New South Wales
The Warren Integrated Studies Hub is a multi-disciplinary STEAM facility located centrally within the Macarthur Anglican School Campus. The brief was to design a campus precinct to co-locate Science, D+T, ICT, Maths, Art, and Agriculture in a mixed indoor / outdoor setting conducive to cross disciplinary interactions. The resulting design combines a signature new building together with the adaptive re-use and expansion of an existing building, both of which are seamlessly integrated with redeveloped outdoor spaces which extend both learning and recreation across the indoor and outdoor settings.
The new building is designed with strong visual links to the parkland setting and abundant opportunities to access daylight, fresh air, and open and semi-enclosed spaces. The alterations and additions to existing building and open spaces creates an appropriate transition from the remaining existing campus to the contemporary architecture, which sets a new standard for future work across the campus.
We have found the Integrated Studies Hub:
• Promotes student well-being and encourages learning
• Can be used as an educational tool for sustainability.
• Provides strong visual connectivity between classrooms.
• Is a passive building design assisting in lowering operating costs.
• Is low-maintenance, durable, and environmentally sensible building.
• Provides places for informal meetings, encouraging student interaction and peer to peer learning.
• Provides technology enabled teaching spacesSince the completion of the project there has been:
• Increased student engagement between the subject areas
• Improved communication between peers and staff
• Improved educational outcomes, via the ability to congregate outside the classrooms for group work.
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.
