Woods Bagot has completed The Knox Innovation Opportunity and Sustainability Centre (KIOSC) which is an amphitheatre and science training centre for senior secondary school students in Victoria.
The centre is located at Swinburne University of Technology in Victoria and was created when seven schools pooled their Commonwealth government funding (as part of the Trade Training Centre in Schools Program) to create a new teaching centre to be shared by students from all schools.
The site was provided by Swinburne University.
The centre is sustainable in materials selection and energy efficiency which reflects the building's purpose which is to teach in the areas of science and engineering with a special focus on sustainability.
The building includes a mixture of technology-rich collaborative areas, a presentation space for 100 people, discovery laboratories, TAFE laboratories and ancillary spaces, plus a Discovery Centre, conceived as an immersive environment for students in Years 7 to 12.
These sustainable are provided to be a teaching tool to engage students in the 'real world' aspects of sustainable design.
Woods Bagot education sector leader and principal Sarah Ball said that Woods Bagot’s expertise in the education sector informed the architecture of the building.
"Our response to the brief for KIOSC was to create a building that captured this as the very essence of the centre, especially in the creation of a ‘Discovery Centre’.”
Woods Bagot’s Bruno Mendes said:
“It is important that, if KIOSC is to show leadership in education, the building design should incorporate best practice in environmentally sustainable design such that the building itself becomes an educational tool.”
He added: “When you have a client and team who are all very passionate about the building, significant support and freedom is brought to the design process,” said Mendes.
“The building is a testament to the energy and dedication of all those involved.”
