The Workshop and Levee Studios | Xsquared Architects with BVN

Xsquared Architects with BVN have revitalized the former1951 Diesel Workshop. New flexible and technologically sophisticated teaching spaces have been created in a respectful dialogue with the heritage-listed fabric and vast open spaces of the original building.

New windows open the building to the public realm and allow student ‘Learning through Making’ activities to be on constant display. Open plan spaces support cross-fertilization between students and academics from different disciplines.

A new energy efficient mechanical system works in tandem with increased spatial openness to achieve thermal comfort where previously the building was painfully cold, hot, or noisy depending on environmental conditions.

A detailed sustainability analysis indicates that revitalisation represents a 63% reduction in carbon emissions compared with newbuild and strongly supports the sustainability case for the refurbishment of existing buildings.

For a relatively modest budget the project delivers a high performing facility embraced by the student, academic and broader community.

TL Robertson Library Refurbishment | Hames Sharley and Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects in Association

Originally constructed in 1972, the brutalist TL Robertson Library is Curtin University’s largest and most historic building. Its refurbishment sought to redefine the purpose of the campus library, shifting away from preserving books towards prioritising social connection and a sense of community.

The library’s collection of books was consolidated and relocated to a high-density compactus system, freeing up space to accommodate a spectrum of learning settings; from social learning on the lower floors to silent study areas on the upper floors. The relocation of services enabled the addition of a new seventh level, with an event space that allows the library to host functions with up to 200 guests.

The previously enclosed building has been redefined to enhance its permeability and accessibility, with more legible entries, open floor plates and light-filled spaces, positioning the library as a beacon at the heart of the campus.

The Hutchins School Pre-Kinder | ROSEVEAR STEPHENSON

The Hutchins School Pre-Kinder is a child centred learning space that allows children who need to move more than they need to sit still, to be dynamic and active participants in learning. The building opens to welcome the outside space as a third teacher – the changing weather, the nearby gums and wattle, the Derwent, Kunanyi engage in learning that connects children to the local environment and supports them to engage with and care for country.

Seasonal changes throughout the year such as the frequency of rain events are viewed through the lens of play. Students are involved in the capture and use of rain water to develop an understanding of finite natural resources and changing climatic conditions.

The Cottage School | Taylor and Hinds Architects

The Cottage School is a unique, small, independent, secular, community primary school. It is located in Queen Street, in Kangaroo Bay. The school prioritises the environment as a critical framework for learning.
Cohabiting a series of Federation weatherboard worker’s cottages, the School has established a unique pedagogical structure which borrows heavily from the intimacy and domesticity of its setting.
A new Green Cottage ‘addition’ was conceived as a unifying element between the existing external teaching and play environments, and the domestic scale of the original cottage. A verandah forms an extension of the educational realm, for woodwork, seating, and water play. Along this covered edge, an operable facade serves as a ‘streetscape’ for displays, and encourages imaginative play at thresholds. The sensorial environment is carefully orchestrated, through subtle acoustic and lighting. The new interiors are composed through a singular, warm and calming palette, which ‘backgrounds’ the experience of learning.

The Friends’ School Redevelopment Project | Bence Mulcahy with H2o Architects

The Friends’ School Major Redevelopment Project included, a gymnasium, adaption of the WN Oats Centre, site accessibility/safety improvements, a major substation, North Block repairs and new outdoor courts.

Approaches driving the project included the establishment of precincts within the campus, small strategic interventions to improve site accessibility and safety, utilisation/adaption of existing buildings, and Quaker values, simplicity, community and environmental stewardship.

Key projects are the WN Oats Centre refurbishment and the Revell Sports Centre.

The WN Oats Centre was adapted to accommodate x7 GLAs, specialist spaces, breakouts, offices, student/staff amenities in a light, robust, flexible and engaging environment.

The Revell Centre includes a gymnasium, offices, community/student amenities and x2 GLAs. Moderated by domestic scaled additions and street level detailing, its scale and siting draws from Carr Street precedents. Setbacks and landscaping tie the building into the campus, and materials strike the balance between utility and context.

