[MC, Justin Shortal]
Hello, everyone.
Welcome to the 2021 Victorian School Design Awards.
My name is Justin Shortal and I'll be helping present these awards.
Sadly, we are once again unable to meet at a ceremony where we congratulate the winners and finalists in person. But that won't stop us celebrating the best of your designs and the new achievements you've made in modernising Victorian school architecture.
Joining me now to kick off those celebrations is Deputy Premier and Minister for Education James Merlino.
[Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, The Hon. James Merlino]
Thank you, Justin, and thank you everyone for joining us to celebrate the 2021 School Design Awards. On behalf of us all, let me acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which you are watching from today and the lands of the schools that you've worked on for these awards.
I pay my respects to their Elders past, present and those emerging from those wonderful schools. I extend that respect to other Elders and Koori people joining us online.
And while I'm paying respects, let me add everyone involved in all our school building projects from the past two years covered by these awards.
In a moment, we'll show you the finalists and congratulate the winners, but I also want to recognise your hidden achievements, those extra lengths that you went to, to bring these recent projects to fruition.
These awards celebrate innovation and design that inspires learning and generates pride in Victoria's public schools. There's always compromise and challenges practical problems that have to be solved. Budgets that have to be met. Those are the things that can dampen innovation. But with your creativity, your talent, and your experience every year, you rise above all that to take school design to new levels.
But that task just got steeper over the past two years. We all face challenges that we've never seen before. It's harder to be innovative when you're dealing with lockdowns and COVID site restrictions. It's harder to plan an inspiring learning environment while you're motivating your own children to complete their home schooling. And it's harder to be creative when you're worried about the future of your business, the security of your job, or the health of your loved ones.
Yet here we are emerging from that dark time, taking the next steps back to our normal lives. Lids and teachers are back in schools being inspired by what you've created.
The record expansion and modernisation of Victoria's schools has continued. Together,
we opened 14 new schools this year. We'll repeat that in January, and we're on track to reach that 100 new schools milestone by 2026. The roll out of upgrades hasn't slowed either. Through the recent difficult times hundreds of schools have gained better classrooms, modern high-tech spaces geared for 21st century learning, as well as sport and cultural facilities they can share to enhance their communities.
And as you'll see shortly, they've gained all that without losing the benefits of your innovation.
Our entries were down in number this year, but not in quality. You've continued to design learning environments that will inspire our young minds to take on the new challenges of the next generation. We are already seeing the impact of your work. I hear it from teachers and I see it reflected in the NAPLAN results. Our kids are excelling, they are achieving more. Look at our students currently in year five: they started school at the same time that we introduced our Education State reforms, when we began our record investment in modernising schools. These students are now leading the nation for reading, writing, grammar and numeracy. So are the younger primary kids we test at Year 3.
What this boils down to is that tens of thousands more students are performing at the highest levels and far fewer struggling in the bottom bands.
That's what changes lives, changes futures.
So on behalf of Victoria's students and our teachers, thank you for your role in that. Thank you for creating what we're about to see and thank you for everything you've battled through that we don't see that has made all this possible.
I'll join you again shortly to announce the winners. For now, let's go back to Justin to begin our celebrations.
[MC, Justin Shortal]
Thank you, Minister Merlino. Before we get proceedings underway, I'd also like to thank our judges.
Jill Garner, the Victorian Government Architect;
Clare Newton, Associate Professor in Learning Environments at Melbourne University's Faculty of Architecture;
And Tom Kirkland, the acting CEO of the Victorian School Building Authority, who organise these awards.
They don't have an easy job, especially with the historic scale and innovation we've seen in school building across the state in recent years.
They've also asked me to acknowledge that it wasn't easy for you to gather everything needed for your award entries this year. COVID restrictions made it harder than usual for some of you to get on site to shoot photos, for example. That impacted the volume of entries in a couple of the categories, but did not impact the calibre of entries.
However, it did mean to be fair to all, the judges moved any entries for Best Primary School or Best Secondary School into other appropriate categories, ensuring a consistent quality across the awards.
The judges also reintroduced the special Minister's Award, which we haven't had for a couple of years. This category recognises an outstanding aspect of design from all entries in this year's awards.
So that means we have four awards to announce this year:
Best School Project Below $5 million;
Best School Project between 5 million and 10 million;
Best School Project above 10 million;
and the special Minister's Award.
