Kangan Batman TAFE, Automotive Centre of Excellence
“The ACE currently consumes only half of the average energy consumption of a typical Melbourne office building, which reduces greenhouse pollution by around 103 tonnes per year – the equivalent to planting 155 trees annually.”
Phill Murphy, General Manager, Kangan Batman Institute of TAFE
With every design that makes its way through our studio comes an opportunity to set new benchmarks within architecture, industry and sustainability. The Kangan Batman TAFE, Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) is a design that sets new benchmarks in sustainable practices and shapes a new culture for the automotive industry. Now established as an integral building in Melbourne’s Docklands, the ACE accommodates a dedicated training and showcase facility for Australia’s automotive trades and manufacturing. It brings applied learning and industry partnerships into a visible city-making setting, linking education, enterprise and community.
Consisting of high-bay workshop spaces, specialist workrooms, classrooms and office accommodation, the design absorbs sources from automotive culture, and its relationships with the city. The building brings TAFE education out of the shadows of sheds in the suburbs and places it in the heart of a central Melbourne suburb, rich with history and industry. High-bay workshops are planned alongside classrooms to enable flexible learning sequences, with clear wayfinding across teaching, tooling and display zones.
Education
Carey Lyon
Kangan Batman Institute of TAFE
Hansen Yuncken (Builder)
Umow Lai & Associates (Mechanical, Electrical and Fire Engineer)
Robert Bird (Structural Engineer)
Watson Moss Growcott (Acoustic Consultant)
Rimington & Associates (Hydraulic Engineer)
Bassett Kuttner Collins (Fire Services Engineer)
Connell Mott McDonald (Face Engineer)
Carson Group (Project Manager)
Peter Luzinat & Partners (Building Surveyor)
1 Batmans Hill Dr, Docklands VIC 3008
Traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people
5,000m2
Complete
As many vocational training facilities tend to be tucked away in suburban warehouses, ACE marks a shift for the culture of TAFE students. The building places TAFE students in the heart of metropolitan Melbourne, calling them to commute from the suburbs. The design melds together our knowledge of university architecture with more traditional aspects of tertiary college buildings. By moving training into the urban core, the campus supports activation of the public realm and everyday connections with local employers.
Conceived as a small civic space, the main foyer with its monumental staircase, acts as the key circulation pathway through the building as well as a thermal chimney for the administration and teaching areas. From this space visitors experience a “transition” from traditional technical college materiality: raw blockwork, exposed steel and concrete to contemporary applications of carbon fibre and glass projection technology, again contrasting the automotive sensibility of raw technology and polished finish. The foyer also acts as a student engagement hub and informal exhibition space, encouraging chance encounters and showcasing work-in-progress
ACE has a distinctive identity, one that is shaped by the history of Docklands, the broader city and the automotive industry. To construct an identity for ACE that competes with the surrounding architecture of Docklands, we investigated the history of the area to find an appropriate gesture to scale up. The history of the ‘big shed’, that is still evident in nearby railway sheds, informs the simple large gable roof. This scaled gable reads as a contemporary interpretation of the industrial shed, giving the Institute a civic presence.
A homage to the architecture of the Docklands, the design also connects to the roots of TAFE and industrial space for training. We designed the building to blur into the urban landscape, making it a recognizable addition to the fabric of the city. In addition to absorbing the context of Docklands, the design references automotive culture, and its relationship with the broader city. Kerb signs, tyre treads, the adjacent Charles Grimes overpass, and the sheen of car showrooms are all woven into the design. These cues stitch the project into the urban fabric and establish a recognisable identity for students and visitors.
“This project drags vocational training away from its traditional location in TAFE suburban campuses and brings it into the inner city – directly connecting the urban auto industry with its training needs. The design is full of elements that try and connect this automotive culture with the city and its energies.”
Carey Lyon, Director of Lyons.
When it was opened in 2006, ACE signalled a watershed moment in the construction of TAFE training facilities. Designed to reflect the Institute’s commitment to promote sustainable practices, the building is a nation-wide leader in delivering innovative automotive training programs. The building was among the first of 10 buildings in Australia to be awarded a 5 Star Green Star rating, making it a building of national significance. The sustainability approach is embedded in everyday operations, targeting efficient performance as part of standard practice rather than an add-on.
The design employs a range of environmentally-sustainable features including fully natural ventilation incorporating two intake, and thermal chimney zones. ACE is the first Australian building to incorporate BATISO active thermal mass cooling. Cooling coils embedded into the post-tensioned slabs reticulate chilled water providing ‘coolth’ to classroom spaces. This thermally active building strategy stores and releases cooling through the slab to smooth peaks and improve comfort across the timetable.
Kangan Batman TAFE Executive Director and previous general manager Phill Murphy commented on the impact of the sustainable design saying, “The ACE currently consumes only half of the average energy consumption of a typical Melbourne office building, which reduces greenhouse pollution by around 103 tonnes per year – the equivalent to planting 155 trees annually.” Although a key driver for the project, sustainability was conceived of as embedded rather than exemplary; a paradigm shift from sustainability as different and expensive. By privileging passive systems and robust materials, the building supports learning space optimisation with minimal operational complexity.
Carey Lyon, Co-Founders, Practice Executive
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