Bethlehem College

Bethlehem College in Sydney’s Ashfield is a school with a long heritage, founded in 1881. This project sought to unite existing buildings by providing new bridge access to interconnect 3 existing buildings and one new building. The project also created a large central landscape designed courtyard area which sits between the buildings as a focus point for the new works to surround and look out upon. The structural systems employed were that of reinforced concrete framed floors and columns with significant structural steel formed roof areas to include dramatic roof skylights and voids.
Structural interventions to one existing 3 storey building involved removal of load bearing columns and walls at the lower levels with new inserted post tensioned reinforced transfer beams to resupport the existing building and achieve a new open plan layout. The project works were staged over a 3 year period to allow the school to remain in full operation during this extensive upgrade, and was opened in January 2019 for the beginning of the school term.