Let's meet our first group of finalists, starting with the Best School Project Below 5 million. And our first finalist is H2O Architecture for the new gym they designed
for Montrose Primary School. This was completed in January for $3.2 million. The school has not only gained a competition-grade basketball and netball court, but also a new kiosk and child-friendly kitchen for their Fork to Fork garden program.
The judges were impressed with the use of the outdoor space. The wide verandah forecourt that hugs the length of the building and serves as a meeting place for the school parents and wider community. They also liked the sense of fun in the design and how it respected the school's surrounds. They noted the asymmetrical roofline and the hues used in the multi-coloured cladding that reflect the nearby Dandenong foothills.
Our next contender is Kosloff Architecture for their modernisation and extension of a heritage listed building at Pascoe Vale Primary School. They completed this project last December for 3.7 million. With this modest budget Kosloff refurbished more than 1200 square metres of the existing 1920s building and delivered the school nearly 500 square meters of new space in the extension. The school has new administration and staff areas and an entry that is more secure, welcoming and a showcase for student work.
The modernisation has transformed twelve traditional classrooms into 21st century learning spaces connected to a maker space for STEAM activities.
The design also used glazed sliding doors to turn underused corridors into new breakout spaces. The judges particularly loved the simple but sensitive way the old and new exteriors are connected. The matching masonry, the bold decision to have few windows on the south street-facing side, and the simple brick veneer columns gave the design real legacy and longevity.
The last finalist for this award is ClarkeHopkinsClarke for their transformation of an old library into a modern discovery centre at Dandenong South Primary School. They completed this project in November last year with a 1.4 million budget. The school wanted a multifunction learning hub with a design that put equal importance on technology and a connection to nature. Rather than a 1970s library, students now have a contemporary learning environment with diverse zones for collaboration, individual study, storytelling, a digital lab and a wet area for STEM activities. It's opened up new learning opportunities, with students now engaged in coding, robotics, digital simulations and conducting their own experiments in chemical science.
The judges described it as a joyful design that inspired curiosity. They like the way it connected with nature through plant walls, large windows and outdoor learning spaces, and they noted the fun of including a large fireplace in the design as a nod to the tradition of gathering around the fire for storytelling.
Three very deserving finalists. Minister, please tell us who is the winner?
[Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, The Hon. James Merlino]
The winner for Best School Project below $5 million is:
Kosloff Architecture for Pascoe Vale Primary School.
Congratulations.
[MC, Justin Shortal]
Congratulations to Kosloff Architecture, and also to H2O and ClarkeHopkinsClarke for their outstanding work.
Now we move to the award for Best School Project between $5 million and 10 million.
And Kosloff Architecture feature again as our first finalist for the gym they designed for Delacombe Primary School. It was completed in May for 6.8 million. It's where I'm joining you from today. The school had been using a neighbouring public stadium that was not up to competition standard and lacked the insulation and ventilation to cope well with the extremes of the Ballarat climate.
Kosloff designed this new competition-grade gym to do more than just meet the needs of the school. They consulted other stakeholders, such as Ballarat Council and Basketball Victoria, ending up with a stadium that can be shared with the wider community and used by the local basketball league out of hours. Smart choice of ceiling and wall insulation and acoustic linings means the school can use the gym year-round for more than sport.
They've gained a relatively quiet, large, open space for school assemblies, community events, presentations and a wide range of learning activities.
The judges praised the longevity of the design, describing it as highly functional and elegant.
They loved the use of translucent wall cladding on the south side of the building.
Coupled with the novel black baton ceiling, it produces a soft, even light across the playing surface that could become a new standard for school gyms. At night, the building's internal lighting shines out the translucent cladding to cast a warm glow along the school's main street frontage. A perfect welcome for an evening school and community events.
The other contender for this award is Kennedy Nolan for their beautiful upgrade of Research Primary School completed a year ago for 5.7 million.
They've transformed an aging classroom block into modern, flexible learning spaces and a new administration and arts centre. The three learning areas are connected by a wide corridor they've named a learning street. Wide doorways allow classes in each area to spill into the street for small group work, as well as into protected outdoor learning areas. Operable walls allow the entire learning space to be opened up for large gatherings and presentations. Such flexibility is not unusual in modern schools, but the judges thought the way Kennedy Nolan had achieved it here was particularly clever. They're also impressed by the thought that had gone into connecting indoor and outdoor spaces, and they noted how well the timber cladding, other external materials and landscape design blended with the school's bush setting, simple design. Beautifully done.
Minister, over to you again to tell us which of these two impressive finalists is the winner.
[Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, The Hon. James Merlino]
The winner of the Best School Project between $5 million and 10 million is Kennedy Nolan for Research Primary School. Congratulations.
[MC, Justin Shortal]
And congratulations to Kosloff Architecture for another outstanding entry.
Our next award category is for the Best School Project Above $10 million. Let's meet our finalists.
Our first contenders are DesignInc and Brand Architects for their work on the new Ramlegh Park Primary School.
The school opened this year at Clyde North in Melbourne's fast-growing southeast outskirts. It was one of seven schools that the two firms collaborated on to open in 2021. Their design incorporates all the flexible and diverse learning environments we've come to expect in modern schools. In the view of the judges it does everything you would expect it to
do, but it does it so well. There's a strong connection to nature and outdoor learning in the way the buildings are arranged to create courtyards, the thoughtful landscaping, and the choice of materials. The architects took inspiration from the surrounding Gippsland Plains, and the result is a true sense of local identity.
This identity is further reflected in the stylish roof treatment using familiar shapes seen in local residential housing.
Other features catching the judges eyes included the music room that opens up from the side of the school hall. They imagined this space being useful for a range of different purposes and performances. It's part of the Community Hub Building, offering sport and cultural facilities designed to be shared with the wider community in this new suburban development.
Our other finalist for this award is Kneeler Design Architects for the second stage of the Echuca Regeneration Project.This project merged two primary schools on a new campus shared with the local specialist school.
The final stage built a new home for the Echuca Twin River Specialist School
and additional learning, art, and sports buildings for the new Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School. Work was completed in August 2020 for $16.7 million.
While meeting the specific needs of each school students many of the new facilities are shared. The schools wanted to remove any barriers between mainstream and specialist learning. The judges noted how successfully Kneeler Design had achieved that. One example is their placement of the school's specialist VCAL kitchen and cafe at the front entry. Visitors are greeted by the special school students at work, the cafe becomes the welcoming hub of the school.
The judges also praised the bright and cheery interiors and the stylish and elegant design throughout.
Finally, they thought the boomerang shape of the main buildings was a striking and interesting feature.
Minister, can you please announce the winner?
[Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, The Hon. James Merlino]
The winner of Best School Project Above $10 million is DesignInc and Brand Architects
for Ramlegh Park Primary School. Congratulations.
[MC, Justin Shortal]
And well done also to Kneeler Design Architects for their strong entry.
And now we come to the final award for this year, the Special Minister's Award. This is selected from all entries and recognises a particular aspect of outstanding design that's perhaps not covered in the criteria of the regular categories.
Minister, what stood out for you in 2021?
[Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, The Hon. James Merlino]
Thanks, Justin.
Well, this wasn't easy. They were striking, clever and innovative features throughout this year's entries, but one design struck me and the judging panel as particularly unique, and that is very apt because it suits the unique nature of the school and the school curriculum that it offers.
The winner of my special award for 2021 is Maddison Architects for the new Haining Farm campus of the Alpine School. Congratulations.
This is the fourth campus of a school specialising in outdoor education and developing leadership skills. Victoria is the only state offering this kind of education program. This is a residential campus in Don Valley, where Year 9 students from across the state can be nominated by their home school to spend a term. It helps them develop a range of valuable life skills, but particularly their personal and community leadership potential. This project had requirements you wouldn't see in a normal school design. Apart from the usual flexible teaching and communal spaces, this school needed student and staff accommodation, a commercial kitchen, and considerable storage for outdoor equipment. The site was land previously owned by Parks Victoria, so the architects had to consider the environmental impact of every element.
The design makes extensive use of oversized commercial skylights, sensor lighting, solar panels, and rainwater collection. I love the operable roof over the central courtyard so it can be used all year round, and the judges have highlighted the stylish and practical way the corrugated cladding wraps seamlessly around the roof and walls. Apparently, this allows the gutters to be put at ground level for easy maintenance - one of the many clever ideas in this design.
Congratulations, Maddison Architects, a great job on a special project with unique challenges.
[MC, Justin Shortal]
Thank you, Minister Merlino.
Well, that wraps up the 2021 Victorian School Design Awards.
Congratulations to our winners and finalists.
You can take your time to look over all the photos and project details on the Victorian School Building Authority website.
Thank you also to everyone who nominated for the awards this year.
You can all be proud of your contribution towards modernising Victorian schools, putting our state at the forefront of global school design and helping create fantastic new learning opportunities for our students.
Thank you for joining us.
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