We’re delighted that the new DATS Centre at Mount Erin Secondary College has been selected as a finalist in the 2016 Victorian School Design Awards.
An intensive and collaborative planning process with the school and the Department of Education and Training identified that two significant building projects were required to replace existing stock and provide high quality, integrated learning experiences for the school’s students and staff. Through a ‘revisioning’ of the masterplan, an opportunity to create integrated specialist hubs emerged, the first of which would deliver a cohesive, cross-disciplinary facility for Design, Arts, Technology and Science.
Where previously the technology, arts and science spaces were located in separate buildings across the campus, the new DATS facility incorporates curriculum areas in core subjects and provides opportunities for cross disciplinary interaction and learning. Bringing these disciplines together would see a significant shift in the schools’ organisation, both physically and educationally. And while providing highly specialist learning environments to meet the current needs, the DATS Centre is also designed to respond and adapt to changes in curriculum and pedagogy over time, with minimal impact on building fabric.
The awards will be announced on Thursday 3 November.