Nano Nagle Performing Arts Centre

The Nano Nagle Centre mediates the threshold between the St John Vianney’s Primary School campus and the adjacent Catholic Church through a series of open courtyards and covered external spaces.

The building is organised into two separate volumes linked by the two-way proscenium stage. The general learning areas are stacked over the tuckshop and covered play area and overlook the oval, playground and sports facilities. Stairs and large concrete terraces provide seating that links the covered and open play spaces. A sliding wall at the rear of the stage allows for a two-way orientation, either towards the main interior volume of the hall or the secondary exterior volume of the covered play area and oval beyond. The main body of the hall can seat 400 or be divided into separate zones with the use of an operable wall.

This project clarifies the parti of the school masterplan by strengthening several existing axes on the site.  The location and orientation of each space, and the placement of open and solid elements within the façade, negotiate the connections with the street and public spaces. Robustness and longevity, functionality and flexibility are at the heart of the design and material selections.