The brief at St Brigid’s Primary School called for the upgrade of the existing library & learning support spaces, and the establishment of a dedicated Learning Hub and Resource Centre, including refurbishment of ancillary spaces and some modest landscaping to form a sensory garden.
Internally the project was able to provide new, collaborative teaching and learning spaces, whilst enhancing access, natural light, ventilation, and acoustic performance of the Hub & Resource Centre. Ancillary spaces were upgraded, including a Seminar space with group video-conferencing ability, enabling remote learning, tele-conferencing and training, and internal presentations.
The completed works provide a seamless accessible path from the heart of the campus upto and into the new Learning Hub & Learning Resource Centre, opening up the oldest school building to full use by students, staff and visitors.
The project introduces a landscaped area to the central courtyard of the existing building, a green space for all rooms to look out onto, and an inviting space for students to congregate.
Client: Catholic Diocese Maitland Newcastle
Location: Raymond Terrace, NSW
Size: 450sqm
Value: $1M
Contractor: Norths Construction
Status: Completed 2022
Awards: Commended, 2023 Learning Environments Australasia awards
Alleanza Team: Phoebe Glanville, Brendan Cotter, Anna Linna
Collaborators: CDNM, Birzulis, EVC, EPA, McCallum, Xeriscapes, Lindsay Perry, Surescope
Photographer: Murray McKean
Excerpt from LEAD 2023 Award Commendation;
“Collaborative stakeholder engagement and thorough benchmarking processes, along with a detailed educational brief have guided the architects towards, not only meeting the needs of the school, teachers and students but surpassing their requirements for a relatively modest project budget.
Through renovation of existing spaces, judicious selection of furniture and fittings, and enhancement of connections to outdoor settings the old library and learning support spaces were economically transformed into practical, inspiring and attractive learning environments.
Not only do the design outcomes exceed the brief, they demonstrate a thoughtfulness around inclusiveness in relation to physical access and additional support spaces for students with special needs.
Flexibility is inherent in the diversity of learning settings afforded by the variety of easily moved furniture, joinery niches, wall treatments and external spaces.
The architects have delivered an innovative design that exceeds the educational and facilities briefs, while achieving remarkable value-for-money outcomes.“