Designed by Gray Puksand and catering to approximately 650 students, Prahran High School is part of a suite of new inner-city schools commissioned by the Victorian School Building Authority.
But the school site on Prahran’s High Street is perhaps the most constrained site of any the Gray Puksand design team has encountered.
All sites have opportunities, constraints, and challenges.
But this project contended with many – limited space, heritage overlays, demolition of an existing unadaptable building, and a diverse set of neighbouring buildings and public interfaces.
By nature of its constricted site and requirements, the school was designed in a multi-level configuration, making the most of limited space.
Spanning five levels, Prahran High School incorporates everything you’d expect from a modern school:
- library
- gymnasium
- theatre space
- specialist teaching spaces
- outdoor spaces
- adaptable learning environments
Rather than designing a straight-up-and-down cube extending to the boundary on each side, the Gray Puksand design team developed two ‘slipped and shifted’ planes around a central light-filled void.
By offsetting each level, the void evolves as it runs up through the building.
That move exposes more spaces to natural light, providing unique learning spaces visible throughout the building.
The effect is almost like a gallery of education.
Externally, this configuration also allows for oversized balconies.
These outdoor spaces are crucial to well-being, teaching, and learning.
“That simple cutting, shifting, and slipping of the planes provided different arrangements of spaces that we could layer throughout the building,” explains Stephen Turner, Partner at Gray Puksand.
Using glass, perforated screens, and the large central atrium, the design welcomes parents, students, and visitors, directly exposing them to everything the school has to offer.
This includes specialist learning – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths (STEAM), which is visible from almost any point in the building.
Outdoor green spaces on the balconies and rooftop also provide access to views out across the neighbourhood.
Project Details
Completion Date – 2019
Project Team
Architecture
Gray Puksand is a leading Australian architecture and integrated design practice with studios in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.
They create places of integrity designed to improve the way people work, learn, and live.
Photography
Peter Clarke
Peter is an established photographer with over 20 years’ experience in his field. He has extensive knowledge and experience documenting the built environment, as well as natural and man-made landscapes.
Photo Gallery
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Design © 2022 Gray Puksand. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Peter Clarke. All Rights Reserved.
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