Ambrose Treacy College

Fulton Trotter Architects has recently completed three new buildings as part of Ambrose Treacy College’s ongoing masterplan.

The masterplan is a response to the school’s continued transition, from St Joseph’s Nudgee Junior College – a junior school of years 4-7; to Ambrose Treacy College – a combined junior, middle and senior school of years 4-12.

Fulton Trotter Architects’ have designed the school’s masterplan to create a cohesive campus, yet with a distinct quality for each of the junior, middle and senior school precincts.

Accommodating 18 new learning spaces and ancillary spaces for years 9-10, the latest stage includes three new buildings:

   ·   Callan Building, containing three general learning areas.

   ·   Kilkenny Building, including specialist science, industrial arts and music facilities.

   ·   Westcourt Building, housing two temporary general learning areas, a library, canteen and covered lunch area, as well as career and counsellor support services.

Situated on a beautiful 40-hectare campus overlooking the Brisbane River, the new buildings are designed to maximise the connection and views to the river, while maximising natural light and ventilation.

The buildings are sensitively woven around a number of significant trees on site, embracing these as a focal point. As a consequence, special roof and gutter systems were designed to reduce leaf litter to overcome a major problem of the site.

The external facades of banded brickwork feature ‘box’ and the ‘arc’ forms, acknowledging the Edmund Rice Building – the school’s original, heritage listed, modernist brick building. Designed in the 1930’s by Fulton Trotter Architects’ founding partner, Charles Fulton, the Edmund Rice Building remains the focal point of the college campus.

The brickwork is complemented by an unashamed use of colour to excite the exterior facades. Colour and texture are continued internally, to create a bold and playful learning environment. The palate matures with the transition of precincts, from the junior to middle to senior classrooms.

The project also includes significant civil works, including interim upgrades to adjacent intersections; 95 new car parking bays and a new student drop off.