The Meditation and Indigenous Cultural Centre (M&ICC) at Bentleigh Secondary College was conceived to fill three primary roles: to educate students about sustainable design and construction; provide a space for the school’s mindfulness meditation program and to act as a focus for the school’s indigenous cultural curriculum.
Located within the school’s urban forest and Moorooboon Wetland, the building is separated physically and materially from the rest of the school; creating a micro environment, with carefully planned spaces, purposefully built to create a calm environment for meditation.
The building acts as a piece of furniture – something to be sat in, on and around – whist students engage with the natural surrounds and the indigenous curriculum.
The design concept reflects the contrasting nature of our inner and outer self through materiality and form. A striking distinction is created between the golden, glowing internal spaces which contrast with the soft textural grey of the external silvertop ash cladding, that will eventually silver over time. In essence the inside of the building will maintain its ‘youthful’ appearance whilst the external will develop and mature with age