Chatswood Public School and Chatswood High School will feature a range of new and refurbished buildings and more outdoor space after this future-focused upgrade – a response to growing enrolment that will benefit more than 3,200 local students.
The additional classrooms, facilities, and spaces are set to enhance education outcomes through innovative design solutions.
Working with School Infrastructure NSW (SINSW), Architectus is Principal Design Consultant, delivering services including the education strategy, architectural design, and spatial and interior design.
The Chatswood Public School redevelopment includes:
- A new 6-storey teaching building
- A new School Hall
- Refurbished heritage buildings on the site, and
- More outdoor areas and play space.
The works at Chatswood High School include:
- Four new general and specialist teaching buildings including a new School Hall, and
- Four refurbished buildings on the campus.
- The schools will operate separately but have opportunities for integration.
Making the most of two unique sites
Both schools have the Chatswood business district on one side and a single-storey suburban community on the other. But the sites are unique in their topography, setting, and existing architecture.
Fronting the Pacific Highway, Chatswood Public School – ‘a school on the hill’ – is elevated above the road, with a sweeping outlook. The high school’s site on Centennial Avenue is a leafy green campus, like ‘a school in the trees’.
Despite these differences, the schools are now more connected due to our collaborative design process. The architecture also reflects this process, which carefully considered student behaviours, learning environments, site context, and sustainability.
The buildings promote freeflow between the learning environments and green space, with opportunities for outdoor learning in areas such as atriums, terraces, and rooftops.
Passive design principles such as cross ventilation, solar control, and connection to landscape support sustainability, along with energy saving strategies, solar power, and rainwater harvesting.