The change room upgrade at Fahan School is the first completed project for the school following the 2023 masterplan by Bence Mulcahy. Fahan is an all-girls school situated on a heritage listed campus, significant in part for it’s sports field.  With a founding and enduring focus on sport and outdoor education for girls, it is fitting then, Fahan chose as its first capital works project change rooms, amenities and storage. The project is an exercise in doing more with less, physically and programatically. The 1980s brick block building is retained with minor replanning creating private amenities and a greater storage area, and on the exterior a new concrete podium and verandah extension provide enhanced amenity, accessibility and spectating.  Despite it’s banality careful consideration is given to removal and replacement of existing building fabric. Block work is retained internally, and new works are restrained to only where required. Private toilet and shower rooms are provided off the change room and an accessible toilet/shower room off the verandah doubles as a referee change room.  A major element of the new works is a new concrete podium forming a level surface for accessibility and for hosing out. Tinted red it connects to the red brick campus. The podium forms an edge to the sports field. The verandah extends past the building, and delineates the school’s oval from the car park. A fine steel screen forms a layer of privacy for external showers to rinse off wetsuits and gear after a lesson on the beach.  The project is emblematic of the school’s enduring commitment to girls sport and outdoor education. It is a modest project, doing more with less. Adam Gibson Photography

At the 2024 Tasmanian Architecture Awards earlier this year The EmAGN Project Award was presented to the EmAGN members of Bence Mulcahy with H2o architects for the he Friends’ School Redevelopment Project.

We are also chuffed to receive a Commendation for Educational Architecture for the same project. 

EmAGN jury citation:

“The EmAGN Project Award is given to The Friends’ School Redevelopment Project, as testament to the collective efforts of EmAGN members in leadership, collaboration, and architectural expertise.

The initial partnership with H2o Architects provided Bence Mulcahy with the opportunity to contribute to the practice’s first, large-scale education project. Further to this, project procurement following the Development Approval stage, provided the young practice with an opportunity to independently take the project through to completion.

Their collaborative approach led to a design outcome which seamlessly integrated this larger-scale urban development within its historic surroundings. This was evident in the Revell Centre heritage streetscape studies, which demonstrated the team’s dedication to thoughtful intervention given the sensitive context. The use of subtle design gestures exemplifies their commitment to architectural excellence.

The project was led and staffed by a team of emerging architects, including the Practice Director, whose guidance inspired a culture of collaboration and innovation, ensuring the delivery of architectural excellence. The team’s proficiency in collaboration and client engagement were pivotal in shaping the project’s trajectory, and navigated the intricate demands of the heritage site. Meticulous documentation, attention to public realm features, and adept handling of contractual issues further enriched the project’s quality.

The project’s success is a testament to the team’s ingenuity and collaborative spirit, setting a standard for emerging architects in the industry.”

From our client

“The School campuses are not easy sites on which to work. The Friends’ School has many heritage listed buildings with restricted access. Additionally, the School remained in session with roughly 600 students and nearly 100 staff on the campus, so noise awareness, safety of current users (students, staff, and parents), security and continued learning were major considerations which resulted in some constraints throughout the entire construction process of approximately two years. Bence Mulcahy proved to be flexible, organised, and available to accommodate adjustments of the project brief. The School is very pleased with the outcome of the project.”

Bence Mulcahy team: Shamus Mulcahy, Sophie Bence, Hannah Webber, Bek Verrier, Johnny Mckenzie, Michael Renshaw, Dylan Rowbottom, Tim Hurburgh H2o architects

Built by Fairbrother

Gandy and Roberts Engineers, COVA, Lee Tyers Building Surveying, Playstreet Landscape Architects

Photos by Adam Gibson Photography

We are honoured to be awarded the Sydney Blythe Award for Educational Architecture at the 2023 Tasmanian Architecture Awards for Holy Rosary Catholic School.

Jury citation:

“Holy Rosary is a delightful calibration of a hard-working primary school environment.

An intuitive masterplan process ran concurrently with overlapping design and construction demands. Every architectural decision seeks to benefit the teacher, the students, the school community, and the site. The variety of internal to external connections act to strengthen teaching and learning possibilities. The persistent agility of the new works continually generates the possibility of engagement with the broader realm of the school and the community.

The experience of the neighbourhood of Claremont is backgrounded by a feeling of deep connection and celebration of the creek, the streetscape, and the hills and mountain beyond. The outcome of years of effort, this humble project is an extraordinary example of Tasmanian architects operating with economy, agility and care.“

Built by Maverick Building and designed with Playstreet, Aldanmark and CES. 

