watsonia primary school

Watsonia Primary School is set amongst the leafy suburb of Watsonia, 20 km northeast Melbourne. The project proposes to improve the facilities and increase the appeal of the Primary School to prospective students so that enrolment is increased to match the influx of younger families into the surrounding area. This project forms Stage 2 of an overall masterplan, and focuses on connecting the classrooms to the outdoors as well as improving the internal spaces, built form, and general connections between buildings and outdoor spaces.

Given the existing conditions it was of particular importance to the project that the new facilities for the school were organised as an assembled community of spaces in coordination within the separately planned works to the external landscape. The project team has adeptly navigated the challenge of providing continued operational requirements of the school during the construction phase, alongside the overall design strategy and integration of the existing buildings together.

The project involves the creation of a combined new single level teaching environment connecting both new and existing teaching facilities, the redesign and rebuilding of a standalone flexible modern classroom block, the refurbishment of existing common facilities, as well as the creation of a new centralised landscape to serve as a new student entrance to the site. This new level landscape provides an inspiring environment for outdoor teaching and breakout spaces, allows ease of access for all, and ties the two main school buildings together cohesively.

The overall Building form of the new Block C and courtyard uses vernacular geometries, but interprets them in a new way and translates them into a contemporary, forward thinking architecture. The exterior walls of the new building are proposed in white/ grey blocks to form a better transition between landscape and building and provide a solid structure that is grounded within its surroundings. Classrooms and internal spaces are all designed to be under a sloping roof to avoid the feeling of being in potentially boring sterile internal boxes. They are designed to create joyful spaces that are uplifting with daylight from two directions incorporating lower level and higher level windows

Currently under construction the project will ultimately create a vastly improved student learning environment which seeks to strengthen and enhance the student experiences on site.