Brisbane Boys College unveils a Master Plan with 43 projects to modernise its campus, ensuring students have the best tools for future success.
Unveiling a New Era for Brisbane Boys College
With 43 mid-scale and major projects, Brisbane Boys College has revealed its ambitious Master Plan to transform its historic campus. By adding cutting-edge new facilities, reinvigorating existing ones, and further connecting and unifying the campus physically and socially, the aim is to ensure that every student will have the tools to thrive for decades to come.
“Our campus is more than a collection of buildings. It holds our heart and our soul. It’s a conduit for where our students learn, discover and overcome,” said the President of the Old Collegians’ Association.
“The BBC Master Plan campus vision is transformational not just for the capacity it provides but for the potential it has to offer everyone in our community,” said Mr Andre Asson, Headmaster of Brisbane Boys College.
“Since my time here as Headmaster at Brisbane Boys College, one thing continues to amaze me: the brotherhood and the bond of our boys across year levels. Therefore, a key consideration of our Master Plan campus vision design was to facilitate increased connectedness throughout campus.”
Launchpad prototype classroom at Brisbane Boys College
Award-winning architect to lead the project
Award-winning architect Hayball was tasked with conceiving the Master Plan.
“When the board engaged Hayball to conceive the Master Plan campus vision, we knew we needed to understand the DNA of Brisbane Boys College,” said Mr Graham Legerton, Principal of Hayball.
Rich and proud academic, cultural, and sporting traditions are embodied throughout the college, evoked through unique images such as boater hats, the pipe band, and the colours green, white, and black.
With this in mind, Hayball facilitated a series of deep listening workshops across the wider school community.
Representatives from the Executive Team, Advisory Council, students, staff, parents, old colleagues, traditional owners and specialist consultancies participated in the consultation.
“This engagement helped to identify issues, priorities and opportunities for us to build into the functionality of the Master Plan campus vision and continued evolution of the campus,” said Mr Legerton.
“The input from our students was truly special,” added Mr Asson. “They were excited and curious for what the future could bring, and I loved hearing some of their innovative ways they wanted to create a modern and high-tech learning environment.”
One of the current students even built his ideas in Minecraft and showed his designs to the Headmaster.
“It’s passion like this that really helps expand our vision for building a transformative learning environment for generations to come,” said Headmaster Asson.
The Maker Space prototype classroom at Brisbane Boys College
Using prototype learning environments
Designed and built to revolutionise education at Brisbane Boys College, the new state-of-the-art Prototype Classrooms deliver experimental spaces to rigorously test the latest pedagogical theories and workshop new ideas and innovations.
The thoughtfully conceived rooms provide a multitude of layouts and fit-outs to facilitate this.
“A key part of the Master Plan campus vision is the prototype learning environment that we are using to gather feedback from staff and students on how they use the space before we move forward with a larger role at it,” said Mr Don O’Rorke, Chair of School Advisory Council.
“This allows flexibility so that we can adapt to the needs of our community and future-proof our investment.”
The learnings from this ongoing practical experiment will inform the implementation of the Master Plan Campus Vision, ensuring that every classroom in every building is tailored to achieve the best academic results for students.
Prototype learning environments are a key part of the Master Plan at Brisbane Boys College
Ushering in the future while honouring the legacy of Brisbane Boys College
As they look towards the future, the historical influence of Brisbane Boys College heritage and traditions has not been forgotten.
“The smaller renewal projects often have a big cultural impact, so we’ve carefully considered how the campus points back to our iconic beginnings,” said Mr O’Rorke. “For instance, no matter where you are on the grounds, you can look up and see the clock tower. This really helps connect the school and allows the historical buildings to breathe and be respected.”
“Honouring our past while looking to the future is what this Master Plan campus vision is all about,” said Mr Asson.
“At every step, we’ve worked to bring the community on the journey with us in creating this exciting new chapter.”
Progress is already well underway, with ten projects completed during the 2024 school year.
“Of all the changes we’ve experienced in our world, there’s one thing I know that will continue to stand the test of time: our gentleman of honour being at the forefront of boys’ education,” said Mr Asson. “I am truly honoured to help lead the charge with this Master Plan campus vision to ensure that there’s more than one way to thrive at Brisbane Boys College. This is our future, and it’s built for boys.”
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