The new Marian Arts Centre at Notre Dame College, Shepparton was built at their Knight Street south campus, as Stage 3 of their masterplan realisation. The building accommodates the Fine Arts faculty on the ground floor, and classrooms for the Kennedy House junior cohort on the upper floor, with a direct link to Crane House areas in the adjacent building. Seminar and meeting rooms, staff work areas and offices, and student and staff amenities are also provided within this facility.

Inspiration for the architecture was drawn from the fine arts teaching function, and the location of Shepparton in the “fruit bowl” of Victoria. A stylised graphic of Picasso’s fruit bowl still life was embossed into the exterior pre-cast concrete wall at the western end of the building, also inspired by Le Corbusier who used concrete friezes to embody art in his buildings. The use of colour on the northern loggia sunshades was inspired by the artist’s pencil box.

The loggia along the front edge of the building provides sun shading to the north facing windows, which is essential in a locale like Shepparton, as well as providing shelter for outdoor learning areas linked to the art studios. A sculpture courtyard exists on the south side of the building and is visible from the main entry.

The interior scheme was inspired by an urban edge semi-industrial aesthetic. Polished concrete floors, light coloured walls, hanging rails and directional lighting support the interior circulation spaces operating as an occasional gallery space. Graphics on internal walls celebrates the life and work of Leopoldine Mimovich (who was a Catholic sculptor & painter) & Dr Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann (a renowned Catholic indigenous artist and writer).

Extensive interior glazing and large sliding doors allow for collaborative teaching between studio spaces. Interconnected classrooms on the upper level allow for a variety of teaching and assembly settings.

This building has a unique identity on campus – reinforcing the southern edge of a future civic entry plaza, and the southern boundary that backs onto Deakin Reserve.