m3architecture complete a castle-like boarding village in brisbane, australia

m3 architecture have completed a castle-like boarding village for st. joseph’s nudgee college in brisbane, australia.

inspired by the fort-like boarding school houses of england, the ‘bathersby boarding village’ aims to offer appropriate frameworks for safety, security and community building, providing a sense of physical and psychological separation from the day school.

st. joseph’s nudgee college is one of australia’s largest boarding schools with a capacity of 332 boys from years 5 – 12. the redevelopment of the college’s boarding village — spearheaded by m3architecture — celebrated the college’s 125th year of operation. a christian brother’s school with a strong catholic ethos, the redesign is intended to function as a home away from home, a place of security, fun and friendship.

the building is determined by a three-to-four storey ‘castle’ wall which encloses a central private courtyard. for the first time in the school’s history, all four boarding houses are brought together under one roof. each block is segmented into separate volumes by a number of concrete buttresses, aligning with the walls and windows of the building to create a façade defined by straight lines of varying sizes and orientations. almost brutalist in presentation, the buttresses emulate medieval crenellations along the top of the structure, effectively emulating castles of yore.