Category 1: New Construction : Entire New School

AWARDS: Joint Winners
Branksome Hall Asia, Jeju Global Education City, Korea and Sustainable Industries Education Centre, Tonsley TAFE, South Australia

Project: Branksome Hall Asia, Jeju Global Education City, Korea 

Architect: MKPL Architects in collaboration with Samoo Architects and Engineers.

This World Heritage Greenfield site project has successfully created a state of the art learning environment that takes its design queues from the surrounding landscape.

The architects describe the forms as ‘Sculptures in the Landscape’ and have designed a series of architecturally distinctive Learning Pods and Learning Centres interconnected by meandering paths within the ‘Living Forrest’ or campus green.
The design cleverly makes connections at different levels (physical and social / inside and outside), blurring the boundaries between circulation and programmed spaces, and has achieved a climate responsive, ecologically sensitive design which includes both a heat recovery and rainwater collection system as a core element of their sustainability initiatives.

Project: Sustainable Industries Education Centre, Tonsley TAFE, South Australia
Architect: New Learning Environments/Rubida Research in collaboration with MPH Architects
The new facility for Tonsley TAFE in South Australia is an excellent example of adaptive re-use on a major scale.
90% of the existing structure has been retained and a new flexible and adaptable education facility created that provides opportunities for innovation and display of the various TAFE student activities, and the quality of the facility has provided the platform for the forging of strong links with industry.
The resulting internal layout successfully provides a variety of spaces for student centered learning and the effective use of glazed partitioning throughout has maximized the visual and physical connections to the existing steel structure as well as ensuring daylighting opportunities are realized in all settings.

COMMENDATIONS (2)
Project: Mother Teresa Catholic School Master Plan and Stage 1, Western Australia
Architect: Parry & Rosenthal Architects
A sophisticated design response that successfully fulfils the Client brief to create a new school that had a strong dynamic presence in a developing suburb and be a 21st Century Teaching and Learning Centre.
The jurors were impressed with the site masterplan, the elegant architectural detailing and limited materials palette, which have created a timeless and robust aesthetic.
Learning areas all have a connection to the well-designed courtyard spaces and internally to a variety of smaller Learning Pods that maximize the opportunities for flexibility in teaching and learning.

Project: Horsham Special Development School, Victoria
Architect: Kneeler Design Architects
A beautiful design that successfully delivers individualized education to students aged from 5 to 18, with a wide variety of disabilities.
The clever use of a varied material palette, the maximizing of opportunities for natural light and the thoughtful use of colour all add to the vibrancy of the internal spaces.
The external forms are a mature response to the brief of creating a world class 21st Century education facility for special needs students.