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design
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Largs Bay on the shores of Gulf St Vincent north of
Adelaide has two claims to fame, each a century
apart. In the 1970s and ‘80s, the Largs Pier Hotel
famously hosted young, up-and-coming bands such as
Cold Chisel,AC/DC and The Angels. In 1882 work
began on Fort Largs, part of a coastal defence network
built in response to a perceived Russian invasion threat.
For the past 50 years, the former military installation was
the home of the Fort Largs Police Academy until the
opening of the new South Australia Police Academy in
December 2011.The new academy is built on redundant
sports facilities to the rear of the Fort Largs site.
Police academy blends academic
discipline & specialised training.
The academy functions as a training facility for recruits,
including officers recruited from other jurisdictions within
Australia and overseas, and for the retraining and
upskilling of serving officers.The teaching model is akin to
a tertiary institution, with the addition of specialised
facilities and training such as weapons and driving skills
and police procedures.This reflects the modern
approach to policing which combines academic and
physical skills.
The masterplanning and design was a joint collaboration
between Cheesman Architects and Perth-based Peter
Hunt Architect which also brought prior experience in
police academy design to the table.“SAPOL [South
Australia Police] had a strong brief, which was very
helpful,” says Cheesman’s Scott Boyd Turner, the project
architect.The masterplan took shape over six months with
the final complex of four major buildings – an auditorium
and dining building, administration, classroom training,
and technology and resources – being grouped around
a large, central courtyard dubbed the Campus Heart.
Space between the building footprints will allow for a
future expansion of 30 to 50 percent.
Also on the 14-hectare site is a 20-unit accommodation
block, and buildings housing weapons training, lockers
and change rooms, physical training, facilities
management and stores, and a ‘scenario village’.
Additional facilities include a 4000 square metre parade
ground, outdoor training area, a Memorial Garden
commemorating fallen officers, driver training track, and
onsite parking for 371 vehicles. On any day, the academy
may host as many as 400 officers and recruits.
