Glen Waverley South Primary School

The Glen Waverley South Primary School transforms a tired and outdated campus into a vibrant new learning and community hub. Beginning with a comprehensive masterplanning phase, Sibling worked closely with the school to articulate their aspirations for the future. Central to these were the creation of new collaborative learning neighbourhoods that support their preferred pedagogical approach, and prominent, open library and community facilities that engage both students and the wider community.

Stage one of the masterplan delivers two new buildings, valued at $9million. The first accommodates flexible learning neighbourhoods that enable team teaching and a variety of collaborative learning modes. The second combines a new school entry, administration and staff centre, and STEAM facilities, including science, technology, library and performing arts spaces.
The design of the buildings is about re-gaining some street presence for the school, to earmark it as an important community facility. Conceived as a village of objects that respond to their domestic context, the building volumes push and pull the surrounding landscape to create places to gather inside and out. Colour and graphics are strategically applied to break down the massing of the buildings, articulating their smaller-scale forms and providing identity and wayfinding for different learning neighbourhoods.

Together, the new buildings establish a strong sense of pride and possibility across the campus, celebrating the school's identity while inspiring future generations of learners and the wider community it serves.