A walkway is an unlikely reason for improved college enrolment, yet when Farrell Wray Architects designed the first iteration of a flyover gallery in Australia for the Caroline Chisholm College in Braybrook back in 2015, they saw the renovation of the quadrangle landscape increase school sign-ups and a new sense of optimism and pride for the institution.
Discover an Australian gallery for a gum tree
After much positive feedback, the firm was asked to reimagine the Marcellin Flyover Gallery, an existing open-air walkway bridge between two buildings at Marcellin College in Victoria, to increase its functionality and visual impact.
With a senior school teaching and learning building to the east, which was the first structure on the site, erected back in 1963, and a junior school building to the west, the walkway is used to seamlessly travel between both areas.
However, this project required more than a simple spruce-up. Rooted between both buildings is a large gum tree, which the firm felt compelled to preserve. Founders of the firm, Ellie Farrell and Brad Wray, decided to craft an ellipse for the tree to branch through, framing its natural beauty.
Farrell and Wray particularly liked the contrast of the geometry of the ellipse against the organic freedom of the garden. ‘A series of early sketches evolved in quite an organic way, which led to questions about the relationship of the organic nature of the tree versus how to approach an architectural response around it. We were interested in not attempting to create a parody, but rather a contrast between formal geometry and the organic sort of geometry of the tree,’ says the architects.
One of the biggest challenges the architects faced wasn't working around the tree’s branches, but more navigating its trunk and what lay beneath – the root system. They explained, ‘Before any works had commenced on site, we had a tree root scan undertaken.
'As a result, we had to be flexible in where the four final column locations would be. We also had to be flexible in what we found upon digging in the ground, as there was a really small tolerance to the number of roots that could be cut and removed before the tree is dramatically affected or actually could die.’
Like with previous projects, the walkway was designed to act as somewhat of an emblem for the school, something which spoke about the school’s history and origins. The architects nodded to St Marcellin Champagnat, after whom the school is named, specifically his Hermitage building in France.
Using this as a primary reference to design the Marcellin flyover’s main elevation, they used two a-proportional archways to create an opening with edge details that look like they've been carved out.
Now, ‘Gallery for a Tree’ is not only used as a walkway but also adorned in the school’s work, showcasing art in specially created ‘art boxes’ placed across the flyover.