Stradbroke Primary School – Early Learning Hub | Das Studio

Located adjacent Morialta Conservation Park in Rostrevor, Stradbroke Primary School incorporates Walker Learning principles to offer an inquiry-based, transdisciplinary, student-centred curriculum. The project brief sought to replace an aged building with learning spaces and nature play for Stradbroke’s Reception students, to align facilities with the forward-thinking pedagogical approach of the School.

Prioritisation of the direct learning outcomes of built form result in a building that acts as a beacon for the possibilities of curiosity, inquiry and play whilst simultaneously connecting to the surrounding built and natural environments in a manner that feels of its place. Siting, planning and materiality all contribute equally to this outcome.

A collaborative relationship between the design team, client and key stakeholders and a creative approach to project problem solving unlocked value that allowed for refurbishment works to adjacent Year 1 spaces, creating an Early Learning Hub for the School that equitably connects the junior cohort.

TAFE NSW Institute of Applied Technology Construction | Gray Puksand

In architecture The Pavilion is seen as progressive, democratic and a canvas for creativity. Gray Puksand have drawn on this symbolism to create a culture of dynamic learning in the heart of Sydney suburbia.

Nestled in the landscape, The Institute of Applied Technology Construction (IATC) at Kingswood, is surrounded by parkland and can be entirely circumnavigated, permitting views into and out of the spaces within.

The expressed architectural structure emerges from an environmental response to the climatic extremes of the locale, embracing the site topography, boasting both lower and upper ground floor levels, accessible from the primary east and west entrances, linked via the activated central atrium.

This new Pavilion of Learning at the Kingswood campus stands aside the main campus and, while singular in its location, it also becomes an extension of the terrain, representing a powerful vision for education.

Springbank Secondary College | Thomson Rossi

The challenge at Springbank Secondary College was to create an environment with no barriers to learning for a culturally, physically, and neurodiverse community without the slightest perception of discrimination. The new environment needed to be beautiful, practical, serviceable, elegant and welcoming, as well as catering for unique needs in a discrete way, allowing everyone to enjoy a contemporary, state of the art learning facility that delivers a high-end curriculum.
Internally, in order to achieve these spaces, the design explored the integration of circulation space into the Learning Areas, eliminating corridors and allowing a range of different breakout and retreat spaces to be created; providing significant flexibility and opportunity for inclusion across the whole campus.
Externally, a sculptural COLA announces the school’s presence as a promenade leading to the Basketball Stadium, strategically located adjacent the Tower Arts Centre, allowing an extension of performance activities to an outdoor venue.

St John’s Campus Redevelopment | Brown Falconer

The redevelopment of Concordia’s St John’s Campus has transformed the primary school through new learning environments that bring the College together, reimagine the campus and provide the foundation for improved teaching and learning practices.

This project presented a significant opportunity to co-create a unified precinct with College leadership, utilising a collaborative visioning process to generate design principles founded on 4 core ideas:
_One College
_Every space is a place to learn
_The physical environment supports the learning process
_Connection to Nature

Briefed to provide new facilities to support strategic growth across years 4-6, expand the ELC, and improve connectivity between classrooms and the outdoors, we explored this and their existing facilities through their educational philosophy and developed a masterplan with upgraded junior primary learning areas, new ELC, upper primary learning building, resource centre and activity hall with a design narrative that celebrates nature through form, materiality, colour and maximising greenspace.

St Patrick’s College Performing Arts Centre | Wardle

St Patrick’s College Performing Arts Centre represents a once–in–a–generation transformation project for the school. The centrepiece is an 800–seat auditorium with retractable seating can host a range of events – from school assemblies, music/drama performances to community events. In addition, the black box rehearsal studio is a flexible space with the opportunity for practice or small–scale drama performances. A series of rehearsal studios and purpose–built areas for performing arts and staff spaces support the main space.

Set within an historic 120–year–old campus in Ballarat, the surrounding significant heritage buildings have been carefully considered in the architectural design. Located adjacent to the formal gardens, the building complements the primary frontage and assists in the development of a new campus forecourt and entry. The design response is contemporary but integrated with the campus context through careful consideration of scale, rhythm and materiality.