Our brief for the iCentre was to house a combination of seminar, informal learning, quiet study and reading zones, an enclosed games area, staff room and support facilities in the shell of Trinity Grammar’s existing library. The iCentre is designed to facilitate the learning experience through interaction and collaboration combined with access to digital media and reference material in an education focussed activity based space.

We sought to make physical this new interpretation of the library – as an academic hub, a research and inquiry centre of excellence and a driving space for eLearning technologies set around client-focussed services. This vision also involved a radical departure from the traditional staffing methods to library professionals in an activity based work environment.

The 700m² facility houses seminar spaces, group pods, flexible group spaces, meeting room and snug, staff collaboration area, staff hubs, quiet study with study nooks, media / gaming room and printshop. We satisfied this brief and delivered all requirements on time and on budget by encouraging retention, upgrade or upcycling of many existing features.

As the project involved such a radical departure from the understanding of the library as a facility, we supported the school in the promotion of these new ideas to staff and students. The construction was undertaken over the Christmas school holidays on a very tight time frame and sensitivity was given to the residential neighbourhood which the school exists. At the start of construction the school was still in use including examinations.