St Kilda Primary School | Law Architects

St Kilda Primary School | Law Architects | Photographer: Derek Swalwell

2025 National Architecture Awards Program

St Kilda Primary School | Law Architects

Traditional Land Owners

Bunurong, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation

Year
2025
Chapter

Victoria

Category
COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture
Sustainable Architecture
Urban Design
Builder
Heritage Building Renovation)
Lloyd Group (Learning Building
Photographer
Derek Swalwell
Media summary

St Kilda Primary School (SKPS) is a vibrant, inclusive community that reflects the cultural and socio-economic diversity of its students. Designed through a collaborative process with Law Architects, the Nozomi learning building embodies sustainability, inclusivity, and a deep connection to its environment. The project seamlessly integrates heritage with modern functionality, ensuring longevity while respecting the historically significant Hato building and its urban context.

Set within a heritage precinct, Nozomi’s design balances contemporary educational needs with civic responsibility. Thoughtfully articulated facades engage with the streetscape, heritage buildings, and verdant landscapes, fostering strong connections between students, staff, and the broader community. A commitment to ecological regeneration is evident in the extensive nature-play spaces, green walls, and native plantings that enhance biodiversity and promote environmental stewardship. This project sets a benchmark for future-forward, community-centered educational design, reinforcing SKPS as a place of learning, play, and cultural exchange for generations to come.

Sue Higgins, Principal at SKPS, attests “the new Nozomi building effectively supports our teaching methods, and caters to the diverse needs of every child…soaring ceiling heights…create a sense of openness and grandeur, and promote a feeling of freedom and creativity in the learning spaces. The varied and interesting spaces throughout the building and into the landscape add another layer of versatility, offering both collaborative areas and quiet zones; flexible, dynamic learning environments that inspire open and creative minds.”

The VSBA, as client, awarded the SKPS project: ‘Best School Project – between $5 & $15 million’ in the 2024 Victorian School Design Awards.

Project Practice Team

Sandy Law, Design Architect
Katherine Peasley, Project Architect
Rachel Carew, Project Architect
Jenni Webster, Project Architect

Project Consultant and Construction Team

ZM Environs, Landscape Consultant
Michael Taylor Architecture and Heritage, Heritage Consultant
Fytogreen, Landscape Consultant
Creo Consultants, Structural Engineer
BRT Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd, Services Consultant
Philip Chun, Building Surveyor
2Construct, External works and landscape builder
Barefoot Projects, Landscape contractor
Certified Energy, ESD Consultant

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