Thank you to all our team Shamus Mulcahy, Sophie Bence, Bek Verrier, Hannah Webber, Johnny Mckenzie, Emily Hunt and to Mike Renshaw. 

A shout out to Adam Gibson who worked his magic behind the lens around the chaos of a primary school in full swing!

The design for the Cambridge Primary School Major Redevelopment responds to the school’s positive culture where all students have a sense of belonging and agency, and where physical activity, outdoor play and being ‘in the bush’ is highly valued.

The project includes a new building, with four GLAs, an extension to the existing kindergarten with an additional learning space, relocation of the library, expansion of the existing canteen, new outdoor covered areas and associated landscaping.

The new built elements improve the experience of the landscape, and connect students directly to the surrounding bush and rivulet.

New and refurbished classrooms open to wide verandas for outdoor undercover learning, and playful elements such as the roof “pops” capture light and sky views while tree-top decks become points to survey the schoolyard and broader landscape.

New built elements extend existing buildings and consolidate existing site patterns. New buildings are brick, gabled and sympathetic to existing typologies. Internally they are warm and light, domestic styled interiors.

The approach to new landscape is to provide a range of different zones with seamless connection to the indoors and to the bush and rivulet.

Adam Gibson Photographer

Visualisations by CUUB Studio

The Revell Centre, a state-of-the-art sports facility for The Friends’ School, is the first project resulting from our masterplan for the school (link to masterplan page).

The sports centre, which also includes teaching spaces, staff offices and other amenities, improves site accessibility by connecting with existing buildings at multiple levels using lifts and bridge walkways.

Developing a new sports facility also allows the school to convert the former WN Oats gym, located at the heart of the school’s campus, into flexible, contemporary teaching spaces (link to Oats page).

Our work for Friends’ is guided by the school’s distinctive ethos and desire to create outstanding facilities that benefit the whole school community. The Revell Sports Centre and redevelopment of the WN Oats Centre contribute to this goal by significantly improving equity of access at the school. 

Awards

2024 Tasmanian Architecture Commendation for Educational Architecture for Bence Mulcahy with H2o architects

2024 Tasmanian Architecture The EmAGN Project Award to the EmAGN members of Bence Mulcahy with H2o architects

Adam Gibson Photographer

Images by CUUB Studio

Holy Rosary Catholic School, established in 1961, values its strong connections with the local community and vibrant school culture. 

An assessment of the school identified the need for larger, contemporary learning spaces, improved student amenities and flexible spaces for social and community programs.  

Our additions stay true to the school’s existing low-level, red-brick buildings with domestic-scale awnings and decks, and their location reinforces the importance of the school’s central courtyard.  The new transparent shared spaces, amenities pods and pop-up sun collectors are a playful addition to the campus.

Awards

2023 Tasmanian Architecture Awards Sydney Blythe Award for Educational Architecture

Photos Adam Gibson

Bence Mulcahy is undertaking a masterplan for Fahan School to guide their building program.

Fahan, a girls’ school with students from kindergarten to year 12, is situated on a leafy and historic campus in Sandy Bay and enjoys beautiful views of the River Derwent. 

In response to our consultation with students, and the school’s commitment to put the outdoors at the heart of education, our campus planning prioritises the landscape setting and ‘long view’ to the river.

A new terraced landscape “green heart” in the centre of the campus connects the whole school and is a place for gathering, outdoor learning and active play. New buildings capture the ‘long view’, and alterations to existing teaching spaces provide breakout spaces and connections to the outdoors. 

Deep consultation with students was a highlight of our work with Fahan. The high value of the gardens came through universally to become the focus of the masterplan. 

Images by Bence Mulcahy and Fahan School

 

 

2022 Tasmanian Architecture Awards Commendation for Educational Architecture

Dover, located 81 km south of Hobart, is Australia’s most southern town.

The redevelopment of the Dover School campus to accommodate a new year 11 and 12 facility helps remove barriers to education for this remote community with a population of 486.

The school’s original 1950s hall was extended and linked to a new building that overlooks the town and port, connecting students to the dramatic landscape and their community.

The contemporary teaching space now caters for the school’s primary and secondary students, as well as adult learners and community events.

The new building continues the school’s existing gable and skillion roofs, with the folding roof planes outlining the three teaching spaces within.

Carbon-neutral Tasmanian red bricks were selected to be in keeping with the existing material palette and from a desire to use local materials.

Awards

2022 Tasmanian Architecture Awards Commendation for Educational Architecture

Photos by Adam Gibson