2018 National Architecture Awards: National Award for Heritage

Jury citation

The Cadogan Song School provides facilities for the St George’s Cathedral choir within the heritage-sensitive Cathedral Square precinct in the Perth CBD. Located between St George’s Cathedral, Burt Memorial Hall, Church House and the Deanery, the Song School works across two levels to ensure full access through the precinct. Sculptural vaulted arches and a “tuning fork” spire reference both the lancet windows of the cathedral and the choirmaster’s instrument, providing cover to the expressed corkscrew stairwell.

Underneath lies the subterranean Song School proper, crypt-like in its volume and character, thoughtfully distinguishing its contemporary nature by way of careful material selection. The school sits within the foundations of the cathedral and Burt Memorial Hall, allowing the program to make a considered impact on the visual definition of the eastern elevations.

The jury was impressed by the architects’ consideration of form, use and material at the scale of the precinct and the city as well as at the intimate scale of the oak-lined singing hall. The Cadogan Song School inserts a lyrical set of forms that are in keeping with the built heritage of the precinct while clearly enunciating a contemporary place for heavenly song.