Transcript

Clip 1: Level 1 reception area, 41 St Andrews Place

Duration: 2:22

Introduction, Acknowledgment of Country and housekeeping  

Hello and welcome to the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership at 41 St Andrews Place.

The Academy delivers evidence-informed and inspiring professional learning to Victorian government school leaders and highly skilled teachers from all school sectors – including government, Catholic and Independent. Located in Treasury Place, East Melbourne, this building was re-opened in 2022 and has a fascinating history and inspiring purpose. 

We would like to begin this tour by acknowledging and paying respect to the Traditional Owners of this land – the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin nation. Their relationship with this land extends back tens of thousands of years and it is important to acknowledge that the settlement and development of 41 St Andrews Place came at a great cost to the Traditional Owners…

The impactful redesign of this building is centred around a creative link between all 3 levels. Each level symbolises the interconnection between past, present and future. 

The ground level relates to the past, level 1 where we are standing now, embodies the present, and level 2 represents the future – three key aspects of a learner’s journey. The handcrafted staircase and natural light connect all levels and spaces. 

This redesign drew inspiration from:

• the culture and history of the indigenous owners of the land
• the existing heritage building’s architecture and generous, light filled spaces 
• the building’s rich history as a printing office
• the Academy’s commitment to excellence in the science and practice of teaching

Throughout your tour, please keep an eye out for our historic markers around the building. These markers are signs that include photographs and information about the former uses of different rooms and 41 St Andrews Place more broadly. There are 13 historical markers to discover.

Clip 2: Ground floor, 41 St Andrews Place 

Duration: 4:34

Ground floor – walkway area

The Former Government Printing Office at 41 St Andrews Place was constructed in 1858 to provide a home for the printing of government documentation. This three-storey stone building was designed by pre-eminent colonial architect, John James Clark, and constructed in two stages. 

The basement areas, constructed in bluestone, were completed in 1857. This was followed by the construction of the superstructure the following year.

The new building adopted a Renaissance Revival architectural style and was the first government building constructed in what was to become the Treasury Reserve. 

The purpose of the Government Printing Office was to print and disseminate all documents required by the Victorian Government and an integral part of government operation. 

In its earliest years, the Office was responsible for the printing of large volumes of gold mining licenses used during the Victorian gold rush. In the 1850s, this numbered around 60,000 per month. The Office was also responsible for the printing of stamps and railway tickets and the daily Victorian Government Gazette, which notified the public of the Government’s decisions and activities.

Please enter the Columbian Rooms to continue.

Ground floor – multi function Columbian Rooms 

Our multi-functional Columbian Rooms are where many of our in person and hybrid learning programs take place. The Columbian Rooms have moveable partitions to facilitate both seminar and group arrangements. 

You may be wondering why this area has a Columbian reference... The rooms are named after the Columbian Press, a printing machine invented by George Clymer in 1813 and distributed worldwide. The Columbian Press was widely used in colonial Victoria, and most of the State's early printed documents and records were produced on a Columbian Press.  

Looking around you can see signage on the wall which shows images of what these rooms were used for. This was the Lithographic branch where gold mining licenses were printed as well as some of the finest maps in Australia. Maps were printed in this room up until the 1970s before the printing office was relocated to North Melbourne.

 Please exit the Columbian Rooms and proceed to the Reader’s room. 

The Reader’s room is located directly opposite the Columbian Rooms, 

Readers’ Room

The Readers’ Room is one of the quieter spaces in the building, designed to have a library feel, it is a destination where users can work on independent research, study, and investigation. 

Looking around the space, you can see how the combination of moody lighting, rich upholstery and timber finishings compliment the heritage bluestone walls and arches.  

Maintaining the bluestone bricks – laid over 160 years ago - was a central part of the design process, history is a big part of the Academy legacy. 

Tramway turning circle

As you near the end of the Readers Room area, be sure to look down. Here you will see a tramway turning circle which was installed in the 1880s. Heavy paper, ink and printing equipment would be unloaded and loaded onto a tram to be sent between this building and the paper stores located a couple of hundred metres away behind the main building.

Hydraulic Lift

Moving out of the Readers’ Room now, you will see the hydraulic lift which was installed in the Government Printing office in the 1880s. Running from the basement to the top of the building, the lift allowed for the swift delivery of paper, ink and equipment between floors. 

As you follow the corridor back towards the staircase and lift area you will see a stone staircase to your right. 

Stone Staircase

This stone staircase dates from the original construction of the Government Printing Office in 1958, which connected the storerooms on the ground floor to the bookbinding rooms above. 

Please exit through the cast iron doors and proceed to Level 1 (the level where reception is located). Here we will be continuing the tour from the Bastow lounge.

Clip 3: Level 1, 41 St Andrews Place

Duration: 5:04

Level 1 - Bastow Lounge

Please enter the Bastow lounge, the large area to the left when facing the lifts. 

Envisioned as the social heart of this building, the Bastow Lounge is a welcoming space that promotes community and interaction. 

The Bastow Lounge was named after Henry Bastow, who was chief architect and surveyor for the Department of Education back in the 1870s.  

Bastow oversaw the design and construction of over 600 Victorian schools which was a project that stemmed from the 1872 Education Act. It was this legislation that enshrined free, secular and compulsory education for all Victorian children.    

