Hale School - Music and Drama Centre
EDUCATION
CLIENT: Hale School
LOCATION:
Unwin Ave, Wembley Downs, WA
CONSTRUCTION VALUE: $6M
AREA: 3,473m²
COMPLETED: 2000
CARABINER TEAM:
Project Leader and Architect: David Karotkin
Winner of an Australian Institute of Architects design award, this $8m Performing Arts Centre has been the cornerstone for music and drama at Western Australia’s Hale School for over 20 years.
The Hale School Music and Performance Centre features a state-of-the-art design comprising 19 music practice rooms, two teaching areas, two main rehearsal studios, technical backstage areas and a 400 tiered-seat auditorium, which features outstanding acoustics for musical recitals and the most advanced facilities for drama productions. The building sits at the heart of the campus, linking the junior and senior schools and paying tribute to the arts as a central and celebrated element of the school’s curriculum. A 100m internal “street” runs north-south within the linear form, facilitating ease of movement throughout. The Centre makes a dramatic statement in its outlook over the main School oval and its shape and volume reflect the activities contained within the building envelope.
The visual mass of the Auditorium is tempered by a single storey Foyer and Ablution Block.
Diverse functions within the building are expressed through changes in fenestration. The public Foyer is glass-fronted offering views of landscaped gardens, while geometrical openings define the teaching and practice spaces.
Inside, musical environments range from “bathroom acoustics” designed for singing, through to the “acoustically dead” environments provided for drums. Our design accommodates the necessary acoustic variation by altering room shape and modifying finishes that prevent environmental noise intrusion.
The ambient highlight of the building, the timber-panelled auditorium, features exceptional acoustics for recitals, alongside state-of-the-art facilities for drama productions. Specialist theatre works comprise adjustable proscenium doors, acoustic panels, adjustable acoustic ceiling. Inclusion of cost-effective low-maintenance materiality, from the brick façade to tiled and metal roofs, achieved a quality finish with longevity, ensuring completed project costs were below budget.
The expansive scale and versatility of the facility continue to drive its civic value, with the community benefiting from the range of activities it hosts including ATAR music examinations and external seminars, lectures and films.
The building was also lauded by the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, who hired space within it — a testament to its acoustics.
The fact that this twenty-year-old project continues to be considered a benchmark for school music and drama centres evidences our experience in delivering specialised, enduring and much-loved buildings in the sector.