Building regional skills training at TAFE Gippsland
At a glance
Three new facilities for TAFE Gippsland are expanding access to contemporary training in trades, health and early childhood across the region. Designed for flexibility, connection and future growth, the centres support local students and communities with skills for the future.
The challenge
Our response
The design of three key buildings, Morwell Campus Health and Early Childhood Training Centre, Morwell Campus Trades Skills Centre and Port of Sale Campus Trade Training Facility, is shaped by a deep understanding of the functional needs across various trades and disciplines. These include carpentry, plumbing, electrical, automotive, civil construction, engineering and allied health. Each discipline has specific requirements for spatial layouts, services integration, safety standards and learning environments, ranging from high-clearance workshops and heavy machinery access to quiet theory spaces and industry-standard utilities.
Our designs focus on connecting new and existing campus facilities, blending internal and external learning environments and linking theoretical classrooms with practical training areas. Building orientations across both campuses are carefully considered to establish a central campus heart and courtyard, inviting movement, activity and community. At Morwell, this takes shape as a clear circulation spine and courtyard anchoring the built form. At Sale, the new Trade Training Facility extends the campus’ spatial rhythm, enhancing the precinct’s civic presence.
Common trade spaces are grouped together to encourage cross-disciplinary learning, allowing students from adjacent disciplines to engage with each other and share equipment. Clear arrival points and legible circulation routes promote safe and intuitive movement across the sites. For industrial programs, a bump-in, bump-out model allows temporary space reconfiguration to meet curriculum and timetable changes without extensive disruption. This flexible model replicates real-world trade environments and adapts to emerging technologies and delivery methods.
The architectural language of the trade facilities is inspired by regional industrial and agricultural typologies. At Morwell, we reimagine the saw-tooth factory roof to create a dynamic, sloped clerestory roof that floods the interior with natural light and promotes passive ventilation, an elegant response to environmental and functional needs. The rhythm and form of these roof elements create a strong external identity while offering bright, well-ventilated workspaces. Parametric modelling helps balance aesthetics and performance in key features such as raked walls, skylight forms, framing, structure and a performative façade that optimises thermal comfort, daylight and glare control.
Morwell’s glazed two-storey end wall, developed through parametric modelling, inspires a similar gesture at Sale but tailored for the site’s conditions. At Sale, we develop bespoke glass-reinforced concrete panels for a robust yet refined façade, able to withstand the rigours of a trade training environment while referencing Gippsland’s rural and industrial heritage. These panels feature curved rooflines and integrated shading, offering both functional benefits and aesthetic cohesion.
The impact