The pandemic years were quite disruptive for schools, particularly impacting their performing arts programs and compelling them to adapt and innovate to reach their audience. With the world still in recovery mode, artists, creative workers, and arts and cultural organisations continue to find new ways to engage with local and global audiences.

School performing arts programs are increasingly becoming more sophisticated in the opportunities and experiences they afford students, teachers and the broader community, says Hayball senior associate Owen West.

“The disciplines of music, dance and drama are deeply connected, but increasingly entwined with other curriculum areas such as science, physical education, media and technology. Consequently, cross-disciplinary learning, community use of school buildings, and school branding and identity are emerging as key themes in the planning and design of new and existing facilities.”

As a national architectural practice, Hayball works across a range of sectors where people live, work, learn and play. While the firm places a strong focus on culture, community and learning across all projects, this focus has been increasingly important in the education sector.

“Across several recent Hayball projects we’ve noticed that as the way in which the arts engage and reach audiences continues to evolve, so too must our approach as designers,” says West.

Cross-disciplinary learning

The performing arts are inherently cross-disciplinary, combining music, dance and drama in the visual, oral and aural to create new, multi-disciplinary creative collaborations. Often, these collaborations venture further into the technical domains of lighting, sound, visual effects and digital media – particularly as new technologies and trends emerge in this space. Educators then are always thinking about ways to provide students with authentic, real-world skills and experiences that nurture their interests and curiosity as part of their learning journey across domains.

On the new 450-seat theatre at St. Peter’s College in Clyde North, West says, “We’ve designed the theatre to provide a mix of school-based and community-based programs. Synergies between food, catering and performance events are harnessed to create meaningful vocational training opportunities.

“Back-of-house and technical spaces are carefully designed for supervised student use to gain authentic experience in all aspects of a theatre production.”

Hayball principal David Tweedie says the new Performing Arts and Media Centre (PAMC) at Yarra Valley Grammar is another good example of how to include these cross-disciplinary opportunities in the built form.

“We are delivering a new facility to enhance their curriculum in music, dance and drama while capitalising on the interface between these disciplines and new media technologies, broadening the facility’s relevance to students beyond those focused on performing arts.

“Our design augments the existing George Wood Performing Arts facility, a highly regarded 895-seat auditorium that has been operating for over 30 years, to allow teachers and students to explore the interactions and synergies through media learning.”

A dedicated production studio (sound stage) will provide industry-standard audiovisual recording and editing opportunities, as well as virtual production capabilities using large LED arrays that can provide a dynamic backdrop for film and drama productions.

Community hubs

Schools equipped with multipurpose performing arts facilities can partner with external groups and local government to enable community use outside of school hours.

Associate Emma Parkinson, who is also working on Hayball’s Yarra Valley Grammar project, says it will help shape the social interactions of students, families and the broader community.

“Alongside new educational facilities, the PAMC will enhance the patron experience with an expanded front-of-house space that can host events and functions and includes upgraded patron amenities and accessibility.”

The final stage of the multipurpose complex at St Peter’s College is an indoor sports and recreation facility, initiated as a jointly funded partnership between the College and the local Council.

Parkinson explains that the development will provide much-needed competition grade sporting facilities for the local district and help St Peter’s College attract significant community organisations, such as Calisthenics Victoria, to hire the entire complex across the sports and performing arts domains.

“Both projects not only create new learning experiences for students, but open previously closed doors to their communities; essential as we strive for a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient society and seek to form lasting, meaningful relationships within our communities.”

Branding and identity

In opening their campus and facilities to community use, the branding and identity of schools are becoming increasingly important.

Tweedie says the public face of these multipurpose hubs is an opportunity to provide a legible and welcoming destination for visitors, showcase facilities and programs, and communicate the values, culture or history of the school itself.

“For our work at Ruyton Girls’ School – in association with Sally Draper Architects (SDA) who led the brief, building planning and envelope design – the replacement of the original Royce Hall Theatre with a new performing arts development and auditorium was an opportunity to capture the legacy of the performing arts at Ruyton – and showcase its future.”

Hayball is leading the design of the main auditorium, and the design and delivery of interiors throughout.

“The key design devices for the auditorium were derived from what SDA developed for the exterior – an evocative screen that suggests the leaves of a beloved tree on the Ruyton campus. Acoustically, variable screens subtly reference the building exterior too, creating a sense of an integrated whole,” Tweedie adds.

At St Peter’s College, the school’s branding and colour palette are used throughout the design, so that even when the facility is used outside of school hours, it is clear to users that it remains a part of the school, further strengthening the institution’s identity and reputation within the community.

Conclusion

As schools go through a transformational phase, West says that architects have a role to play in both supporting and catalysing this process through partnerships with stakeholders and good design of these state-of-the-art facilities.

“We can create opportunities for real-world, cross-disciplinary learning, blur the boundary between public and private spaces, and throw doors wide for school communities, all the while ensuring they retain their unique identity through a building’s design language.”

Source: Hayball