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The idea for a new Junior School originated in 2018. Swanbury Penglase collaborated with Woodcroft College to develop a 20-year master plan, prioritising the construction of a new Early Learning Centre, followed by a two-story Junior School development to replace the existing precinct. That original Junior School, located at the opposite corner of the site, dated back to the early years of the College and consisted of over thirty transportable buildings.

A year after the Early Learning Centre was completed, and driven largely by its success, the College decided to move to triple streaming for the Junior School and thus a three storey building.

The transition represented a ‘cultural shift’ for teaching staff, who had been accustomed to the single-story ‘village-type’ Junior School for many years. The design team presented the benefits and opportunities of a ‘vertical village’ concept, with Learning Communities and specialist areas located around a central atrium—a space designed for both deliberate and incidental collaboration.

Loose furniture is provided throughout the breakout spaces to allow for flexible configurations. Breakout rooms on all three levels are designed for various uses, including collaborative group work—particularly for older students—quiet work time, or meetings between teachers, students, and parents.

Internal design colours, patterns and themes draw from the rich natural environment of the local area including references to Onkaparinga Gorge and River, the adjacent Bains Road Creek and the surrounding areas of bushland. This is most obviously expressed with a dynamic full height super-graphic wallpaper in the central atrium, including a series of native animals to discover.

The landscaping includes two specialist outdoor learning pavilions with custom perspex decorative screens to minimize weather exposure, offering options for structured teaching in the landscape or use during lunch and recess.

Wide balconies surround the building’s perimeter, providing direct connections from early years classrooms to the new Junior School landscape. Furthermore, direct visual links to the existing Early Learning Centre, as well as seamless access to the College oval, with amphitheatre seating and various play areas, enhance the educational, cultural, and functional opportunities offered by the new landscape.

In 2020, Swanbury Penglase was engaged by UniSA to completely reinvent 9 Light Square, Adelaide as a workplace hub.

With a rich history in the west end of the city, 9 Light Square had many previous lives including a skins and hides warehouse, the ‘Dutch Club’, Le Rox Nightclub and the Night Train Theatre Restaurant.

Our disciplines of Architecture, Interior Architecture and Heritage worked in strong collaboration on this adaptive reuse project, finding the balance between discovering and celebrating the building’s unique history and modernising it to become a place of enterprise and innovation.

Across two levels, the Enterprise Hub accommodates over 100 people in a variety of dynamic working settings to support the cross-pollination of business groups and ideas, to foster connections and partnerships that may not have been obvious. Spaces are flexible and adaptable to support the changing needs of the users and include incubation suites, agile co-working hubs, workshops and open plan work areas.

The project also included a complete building analysis and services and safety upgrade to create a habitable place ready for occupation and maintain this important and historic site into the future.

The development of the Blackfriars Western Landscape Precinct celebrates the 800 Year Commemorative Walkway: a strong link to the tradition and history of the Dominican Order. The project consists of an outdoor learning area and footpath connection to the 1890 built St Catherine’s house which serves as the administration office. The project’s bold design gestures transform the school frontage with sophistication and purpose, whilst remaining respectful to the site heritage and its surrounding context.

The commemorative design principles are carried through various landscape elements, which include:

• Wayfinding design;
• ‘Welcome to Country’ artwork;
• The ‘Masters Pavilion’ as an educational and social hub with flexible layout for meetings and community events;
• Bespoke furniture for outdoor learning;
• Sculptural granite Dedication Stones in the garden bed at the entry to the Master Pavilion to honour the Dominican Martyrs of Vietnam, Japan and China;
• Accessible paths around existing buildings;
• General garden beds to improve the visual amenity;
• Reflective garden space at the front of the library.

Swanbury Penglase was engaged in 2019 to develop a major stage of the St Andrew’s School Masterplan – the establishment of a new front of School / entry building, new classrooms and a highly transparent and functional double storey workshop ‘Collaboratory” for senior years.

The Collaboratory faces onto the School’s new reception area and includes physical and visual connections to adjacent learning and teaching spaces. The workshop was developed after a Visioning Workshop and subsequent consultation with the School’s teaching staff – the intent to develop a space that could be ‘re-purposed’ and ‘reshaped’ to suit the changing needs of student groups.

The primary focus of the project become that of a large variegated educational space with multiple affordances to support a wide range of explorations in scientific and engineering areas and concurrent different activities by different group sizes. The workshop spaces enable students to set up projects and return to them on an ongoing basis over days or weeks.

The vision called for the space to be highly visible and transparent, with height, light and revealed structure to make the ‘embodied engineering’ apparent.

