The beauty of the Wagga Wagga surrounds, thinking outside the box, and Cemintel’s Barestone™ and Surround™ cladding collections serve as inspiration to the architectural design of Estella Primary School.
Spearheading this design was Sam Rigoli from Pedavoli Architects who describes how he enjoyed the process of bringing this vision to life to create a school that students could feel a tangible connection to.
An organic design approach
“Estella Court took an innovative outdoor approach to learning and we wanted this to be reflected in the architecture to create open learning spaces. An organic approach to the design was inspired by the natural form of the nearby Murrumbidgee River.”
To bring this idea to life, Pedavoli Architects carefully selected materials that would help create this effect. Cemintel Barestone prefinished cladding panels, available in three different shades of grey and various panel sizes were used to mimic a river bend that follows the site's contours. “This application of Cemintel's Barestone panels injected a sense of movement and fluidity across the school's exterior,” says Rigoli.
A deliberate by-product of this design was the pockets of learning spaces that were created due to the shape of the contour, and the collaborative ambience these learning nooks provide are one of the students’ favourite features of the school.
Considered detail
The connection to land, river and community continues through the school’s thoughtful design with artwork from Dixon Patten (Bitja) telling the story of the Wiradjuri people, featured on a perforated screen to form the Level 1 balustrade.
The considered approach to design details such as these was important to Rigoli, given that connection to country forms an important part of his architectural philosophy. “I really start with the land being built on and use its story to inform my design. I love creating buildings that bring a significance and acknowledgement of history.”
Rigoli extended this empathy to the selection of colours to add to the buildings’ exteriors from the Barestone and Surround Collection. “The concept of fire is an important pillar to the Wiradjuri people and we wanted to continue their narrative, along with the history of the school’s location as inspiration.” As such Barestone Graphite was chosen for the base colour of this school with burnt orange accents from the Surround range incorporated to signify trees burnt by bushfires whilst blue tones reflected the sky, injecting a respectful aspect to the community and area.
Rigoli adds the ability to include these personalised design features to his projects through the Surround Collection palette as one of the product’s drawcards, along with the mix of textures on offer that create points of interest in each building.
Materials that endure
The demanding conditions of a school environment mean using materials that have a long lifespan and can endure adverse weather conditions, and Barestone and Surround fit this brief, according to Rigoli.
“Cladding must be tough, especially on a scale such as this. Factors such as Ceminseal waterblock technology mean they [the Barestone panels] are highly effective in repelling water, which significantly reduces the risk of delamination. The non-combustibility and bushfire rating of the Barestone also mean it suits the conditions perfectly.”
