Bunurong People
Victoria
The project involves a new senior learning hub for Peninsula Specialist College, a P-12 Specialist and SDS school located in Dromana, Victoria. Designed to support students with diverse and complex needs, the project uses architecture to promote independence, dignity and inclusion.
The building provides a range of flexible learning environments that support varied teaching modes, self-regulation and collaboration, while maintaining clear visual connections for discreet supervision. Stepped across a sloping site and carefully responding to bushfire and environmental constraints, the building maintains strong connections to landscape and outdoor learning spaces.
A simple gabled form, warm brickwork and shaded verandahs create a calm, non-institutional presence. Passive design principles including orientation, daylight, cross ventilation, double-glazing and rooftop solar panels support long term environmental performance and operational efficiency.
The project demonstrates how thoughtful design can deliver meaningful and sustainable learning environments within the constraints of public specialist education.
As a Special Education school, this building has been designed with deep intent and understanding of how the environment shapes learning, wellbeing, and dignity. The architecture supports our students with complex needs through calm, flexible spaces that prioritise regulation, accessibility and safety, while still feeling aspirational rather than clinical. Clear sightlines, intuitive layouts and carefully considered sensory elements enable staff to teach, support and respond effectively, fostering independence and engagement for every learner. Importantly, the building affirms that students with disabilities deserve beautiful, future-focused learning environments, spaces that empower them, support our staff, and strengthen our whole school community.
Aimee Goodwin, Design Architect
Daniel Paltridge, Design Architect
Alex Leeder, Project Architect
OPS Engineers, Structural Engineer
OPS Engineers, Civil Consultant
BRT Consulting Engineers, Services Consultant
Simon Ellis Landscape Architects, Landscape Consultant
Videre Group, Project Manager
Desgin Guide, Building Surveyor
Octave Acoustics, Acoustic Consultant
Architecture and Access, Access
Wilde & Woollard, Cost Consultant
BRT Consulting Engineers, ESD Consultant
Practical Ecology, Ecologist & Bushfire Assesment
Square 1 Engineering, Fire Engineer