Stage 1 of the Lindfield Learning Village is the adaptive reuse of a highly significant Sulman award- winning Brutalist building (previously the UTS Ku-ring-gai campus) to a K-12 Department of Education campus.
DesignInc, Lacoste + Stevenson, and BMC2 collaborated to design the project which synthesises a range of highly complex heritage, safety, bushfire, and educational pedagogy considerations into an elegant and successful design solution while retaining and enhancing the integrity of the original place.
Based on an innovative educational model where learning is determined by ‘stage not age’, students at Lindfield Learning Village progress through the educational curriculum at their own pace.
This revolutionary Schools Infrastructure NSW project allows each child to be individually nurtured by educators who mentor their progress from Kindergarten to Year 12 with the primary focus on developing their skills through tailored curriculum that is aligned with their natural, innate abilities.
DesignInc worked in collaboration with Lacoste+Stevenson and BMC2 to evolve the spatial planning and organisation of the original campus design.
Their objective was to respond to the new educational model and establish a social environment that optimises the intrinsic qualities of the building.
The original design for the building was based on a hilltop village concept with an internal ‘street’.
The design team capitalised on this feature to weave multiple activities together, creating innovative education zones for learners of all ages while fostering the close collection of teachers and students as a social entity.
With a sensitive approach to the building’s original character, new additions are easily identifiable through the use of distinctive geometries and materials that respond sympathetically to the brutalist concrete, exposed brick, and glass aesthetic of the original structure.
Creating an outdoor learning and playing environment in-keeping with the innovative indoor learning environment, while providing safety from the risk of bushfire was a key approach taken by the landscape designers at DesignInc.
Throughout the adaptive reuse and refurbishment, the new design prioritises connection with the new landscape surrounds while maximising the variety of flexible learning environments on offer.
A welcoming, human-scale environment is evident in the reconfigured learning spaces refurbished as flexible, bright, inviting and comfortable; fostering individualised multi-age learning.
Robust and durable surfaces and expansive sliding glass panels maximise indoor – outdoor connection and multiply the learning opportunities.
The existing 800-seat Greenhalgh Theatre is available for use by both the school and community.
Lecture theatres, expansive library, drama and music facilities, gymnasium and sports grounds further encourage community participation.
A distance education learning unit and administration areas complete the campus.
When fully realised, six ‘Schools within a School’ each with 330 students will comprise the education village accommodating 2,000 pupils and up to 200 educators.
Project Details
Project size – 31,000 m2
Completion date – 2019
Building levels – 4
Project Team
Architecture
DesignInc
DesignInc is an award-winning architectural and design practice with offices in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, Australia.
Their multidisciplinary teams are united with a common vision to make a difference to the health and happiness of people’s lives through the quality of the environments they help create.
Lacoste + Stevenson
Lacoste + Stevenson is a design-based architectural practice established by Thierry Lacoste and David Stevenson in 1997. As a result of an international partnership, the practice takes advantage of local and global influences to produce distinctive architecture.
BMC2
BMC2 is an architectural practice based in Paris, France, managed since 2001 by Arnaud Bical and Laurent Courcier. They were joined in 2016 by Yannick Gourvil and Eric Hardy architects. The agency studies and produces equipment, housing, and offices (new projects or rehabilitations) in accordance with the urban and landscape context in which they fit.
Photography
Tyrone Branigan
Tyrone works directly with his clients to build a brief that illuminates their design philosophy and establish a clear visual signature. Texture, materials, and aspect are treated with the correct light to create clean crisp images that document more than just a moment in time.
Photo Gallery
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Design © 2020 DesignInc, Lacoste + Stevenson, and BMC2. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2020 Tyrone Branigan. All Rights Reserved.
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