FCJ College received funding to build a new multi-purpose hall on land that they had astutely purchased in 2010 adjacent to the existing campus.

The design of the hall is contemporary and striking, informal in its planning and deliberately open and welcoming within its surrounding context, designed to be utilised for a wide range of activities including sporting and educational purposes as well as assemblies, meetings, services and functions.

The building itself is simple yet flexible, easy to use and navigate, and supportive of both College and community uses. The pitched entry canopy opens up to a generous foyer space that can be utilised for both congregation and educational uses in conjunction with, or separately to the main hall, to host exhibitions, receptions and other events.

The main hall offers tiered seating for 350 people that can be fully retracted into purpose-built storage spaces outside the auditorium, allowing the entirety of the hall to be utilised uninterrupted for sports or for events of up to 1000 people standing.

The building’s external palette is simple, universal and dignified, while also complementing and integrating with surrounding built context, including the red brick church next door.

The location of the College in Benalla means that the structures all undergo extremes of temperature and weather throughout the year. With this in mind, we designed a robust, predominantly brick ground floor, thermally insulating both the interior and upper level, allowing the addition of a light poly carbonate façade to the southern upper level which brings light deep within the building, to enhance and balance the internal environment no matter the season.

Photographer: Peter Casamento

Builder: City Living Property Services