We’re serious when it comes to our community, which is why we have invested the time and effort to develop detailed and professional plans. These plans were made by our award winning chief architect Angelo Candalepas of Candalepas & Associates and have been independently costed. The following section contains a detailed walk through of the project to help you get a feel of what it will be like in the not too distant future.

The Buildings

The buildings are arranged around a quadrangle partially open to one side which provides an internal outlook and affords privacy to students and community members; this configuration creates two adjoining but separate courtyards, providing the separation of the primary daytime functions required by the client brief.

The teaching and administration buildings are narrow extruded forms providing all spaces with dual aspect promoting cross ventilation, which in conjunction with appropriately located exposed high thermal mass surfaces, solar control devices and ceiling fans will provide a high degree of thermal comfort to building occupants without the need for mechanical conditioning of the accommodation. The roof of the school is also proposed to be used for solar and water harvesting to further reduce the resources used in the day to day running of the facility.

Further smaller balconies and terraces are also proposed on the upper levels of the building to provide a number of potential external and partially external teaching environments, allowing building occupants flexibility to respond to varying climatic conditions. Water is proposed to be used throughout the courtyards both for visual interest and to provide passive cooling to building occupants.

The Courtyards

The first more public of the two courtyards is accessed directly from the street and abuts the proposed Mosque. The courtyard will be used primarily as an orientation and congregation space for worshipers entering and exiting the Mosque. The second courtyard is the larger and more private of the two courtyards, accessed through but physically separated from the first courtyard. Around the second courtyard the administration building, library and school classrooms are located. The second courtyard is also proposed to be used as a playground for school children. The design allows the flexibility such that the physical connection between courtyards can be widened allowing the whole campus to be used for religious teaching and other community activities outside school hours.

The Mosque

The architectural expression of the Mosque building is intentionally separate from the remainder of the buildings providing for a distinct character of its own. Entry to the Mosque is via a highly detailed and delicate front façade. Worshipers will pass below expressed deep off-form concrete beams with partially open terracotta screens between that are used to naturally ventilate the space beyond. Once inside the Mosque the off-form concrete beams continue above to frame skylights which reflect natural daylight into the space. A grid of columns supporting the beams above and natural stone floor tiles are used to orient the congregation appropriately. Laser cut Islamic texts are also to be incorporated throughout the Mosque.

The design aims to create a centre for religious teaching and community activities to meet an existing and rapidly expanding community based congregation now and into the future.