Last night marked the much-awaited official opening of the Purruna Spencer Newton Centre; Scotch College’s new Wellbeing & Sports Centre.

The new centre is the largest building project in the College’s hundred-year history, located at the College’s Torrens Park Campus on the site of the former gym and pool that were deemed no longer fit for purpose. Hames Sharley, in conjunction with Scotch College, developed a very strong vision for the Centre – aspiring to ‘replace the old with the bold’ and seizing the opportunity to make a real connection between students, families and the broader community through the platform of wellbeing.

The new facilities will provide the infrastructure for the College to deliver its ‘Live Well’ program, through Physical Education, Nutrition & Food Technology, Service Learning, Sustainable Living, Global Responsibilities, and Wellbeing & Values Education courses. The centre will be accessible to students and members of the community, who may access the facilities after hours.

The Wellbeing & Sports Centre has been designed on the principle of surpassing ‘sustainable design’ in favour of ‘regenerative design’ thinking. The focus of ‘regenerative design’ is to aim for a net positive ecological impact, rather than simply reducing the negative impact.

To meet this, the centre utilises renewable energy, such as roof-top solar power PV panels, solar-powered heating and cooling systems, and passive solar design. Water waste is minimised, through a pool filtration system, air-based mechanical cooling systems, and rainwater collection for reuse.