Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Table, WindowsVictorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Kitchen, FacadeVictorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Dining room, TableVictorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Brick, Chair, Table, Beam, ArchVictorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - More Images+ 6

  • Architects: DesignInc
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  2700
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2022
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Dianna Snape
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Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table, Chair, Windows
© Dianna Snape

Text description provided by the architects. Repurposing a distinctive heritage building, DesignInc Melbourne has delivered a state-of-art training facility for Victoria’s leading educators. The $16.8m fit-out reflects the prestigious professional development programs offered by the Academy and the importance of the teaching profession. “Our client's vision was to position the Academy as a place for the best of the best”. Christon Batey-Smith, DesignInc Director. " It was an exciting idea", said Christon, "We regularly create education facilities for students, but this project is a place for educating educators. The concept of excellence was inspiring."

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Kitchen, Facade
© Dianna Snape

A historic 3-level building, built in 1858 and located in Melbourne's Treasury precinct, has been transformed into a state-of-the-art, contemporary adult learning and teaching facility. Victorian architecture and the gravitas of the Academy were inspirational. The powerful legacy of the heritage building is the foundational story of the new fit out, creating a sense of place that is both memorable and rewarding. "We all know good teachers are instinctive storytellers. We aimed to motivate these amazing educators and planned the interiors narrative as a learning journey that resonates and emboldens them". Design Architect, Jane Sayers, DesignInc Principal.

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Table, Windows
© Dianna Snape
Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Image 11 of 11
Plan
Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Brick, Chair, Table, Beam, Arch
© Dianna Snape

The conceptual design framework imagines a creative journey linking all levels and spaces of the three-level building, symbolizing the interconnection between past, present, and future. The idea is united by a new linking stair inserted in an existing heritage lightwell that expresses the creative journey. As a connector of time and space, the link embodies light, creativity, nature, memories, and hope. DesignInc related the building’s three levels to a tree in a landscape, with the basement as the roots and earth, the center as the trunk, and the top level likened to the canopy - outward-looking and light. That narrative is layered with biophilic elements that express nature in the building fabric.

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table, Chair
© Dianna Snape

Taking the idea further, DesignInc imagined the three layers as a metaphor for time. The basement with its bluestone walls is quite dark and atmospheric; it represents the past. It houses the library and is a quiet place for independent research, study, and investigation. The center layer represents the present. It's the entry-level of the building and has a flexible welcome lounge that is a social meeting point. The top layer represents the future; it's where most of the teaching happens. It has more embellishment, adaptable spaces, and transparency.

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table
© Dianna Snape
Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Image 10 of 11
Plan - Site
Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography, Garden
© Dianna Snape

The innovative learning and teaching spaces in the Academy reflect the range of settings encountered in contemporary education, including blended face-to-face and digital learning models. Integrating adaptability and transparency is a core value of the Academy. We translated this with flexible spaces that support a range of learning modes from individual learning, small group collaboration, and large group/lecture settings, to remote learning. DesignInc brought 'hackable spaces' into the mix, with a zone where teachers can push their ideas to the limits and prototype concepts in real space. The hackable space invites forward thinking and gives educators the freedom to test, showcase, research, investigate, and play in spaces that are easily reconfigured. Christon summed up, "We don't see the Academy as a static project. This facility will evolve over time if we have done our job well. We imagine the future of teaching as a process of constant change."

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc - Interior Photography
© Dianna Snape

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Project location

Address:41 St Andrews Pl, East Melbourne VIC 3002, Australia

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership / DesignInc" 08 Nov 2022. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/991866/victorian-academy-of-teaching-and-leadership-designinc> ISSN 0719-8884

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