Knox Innovation Opportunity and Sustainability Centre (KIOSC)

Architecture Becomes a Training Tool for Science Centre’s Focus on Sustainability

Knox Innovation Opportunity and Sustainability Centre (KIOSC) is a centre of excellence training hub for the delivery of green education and training.

The center, located at Swinburne University of Technology’s campus in Melbourne, is for senior secondary students from seven local schools who pooled their Australian Commonwealth government funding (as part of the Trade Training Centre in Schools Program) to fund the centre.

Featuring a mixture of technology-rich collaborative areas, a presentation space for 100 people, discovery laboratories, TAFE laboratories and ancillary spaces, plus a Discovery Centre, KIOSC was conceived as an immersive eco-environment for seventh- to twelfth-grade students.

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The design of the building reflects its purpose of operation – sustainability, inclusion and innovation. It includes sustainable materials, energy efficiency through correct building orientation and integration of siting and building fabric with engineering services.

The building’s distinctive facade is part of the sustainability imperative of the design. The large eve acts as a canopy, while the blades serve as a screen, positioned for thermal quality in response to the angle of the sun.

Client

Swinburne University of Technology & KIOSC Schools Consortium

Status

Built

Location

Melbourne, Australia

Completion Date

2012

Size

1,800 square meters

Awards

Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) Victorian Chapter – Winner Best New Entire Educational Facility

Because learning at KIOSC is about discovery, the project includes spaces to share ideas, interact, experiment and explore.

The design will incorporate best practices in environmentally sustainable design and intelligent building concepts.

As a learning tool, the building itself helps students to understand how buildings, people and the natural environment interact.

Acknowledging that there is a rapid change in the educational landscape, the design is flexible and adaptable.

It balances the present state of learning with an anticipated tech-inflected future.

The building floor plates have been developed to maximize the potential of the site and to provide optimum levels of natural light.

Long-term flexibility has been achieved by limiting the number of internal columns and load-bearing walls.

Internal partitions will be glazed wherever possible to ensure a high level of visual connection throughout the facility.

Glazing was applied in a way that would maximize natural lighting and to minimize the energy use by artificial lighting.

Colored graphics over the glazed panels provide interest and wayfinding information for building users.