Southern River College
Gresley Abas were awarded the Southern River College New Sports Hall and refurbishment project through panel engagement by BMW and the Department of Education. The project involved full architectural services for the design and delivery of a new 1200sqm sports hall and 8 new external hard courts, as well as refurbishment works to breathe life into existing buildings on campus to create new facilities including performing arts, a STEM engineering lab, lecture theatre and refurbished science labs.
The design intent for both the new build and refurbishment works was to create uplifting and inspiring spaces through strong use of colour. The main volume of the sports hall draws on the idea of geological form and stratification, making reference to the College’s focus on Minerals and Energy.
The interior of the hall is rich with colour, which is revealed at the openings and entrances into the hall where the exterior shell of the building breaks apart.
“The polycarbonate box that surrounds the court filters light into the court space during the day, and acts as a backlit beacon at night. ”
The sport hall is sited at the front of the campus to give the college a bright, contemporary face, as well as facilitating shared use of both the internal and external courts with community user groups who can access the facilities without entering school grounds.
The project, was completed in December 2019, and the scope of works was delivered substantially under budget, which allowed us to value add through the inclusion of landscaping, court lighting and external works, lighting and signage to the performing arts refurbishment, and a performing arts roof replacement that was not part of the project brief.