A highly collaborative venture between Swanbury Penglase and St Andrew’s School, the project was completed in early 2022 and has quickly become an important part of the School’s learning and teaching program.

Swanbury Penglase was engaged by DIT in late 2019 to realise the redevelopment of the Norwood Morialta Magill Senior Campus and its collocation with the Morialta Middle School Campus, bringing the site student population from 850 to over 1700.

The project involves the substantial redevelopment of almost all buildings and the provision of two new buildings – a three storey Middle School facility and a two storey Innovation Hub (home economics and art), connected closely to an existing building offering music and technical studies.

The project also involves the repurposing of an under-utilised cafeteria space to provide a dynamic new “Learning Hub”, locating centrally within the School, bringing together learning support, library services, international studies and IT. Collaborative and flexible spaces for learning and working are included within this area, drawing direct inspiration from tertiary design.

Other areas of the redevelopment include new workspaces, break out areas and flexible work opportunities where students and staff can work side-by-side.

The project also includes a new roof top deck playspace aimed at incoming Year 7 students as well as extensive landscape and site redevelopment to provide vibrant and dynamic play and social spaces and dramatically improve accessibility across what was previously a sloping site, consistent with the School’s foothills location.

Excitement grows for summer days in the mega-sandpit in the heart of the Pedare Junior School as the life-sized Diprotodon dinosaur fossil has been installed. The Diprotodon, otherwise known as the giant wombat, is hidden under the sand waiting for children to discover. The new play space is a showcase of nature play, as children will be able to engineer their own watercourse on the rockery island water table and through the sand.

Rock boulders form learning circles around the sandpit and are surrounded by a soft green planting pallet, full of texture to support the tactile learning opportunities within this space. Pathways around the sandpit ensure that children with limited mobility can join the water and nature play. The sandpit is fully shaded by a canopy structure and trees to provide extra comfort to the students while they are enjoying the water and the sand.

Swanbury Penglase engaged deeply with staff and students to develop the scheme, including workshopping and student interviews and studying national precedents.

The soft and hard landscaping was designed and constructed in close consultation with school grounds staff, to ensure the sustainability and ongoing low maintenance of the installations. This project sets the scene for future additions to the constructed landscape as part of the college campus redevelopment as the opportunity arises.

Riverbanks College is one of the two new Birth-Year 12 schools delivered simultaneously for the Department of Education under a PPP (Public Private Partnership) model.

A detailed briefing document (PSDR) was prepared by the Department for Education and specialist consultants, forming the basis for the Consortium design.

Each school campus would accommodate 1675 students (Early Years to Year 12), in a contemporary learning environment, with a STEM focus. Designed as a “Schools within Schools” model, the campus includes Early Years, Primary Years, Secondary Years with Inclusive Learning spaces embedded throughout.

With a focus on universal access and community ties, the design needed to deliver a civic presence and allow a high degree of visual and physical connectivity, facilitating the school’s role as a Community Hub. Significant urban design and landscaping elements strengthen these connections, with layered and linked internal learning spaces opening up to external landscape spaces.

The Architect’s interpretation of the Briefing document saw the creation of seven design principles that were developed and applied to the design of each campus, noting that each site had different proportions but were equal in size.

1. Series of Learning Communities
2. Community Space
3. Environment as the Third Teacher
4. Graduation of Spaces
5. Green Spine
6. Planting Strategies
7. Financially Sustainable and Environmentally Responsible

Overlayed across each site is a connection to Country and the opportunity to recognise and present the Aboriginal significance of each site. Some of the Aboriginal stories for each site are embedded in the landscape design for learning and discovery.

Aldinga Payinthi College is one of the two new Birth-Year 12 schools delivered simultaneously for the Department of Education under a PPP (Public Private Partnership) model.

A detailed briefing document (PSDR) was prepared by the Department for Education and specialist consultants, forming the basis for the Consortium design. Each school campus would accommodate 1675 students (Early Years to Year 12), in a contemporary learning environment, with a STEM focus. Designed as a “Schools within Schools” model, the campus includes Early Years, Primary Years, Secondary Years with Inclusive Learning spaces embedded throughout.

With a focus on universal access and community ties, the design needed to deliver a civic presence and allow a high degree of visual and physical connectivity, facilitating the school’s role as a Community Hub. Significant urban design and landscaping elements strengthen these connections, with layered and linked internal learning spaces opening up to external landscape spaces.

The Architect’s interpretation of the Briefing document saw the creation of seven design principles that were developed and applied to the design of each campus, noting that each site had different proportions but were equal in size.

