Tour E3 - Epsom Girls Grammar School Performing Arts Centre

Contact Details

Tour Departs at 1.30pm

Epsom Girls Grammar School

Silver Road, Epsom

Venue Overview

The Epsom Girls Grammar Performing Arts Centre (also known as the Raye Freedman Arts Centre) was realised as the figurehead building for Epsom Girls Grammar School (EGGS) and completes the Gillies Avenue elevation, a final component in the masterplan for the school.

Sitting the centre on the prominent corner of Gillies Avenue and Silver Road provided a vital link for the school to the wider community, allowing EGGS to complete the fundraising for the project by entering into a joint venture project with Auckland City Council.

The design processes addressed the dual use by community and school. The public entrance foyer engages with the street, inviting community participation with its transparency and large scale; from the street at night the foyer is lit up by glowing red wall, its form gently bulging outwards.

Some of the features of the centre include the 250- seat Lady Fisher Auditorium, a large foyer for exhibition, launches, post-performance gatherings and functions and generous rehearsal spaces that open onto a natural outdoor amphitheatre with music and drama suites.

Grey profiled metal cladding to the elevations forms a camouflage against the basalt stone the school is founded upon. From inside the facility, during the day, white-framed windows frame the trees; at night the circulation corridor and windows are illuminated, dissolving the facade from the exterior.

Site Visits

This page last updated: Tuesday 12 March 2013