St. Brendan's Primary School Expansion
“A School Capital Works Project of University Quality”
The existing campus style school is made up of eclectic detached buildings constructed from the 50’s through to 2010. The existing buildings are to be retained and undergo refurbishment with the major works involving new interstitial spaces connecting the three detached buildings and widening their footprints.
The existing school configuration of detached buildings & traditional classrooms has been stripped back to the bones. The new works allowed a U-shaped blank canvas to organise and arrange Learning spaces from stages 1-3 to connect and flow seamlessly. A visual and physical connection is established right through the school along a spine which completely wraps the central playground - a focal point and outlook for the spaces.
The walls and doors along the spine are flexible and can open and close like valves to transform the learning space effortlessly from one learning setting to another.
Class Groups are categorised into stages, a combination of two year groups. Each stage is designed to provide affordance for student collaboration made up of ‘campfires, caves & watering holes’, multiple points of focus are provided for learning through the use of technology walls and magnetic glass whiteboards.
The new facade treatments unify the buildings and offer a defining architectural presence at the primary street frontage. The new facade provide a much needed school identity and expression of catholicity. At street level, the school fence is removed and replaced with an open & welcoming forecourt and foyer is much welcomed by the school, parents and the community.
PROJECT DETAILS //
Refurbishment & re-purposing of school from K-6 & support facilities. Existing Learning Spaces have been converted from traditional classrooms to contemporary learning settings. / 3100m² of Refurbished and Additional GFA.
STATUS //
Completed in 2020
CLIENT //
Sydney Catholic Schools
ROLE //
Lead Consultant, Client Representative, Superintendency of Building Contract
PHASE INVOLVEMENT //
Strategic Definition to Post Occupation
PROJECT LEADERS //
Sunny Mai / Peter Morson