SA Chapter visits Pembroke Middle School Redevelopment

On 31 March, LE SA held their first in-person Chapter event for the year, with a tour of Pembroke Middle School Redevelopment, which proved to be a real testament to innovation and leadership in design. Around 80 attendees toured the building with architects Grieve Gillett Andersen and the School Representative to see firsthand the recipient of the 2020 Dr John Mayfield Award for Educational Architecture.

The project delivers on the School and design team’s commitment to a building that will inspire and prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s agile learning and working environments.

With the youthful energy and learning experience of this millennial-age group front and centre, modern design and intelligent planning brings together a variety of art, science and technology learning spaces under the one roof. The tour also showed the group a series of industry-occupied enterprise spaces and artist-in-residence studio positions a ‘real world’ business focus within the educational context.

Project Director Dimitty Andersen spoke about flexibility in the design and how a sense of openness allows for flexibility of use. Each discipline had its own distinct level consisting of both formal learning environments and break out zones for informal gathering.

These various neighbourhoods are then interconnected by large circulation areas that open up to the central atrium or ‘town square’, which has been used for wide-ranging activities like drone racing to the rehearsal space for a 30-piece orchestra, and a moving theatre performance.

The tour groups also got to see robotics on display here! The tour finished with drinks and nibbles thanks to our sponsors Interface and Woods.

Article Nicole Dent, Associate Director, Grieve Gillett Andersen

Images by Sam Noonan