Even though we’ve been here for 97 years, thanks to this design we are now known as ‘the new school’. Since the project was completed new enrolments have nearly doubled. It’s been such a reinvention for us.
Tony Boyle - Principal, St Joseph's Primary School
St Joseph's Primary School, Tweed Heads
Tweed Heads New South Wales
With soaring ceilings, modern pops of colour and clever pockets for play and retreat that maximise every spare centimetre of site space; Fulton Trotter Architect’s (FTA) redesign of St Joseph’s Primary School has had a transformative effect on students and teachers and has elevated the perception of the school within the broader community.
The project – at an inner urban site in Tweed Heads – included the removal and/or demolition of some of the existing buildings (established in 1917 and in varying age and condition). In their place now stand examples of leading-edge educational design: airy and contemporary administration, teaching and library buildings reflective of, and conducive to, 21st Century thinking and learning.
Using clever and innovative design devices, FTA has been lauded for seemingly extracting extra play and learning space from thin air. Three of the new buildings were pulled hard out to the edge of the street and a newly developed central playground has become a hub of activity for the school. Wide, covered verandahs provide shelter from the elements and are additional and much loved recreation and teaching areas.
Each of the new buildings is flexible in design and features passive cooling, low VOC materials, recycled timber elements and natural lighting – all key sustainable elements incorporated by the architects to ensure this design stands St Joseph’s School in good stead for an even brighter future.
For more information, please visit the St Joseph’s Primary School website.