The Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership designed by Maddison Architects was named winner of National Best Façade for 2012 by AWCI (Association of Wall and Ceiling Industries Australia and New Zealand).

The lead architects, Maddison Architects, also won a Commendation in the 2012 Victorian Architecture Awards Heritage category for Public Architecture Alterations and Additions in June.

Cockram Construction were recognised by the Master Builders Association of Victoria 2012 Excellence in Construction Awards with the award for the Construction of Commercial Buildings.

Located in the inner city suburb of North Melbourne, the heritage listed building, circa 1882, was one of approximately 615 schools designed by Henry Robert Bastow who served as chief architect and surveyor to the Education Department after Victoria’s Education Act was introduced in 1872.

Drew Carling associate director at Maddison said that he worked with Lovell Chen to bridge the gap between old and new.

He said: "There was a deliberate decision to treat any new amenities created within the existing spaces as insertions within the room – so that new work could be read as obviously new, " said Carling.

“The Victorian Education Department is creating a new facility to lead us into the future - this building is trying to represent that,” he said.

He added that the material selection was important to the finished product of the building and that durability and waterproofing enabled the architectural result.

Michael Turco design assistant Smartfix said:

“The opportunity to work collaboratively with Maddison Architects ensured that we gained a clear picture of the expectations and the design vision. That fed into our selection of the most appropriate Smartfix system and how that might be executed while considering the complexities of the fabrication and installation of the façade.”

“We used 3D computer models to determine the highest level of finish for the complex geometric nature of the Bastow project,” Turco said.

Commenting on the installation of the Smartfix mechanical fixing and Symonite panelling, Robert Vogt Engineer at Kakosi Construction said that the angular design presented a high degree of challenge.

“Because Smartfix is an easy system to work with, that made the job time efficient and relatively straightforward.”

Working with a combination of standard Smartfix system horizontal and vertical joiners there were also some angles that called for fabrication to meet the design requirements.

“Precision was essential. We needed to ensure all of the top hats were plumb and in-line before applying the Smartfix and Symonite,” he said.

Madeline Prince

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