CGS Centre of Music and Snow Concert Hall Triumphs at ACT Architecture Awards

The Canberra Grammar School Centre of Music and Snow Concert Hall took home multiple honours at the ACT Architecture Awards this year, including the prestigious Enrico Taglietti Award for Educational Architecture. Celebrated for its innovative design, the project also received Commendations in Interiors and Heritage Architecture.

Reflecting on the project, the jury praised the design, stating, “The new Canberra Grammar Music Centre and Snow Concert Hall has created an experiential nexus that will infuse a generation of students with lifelong memories and a richer connection to the school ethos.”

“COX’s innovative solution involved integrating the building into its sensitive location, creating a powerful urban and communal gesture. The entry lobby acts as a bridge, linking the heritage quadrangle, the cultural concert hall, the library, and the sporting oval. The design maximizes utility and delight, with undulating tinted precast walls providing structure, acoustics, and a soft aesthetic for the concert hall. Bored pier retaining walls become painterly blue light wells for the entry foyer, contrasting with the warm terracotta gradient in the public lobby spaces.

Central to the design is the library, placing the hearts and minds of the students at the core of the campus and making a powerful statement for the next generation. This building transcends its educational purpose, seamlessly stitching together the school experience in a way that will inspire generations.”

Additionally, the Illume project received a Commendation in the Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing category. The jury noted, “Illume offers an elegant vision for medium density living by celebrating light and the tension between contemporary construction and the neighboring heritage context. The sinuously expressed slab edges of the main building give way to generous terraces, while a delicately detailed brick building lightly anchors the corner of the site. Apartments are planned to be open and light, reaching out to the expansive views beyond. Generous landscaping and shared amenities mediate between private terraces and shared outdoor commons, with a sense of seclusion enhanced by the existing mature tree grove.”