Barker College Maths and Student Hub

Barker College developed a masterplan to upgrade the school’s buildings and facilities to accommodate the growing number of future students and their needs. The Maths and Student hub is an extension to the school’s existing architecture at the adjacent Rosewood Centre, aiming to create a natural learning environment and a more sustainable space for the school community to enjoy.

The building incorporates a unique structural design, utilising both reinforced concrete and mass timber as the structural materials. The mass timber structure throughout levels 2 and 3 uses cross-laminated (CLT) floors supported in part by glulam timber beams and columns, which from a sustainability perspective has environmental benefits because of its low embodied carbon.

Our team of engineers undertook a detailed holistic structural fire analysis of the concrete and timber elements using finite element software to determine the damage to the structural elements under exposure to fire. The results showed that the structure will not be compromised during the fire event leading to any structural collapse or instability.

Other design aspects Holmes provided performance solutions for included exit travel distances, operation of exit doors, fire hydrant location and coverage, omission of sprinklers and smoke exhaust, and fire resistance levels. Holmes also designed a fire safety strategy for the Rosewood’s Centre sports and learning precinct at Barker College.