John Cunningham Student Centre
The Scots College
Bellevue Hill NSW
Completed in 2024
The Principal Dr. Ian Lambert, enunciated a vision for the JCSC as a new hub for the College, serving as a central point for students, staff, and visitors. It needed to embody a tradition and underscore cultural identity and Scottish heritage. As a student support centre, it would bring counselling together and be a teaching & learning resource.
The John Cunningham Student Centre is designed in the Scottish Baronial Style. It is correctly positioned between Italianate Aspinall House and Georgian Revival Main School building, to create a neat and sensitive historical link. The completed building reflects the College’s connection to Scottish history, values, and traditions.
Design work was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Alastair Disley, a University of Edinburgh based Architectural historian, and a recognised expert in Scots Baronial Architecture. The team wanted to ensure the composition, massing & approach to detailing remained true to the general principles underlying the style.
The College’s focus is on the diverse needs of boys and the building provides multi-purpose spaces, bringing together counselling, pastoral care and allied health services. It provides a setting which normalises access to such care. Spaces are intended to encourage social interaction. The interior design focused on spatial planning, arrival, entry, circulation routes and the optimal places of services. Circulation routes are designed to encourage spontaneous, informal interactions between staff and students, enhancing communication and building a sense of community.
LCA or Life Cycle Analysis was at the forefront of the design process. We sought to double the lifespan of an educational building through application of highly durable, long-term performance materials which will last well over a century.
The building is the tangible manifestation of a significant link to place, now to be experienced by many generations of Scots students, staff & parents.
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