Victorian government to court architects for school building boom

The Victorian government will look to connect architecture and design firms with the state’s school-building process at the 2017 Victorian Education Infrastructure Industry Briefing in May.

Representatives from the Victorian School Building Authority will discuss how architecture practices can be involved in upcoming school projects.

The Victorian School Building Authority is currently managing 42 new schools that are either completed or under construction. School infrastructure projects worth $2.4 billion are underway and more funding is expected to be announced in the 2016/2017 state budget.

The Victorian government is funding a number of vertical schools to cope with an increasing population in Melbourne and a need to densify existing suburbs.

South Melbourne Primary School – Farrars Street by Hayball and Tract Consultants, in the Fishermans Bend urban renewal area, is expected to be Victoria’s first vertical government school to open. It is estimated that 80,000 people will live in the 455-hectare Fishermans Bend area by 2050.

Prahran High School, designed by Gray Puksand, will accomodate 650 students in one building over four floors and is due to open in 2019. Richmond High School, also by Hayball, will be completed in two stages and is due to open in 2018 and 2019. Hayball director David Tweedie told ArchitectureAU that the challenge in designing a vertical school was “always […] how do we ensure it feels welcoming, and what defines it as a ‘school’?”

The 2017 Victorian Education Infrastructure Industry Briefing takes place at the Park Hyatt Melbourne on Thursday 11 May. Tickets are available here.

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