Nunwading Christian College – Prep to Grade Two

This project focuses on the refurbishment of part of the existing Primary School building which is currently GPCs of Year Prep- Year 6, an Art/Craft/Music/Dance classroom and WCs.
The new modern learning environment and facilities (for Year Prep to Year 2) has ensured a better learning culture and has enhanced academic performance.

The project is approached with the intention to apply Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) holistically and as a form of an Education. It is a school afterall and it is important young minds appreciate how to live in harmony with our environment. This approach is applied to decisions made during planning, design development , documentation and construction.
The architecture follows proven passive ESD principles to provide higher level of comfort and wellbeing to the users and to reduce running costs through lower energy consumption. Of particular importance and the basis for this project :

• Provide natural day light penetration; skylight provided in each learning area.
• Fresh air intake, air circulation and cross ventilation.

In addition to passive design principles, active design features also incorporated to increase the efficiency of all our buildings:

• Inclusion of low energy lighting
• daylight sensors and dimmers
• automated night purging windows
• Translucent internal walls to increase natural light penetration
• The majority of the school days, the school is naturally lit with no need for artificial lighting. 
• Consideration of water harvesting, water usage and stormwater of the site:
• Rainwater tanks/ bladders connected to toilet flushing
• Irrigation of Vege garden/ landscape with tank waters.
• Stormwater is harvested and store in existing water tanks & bladders.
• Provision for future rain gardens.
• Materials selected are considered for their sustainability merits, low maintenance and are recyclable:
• Modwood as main external cladding and decking.
• Floor linolium (recycled from cork)
• Carpets tiles (recycled from disused carpet)

Future Expansion:
Roof space allowed for the installation PV panels in future.

Re-use of existing building:
Existing structures were inspected and review by the architect and engineer for the possibility of refurbishment, giving life to outdated facilities.
Establishment of environmental education and vege garden programs:
Provision of Vege garden, student kitchen and dining area. 
Waste management:
Throughout the building process, construction waste was minimised and materials recycled whenever possible. The nett effect was negligible land fill.