Endeavour Hills Specialist School

The planning and designs have been thoughtfully selected to explore an ‘urban village’. The school will include an Administration Building (including Library and Staff facilities), five Learning Community Buildings and a Community Hub Building – housing a gymnasium, performing arts, multi-purpose areas, a kitchen and dining area, student and staff amenities. All buildings are set back from Amalfi Drive to allow for safe access.

In the buildings that cater for senior and middle students, the design includes three specialised areas for students to develop the necessary cooking, personal hygiene and grooming skills for a successful everyday life. Each area has a kitchen where the students learn to cook using a fridge/freezer, an oven, an accessible stove and a sink. With laundry facilities, students wash, iron and fold clothing. With a fold-down bed – that easily stores away in a cupboard when not needed – students learn to make their bed. There are also casual dining and lounge areas for the students to use.

The interior features will create a highly adaptable environment. Large sliding doors, mobile furniture, washable floor coverings, and carefully positioned storage allow teachers to divide spaces and organise the environments to create differentiate learning outcomes for individual students.

The external materiality combines brickwork and Colorbond metal wall cladding, which has been developed to establish a strong visual identity. The site’s south-western elevation faces the Monash Freeway, so the masonry/brick wall along this side shields the school community from road noise while marking the new school’s identity to passers-by.