austraLasia #1895
(photos available on Bosconet homepage)
New Chapel at Dominic College, Tasmania, wins Australian Architectural
award
HOBART: 5th July 2007 --Four years after being destroyed by
fire, Dominic College Chapel in Glenorchy, southern Tasmania, has risen
from the ashes with an award winning design, mixing the spiritual with
eye-catching, contemporary architecture.
Described as 'an intelligent use of steel', by the
Royal Australian
Institute of Architects' jury, who awarded it this year's
COLORBOND®
steel Award and Public Architecture Award, the project represents a
great piece of design work that complements the natural beauty of the
site. This particular kind of steel was selected for
texture and colour because it
accentuated the shape of the building and complemented existing
building fabric and surrounding gum trees.
The chapel sits at the apex of Dominic College where
it is a
central link for the school community as well as boasting an impressive
view of Mount Wellington. Designed by DesignInc Tasmania, the structure
maximises spanning potential with a distinctive cranked steel frame,
which opens up a huge column free view for Chapel users.
The view to Mount Wellington provides a backdrop to
the altar in
the main chapel. A smaller chapel is created in one corner of this
space by the opening of a wall panel. A second and yet a third chapel
open out through folded, sliding doors onto a landscaped
amphitheatre/courtyard
where services can be held for up to 1,000 people.
Final touches to the chapel will be completed
by the Dominic
College community working together to re-establish the ceremonial rose
garden and recreate the 'Stations of the Cross', which in the previous
chapel were also a striking feature painted on the windows by a
Tasmanian award-winning artist. That artist has since died.
Dominic College is one of Tasmania's best-known
and sought-after
educational K-12 institutions. It has been conducted by the Salesians
since a community was established in 1946. It has gone through
several
manifestations, starting out as Boys Town in the immediate post-war
period, then becoming 'Savio College' in 1958 when the previous chapel
was built (the author was indeed a member of the student community at
that time!), and finally becoming Dominic College in the 60's, a name
that recognised the involvement of the Dominican Sisters at the time
that the College became co-educational. The Sisters have now withdrawn
but their legacy is remembered fondly.
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