This facility for abused children in Queensland features walls of robust concrete blocks and outdoor play areas sheltered beneath a scalloped canopy (+ slideshow).

Brisbane studio M3 Architecture developed the building for the campus of James Cook University in Townsville.
It is the first custom-built centre for ACT for Kids ? a charity providing therapy and support to abused children and families.

Containing administration facilities, daycare and a suite of therapy spaces, the centre is separated into three structures.
These are connected by a concrete canopy with curved edges, designed to trace the shapes created by the branches of nearby trees.

The building's structure references the off-form concrete and blockwork structures of the original 1960s campus by architect James Birrell. But the stark concrete surfaces are softened by the curving shapes, as well as by the surrounding greenery.

"The design is conceived as a concrete block perimeter, with therapy rooms in the inner sanctum, sculpted around two stands of trees, in response to the well-documented benefit that landscape brings to therapy," explained the architects.

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The administration building is situated to the north of the plot, with the special-needs school to the south.
In between is a pavilion housing the specialist therapy rooms, which are arranged radially around a circula...