A Catholic school in the heart of Sydney since 1842, St Mary’s Cathedral College has returned to a co-educational model after operating for the last 60 years as a boys school. The expansion is supported by a new vertical campus for senior students 5 minutes walk away, on William St, Woolloomooloo.
Completed in 1941, the iconic ACI Building known as ‘The House that Glass Built’, is clad in glass bricks & mosaics. Wayfinding signforms are drawn from the square grid of the glass bricks & facade mosaics, with detail cutouts based on the College brand mark, providing a focus point at key locations on each sign form. The primary College brand colours, blue and gold, are used extensively across the signage, moving to red at the new spiral stair that provides connection to key student destinations across 4 levels.
Supporting student circulation through two upgraded fire stairs, each stair was designated as either UP or DOWN to control movement. Large painted level numbers move up and down at each level as a playful reinforcement of direction.
An interpretive signage overlay references geometric details of the building and its fit out in the 1940’s, with a palette drawn from the range of oranges in the facade mosaics. Information is dispersed within the building, in foyers and lift lobbies, using text and images.
