Design Lessons

The design agenda of Shenton College was not explicitly environmental - water conservation, low impact materials, renewable energy and the like were not part of the brief. The main drivers were to facilitate a new, more liberal (and pragmatic) curriculum and to create a showcase school that could compete with the private sector. However, energy performance criteria had already been established by CAMS and further elaborated by EDWA. Interestingly, in gathering information for this case study, there were conflicting accounts about the energy standards that formally applied during the time Shenton College was being designed.

This is partly due to the fact that CAMS has been through a number of restructures since the mid 1990s. What did emerge however, was a common understanding amongst those most closely involved in procurement and design, that energy performance is a taken for granted requirement of school design, and more generally, government buildings. So despite political and administrative changes, a culture of designing for positive environmental outcomes has survived and is prospering in Western Australia. Hopefully this can be expanded to incorporate energy demand management and other environmental criteria in future projects.

Front of Upper School showing enclosed colonnade and south facing highlight window