New Education Leader Associate Joins our Melbourne Studio

Studio News 14 November 2019 Share

Education design is a growth area for our Melbourne studio, and Ellen Wilkinson joins our 15-person-strong education team as well as the associate team as Associate – Education Leader.

Ellen’s interest in education design began when she worked on a tertiary education project in 2005. With an inherent curiosity in learning, Ellen wanted to broaden her experience and knowledge to encompass schools, and she has since worked on many primary, secondary and tertiary projects across the private and public sectors.

‘I am intrigued by the idea of creating agile spaces that facilitate various learning outcomes, how these educational settings can adapt over time and inevitably vary from early learning through to tertiary, as students work their way towards the workplace and adult life,’ Ellen says.

Education design requires an evolving mindset, and Ellen – along with Melbourne’s education team – is constantly exploring ways to develop meaningful design strategies that support contemporary pedagogy and advancing technology. This includes developing agile buildings and spaces that can adapt over time and creating a range of educational settings that facilitate teaching and empower students to thrive.

Our Melbourne studio is currently working on 18 schools designed to support, inspire, and engage students and teachers; being flexible for many learning and teaching modes and technologies now and into the future. Each promotes the importance of reconnecting to nature and its research-backed learning and wellbeing benefits.

‘It’s great to be involved in creating buildings and spaces that will contribute to and enhance twenty-first-century learning environments. Improving the quality and environment in which our children learn is extremely rewarding,’ Ellen says.

Ellen is an experienced leader who is passionate about engaging collaboratively across all phases of project delivery and driving the project team to achieve excellence in design and construction. She has worked on a range of significant architectural and urban design projects in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, primarily in education as well as on workplace, defence, and commercial projects.

As our education portfolio expands, we are excited to have Ellen join the team as an associate, bringing her experience and a strong passion for education design across all sectors.
Christon Batey-Smith
Director, DesignInc Melbourne