Trades North, West Coast Institute of Training

The new workshop facilities at Clarkson were purpose-built to address the skills shortage of pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship training in the areas of Building and Construction, Metals/Light Manufacturing and Electrical in Western Australia as a result of the mining boom of the post 2000 era. The building design has been derived from a simple abstraction of the metal and wood shavings produced through manufacturing processes and interpreted into a series of rolling, folded roofs in three colours which alternately rise and fall creating significant areas of skylighting facing North and South. The workshops are all linked together so they can be used separately or adjoined according to whether large doors are open or closed. Even when closed, visibility is maintained throughout the length of the expansive workshop area. All enclosed support and equipment areas are contained in a continuous spine to the east of the workshops which is directly accessed from an external service area and the workshops themselves and all classroom spaces are located on a mezzanine level above the spine, an area afforded by the high volumes required by the workshop.