Henry Bastow inspired more than just the naming of this lounge. The Academy builds on the legacy of the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership. Established in 2009, Bastow played a critical role in developing high-quality leaders at every level across the Victorian education system and the name of this space is a nod to our past. 

Speaking of the past, this space was once filled with printing office staff who were responsible for refilling paper and ink for the manual press machinery during the mid-1800 – 1900s. 

Please proceed through this area to the purpose-designed learning spaces starting with Learning Studio 1. This is the rounded structure positioned within the Bastow lounge.

Level 1 - Learning Studio

Like all of our learning spaces this room is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to connect on-site participants, staff and facilitators with teachers and school leaders from across the state, supporting hybrid and flexible learning. 

Our hybrid approach ensures that even those in remote locations can participate in our programs. 

An interesting feature of this Learning Studio is its rounded shape. Traditional rooms and learning spaces have been rectangular while this space pushes those conventional boundaries. This is a testament to the iconoclastic thinking the Academy exists to cultivate.  

Please exit Learning Studio 1 and move through the corridor - towards the government printers' offices and residence which is now office and meeting spaces for our Academy staff and executive.

Level 1 – Government Printers Office and Residence 

We are now located in the executive office area. 

In decades and centuries past, this area provided residential accommodation for the Government Printer of the time. One of the longest serving Government Printers was John Ferres who held the position for nearly 33 years in the 1800s. In that time, he displayed remarkable talent, taking the Government Printing Office from a small, cramped office of six staff to a large and efficient organisation of over 250 employees. 

As previously mentioned, the purpose of this Government Printing Office was to print and disseminate all documents required by the newly established Victorian Government. Such a task was considered vital to the function and operation of a democracy to ensure that the business of parliament was accessible to all, and to ensure transparency regarding government decisions. 

By 1862, the Government Printing Office was one of the largest in Melbourne, with five printing machines and nine hand presses - capable of producing 6,600 sheets per hour.   

Let’s move back to the main foyer and stairwell area.  

Level 1 - Stairwell

Standing near our handcrafted wooden staircase, you can really get a sense of size and scope of this architectural redevelopment. 

To your left and right you can see how this atrium space blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior. Looking up, you are flooded with natural light, while looking down you can see plants growing up the netted structures, striving for the sky above.

Architects DesignInc Melbourne used rich colours and textures to provide an earthy, natural and modern contrast to the heritage bones of this building.

This is a great vantage point to see the three distinct levels of the building, each symbolic of Australia's iconic gum tree. Looking down, think of our ground floor as the roots and earth, with the central level we are on now as the trunk. Level 2 is like the gum tree's canopy - looking outward into the future.

Please proceed up the stairs or lift to level 2, we will continue the tour in the Academy Hall function space which is located on the right when coming up the stairs.

Clip 4: Level 2, 41 St Andrews Place

Duration: 3:46

Level 2 – Academy Hall 

Location: function space / Academy Hall

Welcome to the Academy Hall function space. 

Capable of fitting up to 200 people, if you look around the room you will see several interesting design features, incorporating heritage and modern aspects. 

Looking up you can see large circular light frames which can have fabric curtains attached so that the room can be segmented into micro breakout areas. 

Drop down digital signage and built-in speakers means no more straining to see or hear from the back of the room and projectors are at the ready for sharing learning materials. 

This room was where printed materials were cut and folded into shape before being bound. The acoustics in here are great but one can only imagine the noise that would have been generated from the machines in the 18 and 1900s.

Please move through the room, to the large circular structure. 

This presentation platform can rotate and be reconfigured into several layouts. This allows a speaker to address those seated within the circle or the wider room.  

While the bones of this building may be over 150 years old, the fit-out, technology and finishes are the best that 2022 can offer. 

Please proceed through to the Greens Room. 

Level 2 – Greens Room 

Moving now through the door into the Greens Room, you can feel it is slightly more humid in here – because of all the plants.

This room is unique in that it wasn’t created as a designated learning space. Instead, this is a quiet place where participants and staff can come to relax and reconnect with themselves.

The room also features a beautifully displayed open ceiling, where you can see some of the original structural beams and roofing materials – still holding strong after 150 years!  

As you proceed through the Greens Room, we are entering the Design Thinking Studio. 

Level 2 – Design Thinking Studio  

Moving through to our Design Thinking Studio you can see this room was designed with learning in mind. 

Featuring movable whiteboards, this is a great space for our participants to brainstorm ideas, trial teaching practices, or host larger activities. 

Please exit the Design Thinking Studio and enter the Learning Studios area – the final stop on this tour. 

Level 2 - Learning Studios

These 2 learning studios which are separated by a drop-down dividing wall which can be opened to provide one larger studio space.

The raised platform at the top of the room allows for several different teaching modes and breakout spaces for participants to collaborate. 

Originally, this was the Confidential Room, where all examination papers and other confidential documents were printed. Everything done in this room was produced in a “sealed book” never leaving the room until it is finished. This was certainly a significant room in the building and has a new, inspiring purpose to provide a space for Victoria’s educators to come together to learn and grow in their profession. 

Conclusion 

This concludes our tour of 41 St Andrews Place. 

This wonderful building will help us to connect school leaders and highly skilled teachers from across Victoria and deliver high-quality, evidence-informed professional learning. 

Thank you for being part of the tour today, you can now head down to level 1 which is where the main exit is.