St Leonard’s College Years 5–6 Centre

A variety of learning and teaching styles are supported in this flexible facility, where the active and passive sustainability measures are not only integrated into the building design, they are monitored and displayed in screens around the building, for use in the school curriculum.

Set out over three levels, the project incorporates six classrooms, four project-based learning rooms, multipurpose staff office areas on each level, plus a roof-terrace garden.

Located in a flood zone, habitable spaces were required to be above ground level — a disruption to the building’s connection to the school. The solution was found in utilising the ground floor for car parking, and connecting to the school with a landscaped outdoor stage and entry, that draws students from both middle and senior schools together for informal gatherings and music performances.

Location: Bunurong Country
Brighton East, Victoria
Client: St Leonard’s College
Value: $6M
Scale: 1,000m²
Year: 2011
Project Contact: Stephen Webb
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The building design is flexible so that each group of three classrooms can be opened into one large space, or furniture including lockers can be easily rearranged to individualise the learning spaces. There are also open informal learning zones, and ‘quiet rooms’ for small group work and ESL lessons.

An ‘art shed’ is incorporated into the informal learning zone, with robust concrete floors and timber cladding, extending the learning opportunities. Annual middle school exhibitions and events are held in the informal spaces, using the classrooms as galleries and the multipurpose area’s kitchen for catering.

The active and passive sustainability initiatives integrated into the building design and the school curriculum include a photovoltaic panel array for solar power, rainwater collection, a weather station, thermal mass and mixed-mode ventilation systems.