All Hallows’ School

All Hallows’ School is located on a state heritage listed campus on the fringe of the Brisbane CBD. The existing library fitout was 20 years old and no longer reflected the contemporary educational needs of the students. The refurbishment has provided a range of new spaces accommodating different learning modes and was achieved within tight time frame causing minimal disruption to a densely populated site.

The design philosophy was defined by the following themes:

Place – maximise views out of the library to the school campus and greater city surrounds.

Pedagogy – provide a variety of spaces to suit groups of different sizes and undertaking a variety of tasks. Different floor levels, ceiling treatments and furniture provided a range of flexible learning spaces that were different to the classroom experience and inspired creative thinking.

Narrative – explore and convey the story of Mother Patrick Potter (the library’s namesake) and the mercy tradition. The circle motif that is referenced throughout the library design was inspired by the ‘circle of mercy’ which is an expression used to evoke the mercy values of compassion, respect, integrity and justice.

Fulton Trotter Architects conducted a collaborative design process with stakeholders that included the school leadership team, the library and teaching staff, facility management staff, maintenance and IT staff, and the student council. The use of a 3D BIM model from the early concept stages accelerated the consultation phase by helping stakeholders to easily understand the proposed design. This also assisted in the delivery of the project within a compressed timeframe.