Salesian College: a Statement of Faith and Materiality
Build Date
December 2019
Client
Salesian College
Location
Sunbury, Victoria
Architect / Designer
Branch Studio Architects
Value
$151,000
This artistic landmark for Sunbury’s Salesian College community is a powerful statement of faith and materiality.
Standing at an impressive seven metres, it is crafted from rammed earth. The project marked the first stage of a larger campus master plan for significant renovations at the school. These will include a new chapel and significant landscape upgrades. Positioned near the edge of the school’s car park, the tower forms a natural gateway to the planned chapel precinct, anchoring the site visually and symbolically.
The choice of material was central to the design’s impact. The tower is constructed entirely from rammed earth, a traditional building technique rarely seen on this scale in modern Australian construction.
Rammed earth was selected for its raw, layered aesthetic, environmental performance, and its ability to convey a sense of permanence and connection to the land. Each horizontal stratum in the walls captures subtle variations in texture and colour, giving the structure a uniquely tactile and organic presence.
The base of the tower is a perfectly curved concrete plinth. Achieving this level of precision in concrete formwork is notoriously challenging. Conventional timber formwork would have been time-consuming to set-up, costly, and unlikely to achieve the flawless radius specified in the design. Instead, we designed and commissioned a custom-made steel formwork system.
This innovation delivered a perfect curve in a single pour, reduced material waste, and saved considerable labour time. It also stands as a key example of our team’s ability to engineer efficient solutions without compromising on design intent.
The construction process required specialist expertise. We worked with one of the very few qualified rammed earth craftsmen in Australia with the technical skill and artistic understanding to execute the vision.
Rammed earth construction involves layering a carefully calibrated mix of gravel, rock, and cement into formwork and then mechanically compacting each layer. Both technical precision and an eye for composition are needed to ensure the pattern of the striations is maintained from base to crown. At this height, scaffolding, material handling, and sequencing had to be meticulously planned to ensure a smooth build.
Adding to the complexity, the site was within an operational school. We carefully managed deliveries, noise, and construction schedules to minimise disruption to students and staff.
Midway through the project, an undocumented drain was discovered running directly beneath the tower’s footprint. This could have delayed works significantly, but by working closely with the engineers, we were able to quickly redesign the footings to span over the drain. This kept the build on track without compromising structural integrity.
Three bells imported from Germany top the tower for both a visual and auditory focal point. The crisp tone of the bells, the tower’s vertical prominence and the simple cross at its peak underscore the project’s role as a beacon of faith within the school grounds. Behind the bell tower, a three-metre-high water feature adds an additional sensory experience.
This was not a conventional building job. It was, in many respects, closer to creating a large-scale sculpture. An innovative blend of design intent, artisanal skill, and precise engineering.
The completed tower has been embraced by the Salesian College community as a significant addition to the campus landscape. It is both an emblem of the school’s Catholic heritage and a bold design statement that will endure for generations.
For us, the project was an opportunity to contribute to a construction project that is as much art as it is structure.
