Sacred Heart Girls' School, Oakleigh

The building designed by Frederick Romberg is used as an educational facility by Sacred Heart Girls’ School. Positioned on the corner of Warrigal Rd and Kangaroo Rd at one of Melbourne's eastern suburbs, Oakleigh. Completed in 1954, this building is a fine example of postmodern architectural style. The site was purchased from the Sacred Heart Parish (Oakleigh) in 1955, established the foundations of the girls' school which would open its doors to its 95 students in 1957.DescriptionThe large cream-coloured façade acts as the solid feature to the flow to the Warrigal Rd traffic, which also blends into the fabric of the adjacent brick domestic housing. A pattern of rectangular opaque coloured glazing (which alludes to medieval precedent) is embedded into the brick façade which act as soft light walls for the interior classrooms, which help complement the solid steel structure exposed on both exterior and interior. Above the wall are timber slats which line the under-side of the ceiling on the exterior. The steel structures are notably evident primarily in the courtyard; pilotis which support sections of the first level thus allowing more space and movement below. These columns create a sense of internal colonnade within the space. The square plan provides many spatial and environmental qualities to the building; a 360° view of adjacent classrooms, a divide between the noise of the constant traffic on Warrigal Rd and the students within in attempt to establish quietness and seclusion, and allowing sun and air to enter through the void which circulates into the classrooms. The two rows of small rectangular windows on the first floor also allow for such circulation, which are precedent of early Renaissance Florentine palazzo, a building form that Romberg admired. The square plan not only echoes in the fenestration, but also in the checked pattern on the courtyard pavement. The initial design of five classrooms in the building was allocated at the first floor (which was to accommodate for only 150 students).