Melville Senior High School Theatre, Perth Building Project, Australian Arts Facility, Images

Melville Senior High School Theatre

Performing Arts Building Development in Western Australia – design by Cox Architecture

25 Nov 2019

Melville Senior High School

Design: Cox Architecture

Location: Perth, Western Australia

Melville Senior High School has a new 300 seat theatre is designed to Department of Education brief requirements as part of the redevelopment of the school’s performing arts facilities. The stand-alone theatre serves as an extension to the existing performing arts building, creating a new precinct that consolidates the school’s planning.

Positioned on a boundary adjacent to Leach Highway, the theatre creates a striking landmark for the school and offers north facing vistas across the playing fields. Tiered terracing to the oval can be utilised for teaching and passive recreation.

The building is a simple collection of parts informed by their functional requirements and has three components – performance space, foyer and gallery. Each can be used separately for teaching, providing exceptional functional flexibility.

The performance space uses precast concrete to create an acoustically separated ‘black box’. The foyer is a flexible space with a lightweight steel frame, clad in compressed metal sheets. The gallery is a glazed, steel-framed circulation spine which is naturally ventilated.

The three elements are united under a metal roof that folds across and around the components with no box gutters or parapets. The roof connects the elements and extends to the ground, anchoring the building to the site.