Preshil Workshop

In fitting with the unique principles of Preshil The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School and in deference to the architecture of Kevin Borland on the Primary School Campus the technology building, with workshop and kitchen, embodies an open and exploratory design which shifts away from the traditional classroom design. By making use of strong sustainability principles and a robust from, studio 505 was able to provide for Preshil a versatile design that is adaptable to the present and futures needs of the school.  The technology building itself acts as an educator for the students with the passive methods of cooling being elemental to the design while the importance of responsible water use is relayed as the students use collected rain water to grow the produce for their kitchen.

The breezeway forms a key component of the sustainable principles employed in the design. In separating the two functions the breezeway promotes passive cooling through cross ventilation, which is utilized in the workshop. Clerestory windows in the sawtooth roof allow hot air to rise out of the space while operable vents in the floor enable fresh air to be drawn in from under the floor. The air drawn from beneath the building is naturally cooler while a secondary cooling method is employed as the drawn air passes over rain water collection bladders (natural coolth banks). Heating provided to the space is radiant, allowing for standing workshop style operation, ensuring the large volume dust extractors do not exhaust heated air from the high volume.

The blank canvas façade has been designed to be clad over time with façade additions and tiling designed and manufactured within the workshop by generations of students to come. This process allows the design to grow and adapt with the education of the students, for the building to be owned and claimed Preshillian's as a true space of Preshil.