North Melbourne Primary School Stage 1

New classrooms, library and administration facilities along with the remodelling of the east and central wings of the existing heritage building.

Project Overview
Specifications

Finalist – Primary School Category
DET School Design Awards 2008
Award – Public Alterations & Additions Category
Victorian Architecture Awards 2009

Client Brief
This project is the first stage in the implementation of a Master Plan for North Melbourne Primary School. Program comprises a new GPC, Library and Staff/Administration building; remodeling of the east and central wings of an existing 1874 heritage building for GPCs, Art, Music and ancillary uses; relocatable GPC cluster; staff parking lot; and associated site and landscape works.
Design Response
With an enrolment of 460 students on a 1.54 hectare site, open space was at a premium. The new buildings were therefore deployed on the site to preserve and enhance the open space to the north of the heritage building, forming a U-shaped enclosure around the hardstand play area.
In its remodeled form the 1874 heritage building has been returned to its floor plan, excepting some cross-wall openings made to achieve entitlement floor areas. The new building is long and narrow, with a single loaded circulation space to minimize its encroachment onto the hardstand.
This project was one of three finalists for Best Primary School in the School Design Awards 2008.
North Melbourne Primary School Design Specifications
Services Provided
- Full Services
Architect
Workshop Architecture
People
Project Team: Tony Styant-Browne, Jen Rippon, Meena Gill
Photography: John Gollings
Client
North Melbourne Primary School
Date completed
2006
Location
North Melbourne, Victoria

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