The Clendon Centre

The Clendon Centre is a new learning and home base for Loreto Toorak’s Years 7 to 9 students. Designed to maximise the development opportunity for Loreto within a very restrictive physical context, the building form and materiality also needed to respect the physical and visual integrity of the schools’ historic setting. The building form is the outcome of the rigorous investigation of its function and setting - a ‘Contextual Modernism’, comprising six floor levels, three of which are below ground. Years 7 and 8 occupy the two upper levels of the building and each of these floors accommodates all home rooms and informal areas. Each of the floors accommodates all formal home rooms and informal areas so that students can truly base themselves within their year-level ‘hub’. ‘Socratic circles’ exist in addition to classrooms providing opportunities for students and staff to engage in learning settings not possible within the classrooms. Most importantly, the ‘circles’ become gathering spaces and allows multiple classes to come together for shorter periods. The year 9 students’ spatial arrangement is slightly different as these students occupy both the Ground and Basement Level 1, with a level of independence indicative of a transition into senior years. The tiered teaching stairs, lecture theatre, workshop and gallery spaces also provide opportunities for community engagement outside of school hours. The building acts as a complementary backdrop to the treelined road. The insitu concrete wall, which acts as a boundary fence to the east, respectfully acknowledges the history and memory of the site and transforms into a building behind, rising up to the south to mark the primary entry off Clendon Road and the courtyard edge beyond. Glass is suitably screened and framed by steel for visual clarity but also to offer solar protection and create a subtlety to screened views. The GRC cladding provides benefits for long-term maintenance and sits quietly to complement building form. The primary entry serves as the main access point to the site during school hours. The Heads of Learning Staff precinct is positioned just beyond reception. Located there, it serves as a threshold to learning activity and is immediate enough for privileged visitor access. Internally there is a sense of calm arising from the deployment of a minimal material palette of timber, concrete and glass, with an acoustic performance linked to learning behaviour. Spatial quality is defined through scale, proportion, connection and materiality. Staggered double height volumes encourage larger social settings and provide vertical connections throughout. Classrooms are enclosed for timetabled occupation with smaller spaces provided for smaller tasks. Visibility is important for safety, security and the students’ sense of connection to each other, place and the passage of time.