Performing Arts Centre, Penrith Anglican College

Located at Orchard Hills on the western outskirts of the Greater metropolitan Sydney, Penrith Anglican College is an independent co-educational school for students from pre-school to secondary school.

Established in 1998, the college recently embarked on a broad transformation project intended to make visible and strengthen its pedagogic approaches. The first element of these changes involved the addition of a new state-of-the-art Performing Arts Centre.

Designed by Terroir, the new facility features a dance studio, drama rooms, recital space and lecture hall, as well as music rehearsal studios and a recording studio.

The new building connects to and improves the functionality of the college’s pre-existing theatre. It expands the older facility’s previously limited back of house, foyer and other support functions and creates a new, connected whole.

Positioned between the theatre and a rugby field, the Performing arts Centre is linear in design. On one side, each of the new rooms connects directly to the back-of-house and theatre, while on the other, the building becomes a pavilion – providing views not just of the playing field but also the nearby Blue Mountains.

Externally, the physical connection to the existing theatre is made through the introduction of an expansive and visually striking new roof, which features LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK 700 HI-STRENGTH® roofing made from COLORBOND® steel Surfmist® in a Classic finish.*

Taking a simple, low slung and pitched skillion form, this main pavilion roof folds and rises as it reaches towards one end of the new facility. Allowing a generous view outward over the rugby field and to the mountains beyond, it highlights and accentuates the importance of the space within.

Here, the long straight lines of LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK 700 HI-STRENGTH® roofing are key. Crisp and clean, they are uninterrupted by piercings or connections and therefore open up the roof’s geometric possibilities. They make the structure’s defining features – its folded planes and ‘wing’ that goes tantalisingly close to, but never touches the ground – possible.

While the use of one of Lysaght’s most popular roofing products KLIP-LOK 700 HI-STRENGTH® may have seemed a straight-forward decision, in reality it involved a considerable amount of detailed engineering and design input from Lysaght technical support team, lead by Will Pereyra.

“The actual development and planning of this project spanned almost two years,” explained Will.

“Terroir was very specific with their requirement for the visual impact of a standing seam style roof profile so our challenge was to recommend the product that would both suit their aesthetic needs but also perform functionally in meeting the building design.”

“After considering all the factors especially the long roof runs we recommended LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK 700 HI-STRENGTH® roofing as the best product to suit the requirements of the project.”

Utilising a concealed clip-fix system LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK 700 HI-STRENGTH® roofing is ideal for the 24m long roof runs where thermal expansion and contraction make pierced-fix roofing products untenable.

The Penrith Anglican College Performing Arts Centre is a centre for creative excellence and a premium rehearsal and performance space. Well-received not just by the college’s students and staff, but also welcomed and applauded by the broader community, it recently received the top honour at the 2019 Lysaght Inspirations Design Awards.

Commenting on the victory, Blake Tasker, Lysaght Product & Brand Manager, said the Penrith Anglican College Performing Arts and Teaching Spaces epitomise the best of contemporary Australian design.

“Lysaght is delighted to be able to highlight work of this quality, and through this awards program, to encourage similar achievements into the future. We congratulate Terroir and look forward to seeing how they use LYSAGHT® steel building products in upcoming projects,” he said.

If they reach anything near the standard of this project, they will be well worth waiting for.

Footnote:

*The selection of COLORBOND® steel in the colour Surfmist® made good sense for the Penrith location where maximum temperatures in Summer can reach 40 degrees or more¹. COLORBOND® steel Surfmist® in a Classic finish has a low solar absorptance value (0.33) and may help keep the roof space and building cooler on a hot day². 

1. Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Climate statistics for Australian locations.
2. Results will depend on level and location of insulation, type and location of building shape and function.
3. For further information please refer to:
   • STEEL SELECT®: COLORBOND® steel colours
   • STEEL SELECT®: Solar Absorptance of COLORBOND® steel colours for NCC and BASIX
   • BlueScope Sustainability Technical Bulletin No2: Urban Heat Islands