Muwinina people, Nipaluna
Tasmania
The project delivered new flexible learning spaces and toilets for years 5 and 6 students at Bowen Road Primary School to replace the original classrooms destroyed by an arson fire in 2022. A revised location and orientation of the new classrooms since the fire unlocks a thoughtful masterplan solution that, with just one modest building, achieves activation of three new external zones. The material palette references the original 1929 brick schoolhouse, with a contemporary interpretation. Curved red brick landscaped seating nooks provide a new pedestrian entrance and playful street presence. Three contemporary classrooms with excellent acoustics and warm finishes were delivered 25% under budget; the remaining funds were diverted into extra landscaping and external play areas. This helped integrate the building into its environment and broader social context. MANA has created a calm, legible, and engaging environment that supports learning and connection, with intentional design encouraging curiosity and inquisitive thinking.
The Bowen Road Primary School General Learning Areas project by MANA is a clever exercise in turning site disruption into a civic opportunity.
Arising from the loss of a building to fire, the project transcends simple replacement to capitalise on an under-utilised school quarter and successfully reorients it to embrace its streetscape and community. By pivoting the building’s orientation, the architects have created new protected outdoor space to Bowen Road whilst enhancing the school entry and the eastern pre-existing playground.
The building’s form displays a sophisticated yet restrained sensitivity to context. A simple skillion roof presents a low street profile respectful of the scale of neighbouring heritage cottages, while rising to a scale appropriate to the site’s original 1929 schoolhouse. This dialogue between eras is further enriched by a contemporary yet contextual material palette; Longford red bricks and white sheeting echo the original building and used with restrained precision. In contrast is a playful use of curved features that create “cloud-like” seating nooks at a delightful, child-friendly scale.
Internally, the flexible learning environments are calm and legible. Transparency is used to foster collaboration and passive surveillance whilst block colour, acoustic treatments and lighting are deftly handled to provide a tranquil, sensory-informed environment for students and teachers alike.
The new classrooms have significantly enhanced the learning environment for senior primary students. Thoughtful colour choices and generous ceiling heights create warmth, light and uplifting spaces, while noise-reducing materials support a calm, focused atmosphere. Flexible layouts allow for collaboration, explicit instruction and small-group intervention with ease, promoting flow and purposeful use throughout the day. Staff and students consistently report enjoyment of the spaces and note positive impacts on learning and wellbeing. These classrooms exemplify educationally aligned, considered design, and have become a highly valued part of the school community. “Thank you for a beautiful and functional learning environment.”
Nicky Adams, Design Architect
Giles Newstead, Project Architect
Dan Man, Design Architect
Sophie Zasempa, Documentation & Sustainability
Fairbrother, Project Manager
Fairbrother, Site Foreman
WT Partnerships, Quantity Surveyor
CES – Coordinated Engineering Services, Services Engineering
CES – Coordinated Engineering Services, Structural Engineer
Pudding Lane Surveyors, Building Surveyor
Red Sustainability, Sustainability Consultant
Urban Initiatives, Landscape Architect
Fairbrother, Construction Manager