Nine uniquely painted Fantech roof ventilators brought an element of fun to the newly renovated Infants’ building at John Colet School in Belrose, New South Wales.

Demetrius Condos from Templum Design Architects said he originally planned to spray the nine fans to match the roof, but decided it would be more fun if they were painted different colours.

He took his inspiration from American abstract expressionist painters and his own memories of brightly coloured mushrooms in children’s story books. “I thought the fans lent themselves to going a bit wild with colour– it is a primary school after all,” he said.

“My wife Christine, who is the school bursar, and I, did the initial spraying; and my son Alexander, who was attending year 6 at the time, helped me with the final painting of the colours.”

Demetrius said whirly-bird type fans activated by air movement were originally specified. “But the school and architect were not confident that these fans would be effective on hot summer days where there was no air movement,” he said.

“Furthermore, teachers were concerned that there was no cross ventilation in some of the rooms, especially the toilets and first aid room.”

The decision was made to install electric fans so there would be control of the air circulation. Belrose is in the Forest District of NSW, a bushfire prone area, so fans needed to comply with the Australian standard AS3959:1999 “Construction of buildings in bushfire prone areas”.

Fantech’s BFC Ezifit Thru Roof Exhaust Fan is compliant with the standard and was ideal for the school’s ventilation requirements. It’s constructed from galvanised steel and features a bronze cover mesh over the inlets to prevent entry of embers.

The children were excited to see the fans go up on the roof and lined up on the balcony to watch the roofer install them.

The terraced playground elevates the children for a bird’s eye view of six fans, where they are often caught glimpsing the unique artwork whilst at play.

Demetrius said painting the fans with fun designs made the children feel that their school was special, and kept them talking about the ‘coloured mushrooms’ for weeks afterwards.