Mamre Anglican School

‘The original brief was to create an outstanding building; one that would make a big statement about the future of a school which had historically failed to develop a successful narrative in a challenging demographic which has seen the previous incarnation of this school fail. We wanted a building which would reflect the future of pedagogy. We wanted to make a statement about the permanence and style of this reinvented school. We achieved these aims. ‘ Principal Vic Branson

We invited first the students who would immediately occupy this building to reflect at length about the nature of space. light, form, accommodation and design. Then the staff and parents were engaged in this creative process. Clearly we knew the classrooms required but the marriage of function and creative form was achieved through the imaginative collusion of industrial design, in a light filled open plan which nevertheless serves a variety of pedagogical and social functions. It is a building which both students and staff enjoy learning in and which they enjoy as a scene for social interaction.

Flexibility of spaces is a key theme in the project. A central learning space with flexible walls and flanked by classrooms is the key element in producing a building of multiple and interchangeable spaces.
This central learning space is designed in the manner of an open reading area in a library. It is a communal space for students. This is well suited to the system that contains free periods for study. The central learning space provides students with wi-fi, seating, niches with in built seating, a kitchenette and a circular meeting room. This room is flanked by operable doors that allow for classrooms to open up into this space to create one large open area. This area can be used for school functions, school assembly and is designed to be large enough and within the guidelines of an examination room for HSC exams.