Overview
Entrant:
Ignite Architects
Category:
02. Interior Design Award
Photographed by:
Hamish Melville
Key team members:
Ignite Architects - Michael Bilsborough, Jennis Lee, Pierre De Lange, Aaron Kumar, Adam Amis, Matthew Ryu
MSC Consulting (Structure & Civil)
MESH Consulting (Building Services)
Tetratech (Geotechnical Engineer)
Naylor Love Construction (Construction)
Rubix (Project Management)
The Learning Block at Northcote College brings together a broad mix of specialist teaching spaces across three to four split levels.
The programme includes science labs, commercial kitchens, hard materials workshops, digital fabrication and CAD rooms, art and fashion studios, mathematics classrooms, and a library with an integrated learning support centre. This required a structural and interior approach that could deliver durability, acoustic control, and flexibility.
The building’s atrium showcases the project’s commitment to timber. Cross‑laminated timber (CLT) stairs and bleachers are combined with plywood wall and ceiling linings to create a warm, robust environment suited to high student use. Timber is used extensively throughout the internal and external framing, replacing steel stud systems typically used in buildings of this scale. Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams along slab edges support the façade and improve thermal performance by reducing cold bridging.
Timber was chosen over steel and concrete in key areas for environmental and performance reasons. The widespread use of timber framing significantly reduced embodied carbon relative to conventional education buildings. Prefinished plywood linings avoided paint systems, improved durability in high‑traffic areas, and provided a consistent natural interior finish.
The CLT elements offered prefabrication benefits, reducing on‑site construction time and waste while enabling precise detailing in the atrium. LVL beams provided the required structural performance while allowing for slender façade edges and supporting the building’s passive thermal strategy.
Timber species were selected for performance, availability, and alignment with local supply chains. CLT and wall framing are SG8 Radiata Pine, a locally grown species with reliable structural properties. The plywood linings are a pine substrate with a poplar laminate chosen for its stability and light tone. Overall, the project demonstrates how timber can be applied at scale in a complex education facility.
The result is a durable, and welcoming learning environment that highlights the versatility of engineered timber systems across structure, interior finishes, and thermal performance.