Kangan Batman Institute by Lyons

The new Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) in Melbourne Ports includes training facilities and exhibition for auto retailers and manufacturers in Australia. Workshop space consists of high-rise rooms for specialists, classrooms and office space. It took a strategy for developing an appropriate civic scale to the small public building in the context of urban commercial.

Look at the history of ports to identify a gesture that allows the building to compete with its neighboring high-rise – in particular the history of “big deck”, evident in the adjacent railway line. The roof is huge, a single slope that connects the center with other industrial areas of Melbourne.

The building also absorbs automovilístca culture references and their relationship with the city, signs of brake, tire bands, underpasses, and the brightness of a car show. The interiors evoke something of the fondness of cars, contrasting the technological and mechanical with complete and fine.

The main foyer with its monumental staircase acts as a key path of movement through the building. Visitors experience a transition from traditional technical materiality, rough arches, concrete and steel applications contemporary exposed carbon fiber and glass projection technology.

The system incorporates front cover ports that allow the workshop spaces are naturally ventilated. Offices and classroom spaces are cooled by a system of active thermal mass. In combination with other sustainable design features, the building has reached the 5-star Green Star environmental ranking.