New South Wales
Schools at Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct (SMEEP) is a new state government school for 2,600 students from ages 5-18, with integrated but separate primary and high schools. The school is part of the New South Wales Government urban schools programme, providing high density multi-level buildings in inner city locations.
Many of the existing trees on the site predated the western colonisation of Australia and all have been retained to amplify connections to nature. Within these trees, the building programme has been organised into two twin five storey bars, which frame the central hill of libraries.
The four-level library, which also houses an auditorium, study spaces and a commuter room, connects the two wings, with a series of landscaped terraces cascading down the centre of the facility towards the surrounding gardens. This design allows for natural ventilation and for every level of the building to have direct access to nature.
Schools at Meadowbank represented an opportunity to create a learning environment that is future focused, innovative and functional. The school buildings accommodate more than 2,500 primary and secondary students from the relocated Meadowbank Public School and Marsden High School on a natural undulating site.
In collaboration with School Infrastructure NSW, Woods Bagot delivered a building that supports lifelong learning, using standardised design and modern methods of construction to support changing pedagogy. The twin 7-storey facilities nestle within the retained existing trees, creating a connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces and the built form and the natural site environment.
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
