Case study · Education
Sydney Catholic Schools
A headquarters that works as an office, a spiritual centre, a place to rest and an event venue, with a soundscape designed for each. A showcase for a network of 150 schools, so the building itself had to argue the case.
Project details
- Client
- Sydney Catholic Schools
- Location
- Sydney, NSW
- Sector
- Education, headquarters workplace
- Valeo Technology role
- Bespoke soundscape design across the headquarters and commissioning; scent design and delivery
- Scale
- Two floors, 24 zones, more than 200 in-ceiling loudspeakers, as published in AV Technology
- Project partners
- INTREC, builder and fitout. MNGD, audiovisual integration. 6Sides, technology and wellness consultants. Moodsonic, soundscaping platform.
- Notable
- Chapel soundscape that moves with the liturgical calendar
The challenge
One building, four jobs
The headquarters had to work as an office, a spiritual centre, a place to rest and an event venue, and to stand as a showcase for a network of 150 schools.
A single generic workplace soundscape could not serve spaces that different. The building itself had to argue the case for the standard of environment the organisation wanted its schools to hold.
The approach
Each space sounds like what it is for
Content was developed for the building rather than selected for it.
Calming soundscapes in the focus zones, more stimulating content where people come together. Regionally inspired Australian soundscapes run through the working areas, including a Rottnest Island soundscape. And the environment shifts through the day, following circadian rhythm rather than staying flat from nine to five.
The chapel
A soundscape that keeps the calendar
For the on-site chapel, a bespoke Gregorian chant soundscape was created that moves with the liturgical calendar, so the space reflects the time of year rather than staying static.
It is the clearest example we have of what bespoke content actually means. No library, no preset, and nothing another supplier could have delivered off a shelf.
Delivered with Moodsonic. Valeo Technology also designed and delivered the scent for the building, zoned alongside the sound.
Outcome
A headquarters that reflects the organisation
Each space sounds like what it is for, and the sensory environment reflects the organisation’s identity rather than a generic workplace standard.
As a showcase for 150 schools, the headquarters demonstrates the standard of environment the organisation stands for, in a building people move through every day.
How it is planned
Zone by zone, before anything is installed
Every project starts as a soundplan: the floor divided into zones, each with its own content, level and schedule, set against how that part of the building is actually used. It is the document the design conversation happens over, and it is why a chapel, a rest space and an open working floor can sit metres apart and each sound like what it is for.
Coverage
Documented elsewhere
Three accounts of the same building, from the builder, the audiovisual integrator and the trade press. Between them they carry the fitout, the technology and the soundscaping.
In the mood
AV Technology, February 2023. The fullest account of the soundscaping: two floors, more than 200 in-ceiling loudspeakers, 24 zones, and the Rottnest Island and chapel content described in detail.
Sydney Catholic Schools head office
MNGD, the audiovisual integrator. Three levels, more than 30 meeting rooms, and the acoustic sensors that let the soundscape respond to conditions in the room alongside the programmed schedules. Acoustic data is processed into metadata for sound levels, frequency and events. It is not conversation recording.
World Square fitout
INTREC, the builder and fitout designer. The construction and interiors account of the same floors.
Case study video
AV Technology, 2023. Filmed on the floor, embedded below.
Watch
On video
AV Technology filmed a case study at the headquarters in 2023, walking the zones and the chapel. Worth headphones.
AV Technology, 2023.