Hammond Park Catholic Primary School – Stage 1

The Hammond Park Catholic Primary School site is unique in its excellent quality natural woodland context. While natural vegetation and site gradients are often eliminated to ensure ease of construction and access, EIW Architects felt this site could provide an impetus for students and staff to engage in a meaningful and stimulating interaction with their natural surrounds. With this in mind we created natural spaces between buildings to maintain and celebrate the natural landscape as a feature. The existing bushland becomes an exciting outdoor classroom of discovery and exploration, with pockets of vegetation kept throughout the site.

The design enables adaptability and fluidity to reflect the learning styles demanded of a contemporary learning environment. Internal flexible spaces allow for a range of learning modalities by modifying the configuration of relevant, loose furniture to suit current tasks. Connection to external spaces (both visually and physically) on all buildings to both the north and south encourages accessible and supervised nature play learning. All circulation spaces have been incorporated internally as alternative places for learning that facilitate small group work and individual activity. From large collaborative project work at tables, to small interactive discussion groups using ICT to support learning, to cooking together at the child friendly kitchen bench, all types of learning are possible.

All buildings have been designed with natural passive solar design principles, and incorporate clerestory windows, carefully located thermal mass, large verandahs, cross ventilation opportunities, natural low-VOC materials and highly insulated walls. Learning occurs in every space both throughout the building and the surrounds.