.

“One of the driving forces behind Penrhos’ significant investment was its commitment to delivering an inspirational learning environment, along with offering its students early insight into the opportunities and accessibility of careers in areas that are typically dominated by males,” says Ms Haran.

“Single-sex education plays a strong role in encouraging girls to challenge the status quo and feel empowered to pursue their passions and their dreams. The girls are supported and, in turn, support each other in developing their problem-solving and collaboration skills, while also building resilience and self-confidence.”

Boss Carpentry WA were proud to work with the Focus Building Company on this project installing all timber mouldings, handrails, sanitary fixtures doors and door hardware. info@bosscarpentrywa.com.au 0438 083 362

“We see our role as custodians of the college’s campus vision, as we seek to thoughtfully introduce new contemporary inspirational learning spaces”

Dynamic vision fulfilled The college’s dynamic vision for its new science space was fulfilled by architectural firm Zuideveld Marchant Hur and veteran construction business Focus Building Company.

A leader in the creation of building forms that are contextually relevant, enduring and cognisant of current thinking and new technologies, architects Zuideveld Marchant Hur were perfectly placed to translate the college’s requirements into a design that fulfilled the strategic and functional requirements of modern teaching and learning.

The company has been providing its insightful and innovative designs to Penrhos College for the past two decades, having previously designed the creative arts and design building, staff rooms and boarding house.

“We see our role with each project as custodians of the college’s campus vision, as we seek to introduce new contemporary inspirational learning spaces, materials and technologies, carefully crafted to respect the historical architectural fabric and rhythm of the campus,” says ZMH director of architecture, Nathan Zuideveld.

Focus on building excellence With its strong history of excellence in education construction, Focus Building Company has more than five decades of experience in all sectors of the Western Australian building industry.

One of the most significant segments of this project for the company was the installation of the spectacular glass roof over the presentation stair and void area. The roof was manufactured in Germany, shipped to Australia flat-packed in crates and fitted by installers from Queensland.

“The roof was fully assembled and bolted together on site as a kit, with no onsite fabrication or alterations required,” says Focus Building Company project manager Laughton Savage.

The new science learning spaces are flexible and versatile, full of natural light, providing opportunities to inspire, collaborate, experiment, build and learn. The laboratory environments were also made acoustically-friendly through the application of a number of different plasterboard and acoustic products, such as Autex.

Construction challenges The project posed several technical and logistical challenges for the builders, including the simple fact of the age of the original structure.

“As the original building was over 50 years old and had three extensions added in this period, there were a lot of unknowns discovered when stripping back the building to the structure,” says Mr Savage.

“These discoveries resulted in a lot of on-the-run design changes to overcome the issues and prevent delays to the project completion.”

Fitting new services and technology into the existing portion of the building was also a challenge with the limited space and service ducts available.

“There were many design tweaks and modifications throughout the build process, to allow for the services to be integrated into the building in a seamless manner and without making the additions obvious,” he says.

One of these was the integration of technology into an EMS system which monitors power usage, solar power generated, water and gas usage as well as air quality within the building.

Covid-19 restrictions led to logistical challenges with the management of materials and labour from overseas and interstate. International delays in production meant project sequencing had to be changed due to extended manufacturing delays.

“It became very challenging to get interstate installers into Western Australia, give the hard borders that were implemented here,” says Mr Savage. “The pandemic also caused a rethink of a lot

of materials and products used on the project to try and limit and prevent delays from overseas and interstate manufacturing.

“A lot more local materials were sourced to change out interstate and international materials, as a safeguard.”

Real-life working environment The new science centre replicates a real-life working environment, including multi-functional laboratories, break-out collaboration spaces to encourage small and large groups to congregate, and an amphitheatre-style space which supports live-streaming of lectures and distance learning. The centre also has an outdoor laboratory and a rooftop deck with views over Perth.

Reflecting the environment the students are certain to face in their future working lives, the spaces are flexible, providing the inspirational learning environment the students need to effectively adapt for whatever their future will present.

“The new science learning spaces are versatile, full of natural light, providing opportunities to inspire, collaborate, experiment, build and learn,” says Mr Zuideveld.

With the world – and the way in which people work – always evolving, there is an imperative for learning environments to continue to adjust and grow. Classroom buildings that do not support 21st century modes of teaching and learning have to make way for cutting-edge STEM and visual art precincts capable of preparing students for the future. “Learning spaces such as these are adaptable for groups, workshops, informal and formal presentations and demonstration spaces, both inside and outside the building,” says Mr Zuideveld.

“They are intentionally designed to support best practice in both curriculum and teaching, to support the exploration of meaningful ideas and access to innovative resources that can turn ideas into reality.”

EBSA involvement EBSA were approached by the architects looking for an operable glass roof that could provide both daylight and natural ventilation to the space below. The concerns that are raised time and again by specifiers relate to water tightness, condensation and thermal efficiency.

The PR60 system is incredibly watertight and incorporates secondary drainage channels, it is also one of the most energyefficient glass roof systems on the market being available in multiple specifications, including a passive house variant.

In terms of condensation, EBSA were able to provide the architects with a study that examined how the thermally broken PR60 system was able to minimise condensation allowing for temperature differentials of up to 20 degrees between the internal and external environments. Overall the system has met all of the desired outcomes and is a testament to the project as a whole.

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

Westwide Electrical Services provides a comprehensive range of electrical services to commercial, industrial and government clients throughout the Perth metropolitan area and beyond.

Phone: 0420 304 145 sam@engagefire.com.au

Engage Fire Services provide complete fire protection solutions in design and fabrication right through to ongoing maintenance programs. We strive for absolute compliance in all fire protection requirements together with affordability, excellence and reliable service. www.engagefire.com.au