1. Series of Learning Communities
2. Community Space
3. Environment as the Third Teacher
4. Graduation of Spaces
5. Green Spine
6. Planting Strategies
7. Financially Sustainable and Environmentally Responsible

Overlayed across each site is a connection to Country and the opportunity to recognise and present the Aboriginal significance of each site. Some of the Aboriginal stories for each site are embedded in the landscape design for learning and discovery. Ongoing programs for the students supported by local Elders allow a deeper exploration of these stories, further developing students’ connection to these places, their learning, and most importantly their community.

Signaling a new era for the college with the first new stand-alone building project on site since 1980, The Aquinas Centre sits proudly and confidently at the front of the campus on Prospect Road.

Designed with high levels of transparency, the building connects the school and its students to the community beyond.

With a focus on Senior Learning and a celebration of the visibility of learning through connection and transparency, the building provides a variety of learning spaces including: specialist laboratories, multipurpose project rooms, group ‘think-tanks’ and collaborative gather spaces encouraging staff and students to stay learn and connect with one another.

As the last few years have shown us, situations can change at a rapid pace and what we know today, may be different tomorrow. The Aquinas Centre has been designed to adapt to change in real time, providing a future-focused, agile teaching and learning environment to easily and quickly adjust and support changes in education.

Delivering a tertiary-style learning environment was an important design driver reinforcing the school’s belief in their senior learners and developing a sense of ownership and responsibility for the space.

The floorplate has been planned to encourage collaboration and self-directed learning, all while underpinned by a seamless approach to technology.

The result is a warm, welcoming and sophisticated learning environment.

The Aquinas Centre has invigorated the campus and provided the senior students a place to call their own, a space to pause, learn and connect, before embarking on their futures.

In 2018 Swanbury Penglase was engaged by Woodcroft College to develop a whole-of-site Masterplan, broken into over 10 stages over a 20+ year period.

In 2019, we were subsequently engaged to undertake detailed design of the first three major stages of the Plan, including a new Early Learning Centre, a new two storey Junior School building and a sports-precinct redevelopment with a focus on civil and carpark rework. The first of these three stages, the ELC, was constructed in 2020 and includes a new facility for 140 children, including a range of specialist learning areas with carefully considered internal and external break out zones whilst maintaining the necessary control measures. A new overflow carpark has also been included in a block of unused land along the northern edge of the College.

A particularly important part of the scheme is the relocation of an existing stormwater swale and its re-purposing as a new nature-play environment immediately adjacent the ELC. This space ensures a range of varied experiences for children, both structured and unstructured and presents a bold and dynamic expression from the street. The design draws inspiration from similar rock featured play-spaces in the Adelaide South Parklands and allows children to appreciate the changing nature of the seasons and the joy of nature-play.

In 2018 Swanbury Penglase was engaged by Woodcroft College to develop a whole-of-site Masterplan, broken into over 10 stages over a 20+ year period.

In 2019, we were subsequently engaged to undertake detailed design of the first three major stages of the Plan, including a new Early Learning Centre, a new two storey Junior School building and a sports-precinct redevelopment with a focus on civil and carpark rework. The first of these three stages, the ELC, was constructed in 2020 and includes a new facility for 140 children, including a range of specialist learning areas with carefully considered internal and external break out zones whilst maintaining the necessary control measures. A new overflow carpark has also been included in a block of unused land along the northern edge of the College.

A particularly important part of the scheme is the relocation of an existing stormwater swale and its re-purposing as a new nature-play environment immediately adjacent the ELC. This space ensures a range of varied experiences for children, both structured and unstructured and presents a bold and dynamic expression from the street. The design draws inspiration from similar rock featured play-spaces in the Adelaide South Parklands and allows children to appreciate the changing nature of the seasons and the joy of nature-play.

Walford Anglican School for Girls identified that their current facilities on Parks Oval were dated and lacked amenity to deliver contemporary learning pedagogy.

The new pavilion provides a contemporary flexible learning environment and the opportunity for the school to hold school functions within the building.

The simple architectural form and use of materials has resulted in an elegant building being constructed within a tight budget. The raking high level ceiling and glazed façade maximises light into the multipurpose space and allows a high level of visibility and connection to the playing fields for year-round use. Large openable section of the façade further connects the pavilion to the playing fields and large outdoor covered view deck.

A large semi commercial kitchen is directly linked to the multipurpose space for flexibility during sports days, events, and functions. The pavilion also houses changeroom facilities, amenities and large stores for the sports and maintenance staff.

The pavilion has been positioned on the site to maximise the playing field extents. Raising the pavilion and viewing deck maintains line on site for spectators to the entire field.