Can-Team – St Felix Catholic Primary School, Bankstown

This project was envisioned, defined and created by the community.

The school and JDH Architects invited both the school and wider community to come up with ideas to transform the canteen and associated outdoor learning space into a welcoming, creative and inviting educational and community hub.

As the real clients of any improvements to the school grounds, the community needed to have an active role in the development of their outdoor spaces – from surveying what already exists and how people feel about it, through the development and implementation of the design, to spending a day making the transformation happen, and finally the ongoing management and use of the space.

By taking part, pupils, staff and the wider community now have a sense of ownership and empowerment.

Through a series of creative envisioning workshops, the process guaranteed that all of the stakeholders not only had a say but were involved with the design AND build of the new shared educational and community space.

This process, and the space it created taught and teaches collaboration, creative thinking, and sustainability.

St Felix and JDH Architects organised and participated in a one day, hands on design and build process to help realise the educational vision in the school’s outdoor area.

Created through the use of found, recycled, and donated materials the space is a model of sustainability.

As a learning environment it is didactic, with everyone learning about the importance of recycling, and how to care for the planting. We also learn about collaboration – the space itself is the product of true community collaboration – and the setting is such that it encourages children and adults to works together in lots of different ways.

The space has become an alternative teaching space, where experiential learning takes place. It supports emotional wellbeing, and promotes social interaction between learners. The recycled and found furniture in the space promotes creativity and provides unique and varied places for students to learn.

The design and management of the space (by the users) promotes sustainable practices, by both the conservation and enhancing of the materials that made the space and the nature within it.

The settings provide for formal and informal learning, and hidden curricula including play.

Having been involved with the design, the children value the space and take ownership.

The outdoor learning area offers the opportunity for safe, challenging, active and collaborative play, by providing a variety of child centric settings and flexible learning areas.