Leongatha Education Precinct

The project consists of a new Year 7-9 building (10 discreet GPCs, and 3 open plan GPCs),
a new Year 10-12 building (8 discreet GPCs, and 5 open plan GPCs),
and a new Art building (7 discreet GPCs/studios).
Nearly all ‘travel ‘ has been eliminated from the design, utilising the areas as open learning spaces.
This has maximised the available floor area budgeted.

The project takes advantage of the mild climate and higher than average rainfall of the South Gippsland region.
It is an ideal project to fully utilise passive heating and cooling.

The design has been refined from the lessons learnt from the previous stage.

On a summers day, the ceiling fans and operable windows and thermal mass of reverse masonry external walls ensure that the interiors are pleasant for occupants.
On a winters day, passive solar design principals ensure that heating inputs are maximised.
Extensive north facing eaves protect external walls and high performing windows.
This allows students to work outside all year round.

The balance between a closed learning setting and more open plan spaces is a flexible and deliberately changeable one. Occupants can choose to arrange the furnishings in the open plan, they can choose to open or shut the large sliding doors to connect spaces, or close them off by shutting the large sliding doors. Smaller interview rooms for private gatherings have been dotted strategically throughout the buildings.

Teacher stations are open plan, purposefully located centrally in each of the learning buildings.
This departs from traditional staffrooms, allowing students and teachers to better communicate with each other.

The project features the construction of a wetlands, which has been located at the lowest area of the site, on the northern boundary.
With high rainfalls, drainage design has been a significant consideration, as extensive areas on site have been known to flood. The problem has been transformed to become an opportunity to attract wildlife, and to assist the council ‘s prerogative to retard surface run off to the adjacent housing estates.