Dalyellup College

Wound around existing trees and sporting an overarching steel roof befitting of its semi-rural location, Dalyellup College reflects the essence of its environment. It’s an achievement of which David Gulland, principal of Hassell, is most proud.

“We wanted to impart the school with a flavour of the suburb so keeping trees on the site was a major driving force, Gulland said.

Microclimate was another factor that helped shape the school. One of the reasons for the building to have a larger, blank facade on the south-west corner was to shelter the school’s internal courtyard from strong prevailing winds.

The corner is a two-storey element, partially finished in LYSAGHT SPANDEK HI-TEN® profile made from ZINCALUME® steel and COLORBOND® steel in the colour Shale Grey™ in a Classic finish. The building mass forms a shoulder that stands against the blusterous elements. A central internal courtyard is another of the school’s signatures. “We wanted a focus on a singular school centre that suggests everyone belongs to one big community,” Gulland said.

Steel was used for roofing and cladding, and much of the building’s structure, which delivered efficiencies during the construction phase.

Overarching the entire project are huge spans of LYSAGHT SPANDEK HI-TEN® profile roofing made from ZINCALUME® steel and COLORBOND® steel, in the colour Shale Grey™ in a Classic finish.

Our goal was to avoid having lots of little load-bearing walls, which can clutter a building,” he said.

“Steel is one of the few materials that allows you to run big spans without having necessarily to fill in all the walls, so it had a clear advantage over other materials in terms of its flexibility.

The same LYSAGHT SPANDEK HI-TEN® profile made from ZINCALUME® steel and COLORBOND® steel Shale Grey™, adorns the walls.

LYSAGHT SPANDEK HI-TEN® profile cladding made from ZINCALUME® steel and COLORBOND® steel comprises the lion’s share of the eastern facade of the college’s striking main entrance, where it provides a textural counterpoint to the vibrantly coloured pre-finished villaboard panels lining the interior.

Careful consideration was given to Dalyellup College’s colour scheme.

The school’s colours are drawn from the greens, greys and yellows of the surrounding vegetation. These are judiciously interspersed with bright patches of colour.

Joining the calmer hues of the school’s colour scheme is LYSAGHT PANELRIB® profile soffit cladding made from COLORBOND® steel Surfmist® in a Classic finish.

Primarily used for soffit linings to the verandahs, Gulland said the LYSAGHT PANELRIB® profile made from COLORBOND® steel was chosen for the clean and simple plane it provides.

Just as landscape architecture collaboration resulted in the college’s signature treescape, Hassell was able to contribute to another facet of the project by liaising with WA artist Lorenna Grant, who created a series of sculptures called The Essentials of Flight.

Longevity is a requirement in public art, so steel was an obvious choice of material,” Grant Said. “Steel also works well as an integrating material because it is a large component of the architectural palette.”