Revitalizing Marist College’s Iconic ‘Tower Block’
Marist College
Ashgrove | Brisbane | Queensland | Australia
reimagining outdoor space at Marist College
Marist College, a prestigious Catholic Boys’ Day and Boarding School in Ashgrove, Brisbane, embarked on a transformative landscape upgrade for its iconic Tower Block – the campus’s most historic and recognizable building. This project was about more than aesthetics; it aimed to seamlessly blend heritage with innovation, creating a functional and inspiring space for students and faculty.
Citicene’s involvement spanned the entire design and delivery process, from concept to construction. Working closely with the project’s architect, Citicene developed a comprehensive landscape design that included an upgraded courtyard, enhancing the heart of the campus with functional, inviting spaces for students and faculty.
The courtyard design not only provided a vibrant outdoor gathering area but also created a smooth transition to an upgraded internal roadway, improving circulation and connectivity across the campus. The design focused on blending the historical significance of the “Tower Block” with modern landscape elements, ensuring that the campus’s heritage was preserved while providing contemporary enhancements for a better, more dynamic learning environment.
The landscape design was heavily influenced by elements from the existing piazza and surrounding landscape. Continuing the angle of a footpath edge onto the road created the line work for the road’s contrasting pavement.
To link the existing piazza into the new design, certain existing design features were also continued throughout Glenlyon Drive.
Landscape elements include:
- Raised planter boxes throughout the piazza road to provide shade trees and low understorey planting
- Contrasting pavement to building entries
- Feature banding, in the centre of the road, to continue the existing piazza theme
- Concrete bench seats to the proposed piazza
- Pavement banding to tie into existing pavements.
