Unlocking the School Gates – Shared Use Facilities
Unlocking the School Gates - Shared Use Facilities
3 Minute Read
The morning is brisk on this wintery Saturday. Coffee is brewing, and the appealing aroma of freshly baked bread warms the air. Hand-made signs are carefully set out on tables and stall holders are lining up their wares, ready for the morning’s trade as the first cars pull into nearby bays.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a community hall, or maybe even a retail space – not a Primary School basketball court in Perth’s northern suburbs. Subiaco Farmers Market has partnered with Subiaco Primary School since 2009, and is one example of outside the box thinking for multi-purpose shared facilities that bring the community together.
Primary schools are often the first civil infrastructure established within a new suburb. They are a meeting place, a connection point. Where young families form friendships that strengthen the community. Primary Schools provide an enduring sense of identity and place.
Factoring teacher working hours and student lessons during a normal school year, a school may be open 40-50 hours a week on average - or about 20-25% of the time. As a valuable investment by Local and State Government, these facilities can offer much more.
The Standard Pattern Primary School brief provides guidance for shared amenities such as cricket nets, ovals and multi-marked courts. We believe there are other great opportunities to be explored.
With meaningful conversation within the industry, (and with schools) and early planning, architecture may support a vision for new schools and the greater community that is adaptable, supportive and encourages participation.
Riva Primary School, designed with an active and open central landscaped zone, increasing play space and possibilities for outdoor learning.
Sport and Recreation facilities that benefit the community
Cricket nets, sports courts, and covered assembly areas may facilitate safe and close to home after-school sports programs. School ovals and playgrounds also support the play and outdoor learning needs of young families in high density multi-residential areas.
Carabiner’s approach to maximising play space at Riva Primary School (image above) included arranging the year 1-6 facilities around the perimeter of the campus, defining an active and open central landscaped zone, increasing play space and possibilities for outdoor learning. Combined with the nearby oval, the school offers significant safe open spaces for neighbouring families both during and outside of school hours.
Health and Wellbeing
For schools with shared resources, not-for-profit organisations benefit from universally accessible public infrastructure which may not otherwise be available, such as the partnership between Doveton College and the Colman Foundation in South East Melbourne. The College facilitates wrap-around educational and allied health services for both young people and their parents.
Other schools have adopted a similar place-based approach, providing financial counselling, adult literacy classes, parent social groups and drop-in nursing services.
For disadvantaged communities, and especially for more isolated locations, schools provide an excellent scaffolding for health and philanthropic programs to support families.
There are other further trickle-down benefits, such as empowering the mental health of young people and strengthening community resilience, and the practicality of enhancing the security of the school through after hours use and passive surveillance.
These programs would not be possible without hybrid, flexible spaces incorporated within the school’s design, shared vision and forward thinking during early planning.
Inclusive, specialised buildings that interface with the Brief
Riva and Aveley North Primary Schools (recent Carabiner projects) incorporate elements that connect the school and greater community - including bespoke buildings which integrate with both primary schools.
Both Primary schools offer Education Support amenity integrated facilities within the school to support the learning and development of children with special needs. Riva’s central administration building incorporates specialist Education Support facilities as well as a Dental Therapy Unit, elevating inclusivity and wellbeing as core values of the school.
Sustainability
It is sometimes said that the most environmentally sustainable buildings are those that are never built. If planned, funded, and the possible benefits explored, a school may offer consolidated facilities that negate the need to build additional separate community resources to meet the same aspiration. A rigorous master planning process is beneficial to fully explore possibilities and community needs early on.
Learning Outdoors
Community gardens offer many valuable contributions back to schools
Interstate, Parkside Primary School in South Australia (a heritage school opened in 1885), has an established kitchen garden, which instils in its students an understanding of where their food comes from, and supplies the school canteen with fresh, seasonal produce.
The school places a high value on parents and volunteers, and offers a range of community activities and social gatherings throughout the year. These hosted activities forge ties between the school and the greater community.
In Queensland, the new ‘Pick of the Crop’ healthy eating initiative encourages primary schools to get involved with sustainable gardening and nutrition programs.
In Victoria, Kororoit Creek Primary School’s landscaped amphitheatre provides a space for outside learning and meetings for staff and students, supporting the curriculum whilst providing improved outdoor resources.
Such amphitheatre offer the community a space for community cinema, musical performance and other outdoor events.
While these additions are creative and outside the norm, and required some planning and foresight to put into place, they offer numerous benefits and low ongoing cost. Similarly, schools may also gain a financial benefit via venue hire, or offset against ongoing operational cost.
Conclusion - Positive outcomes through planning and conversation
Primary Schools are a catalyst for the imagination to flourish, and Carabiner believe this extends to school design itself - with conversation and collaboration with Government Departments, school boards, and the community fuelling even greater benefits for all.
References:
Our Place: https://ourplace.org.au/
Doveton College: https://www.dovetoncollege.vic.edu.au/family-community/gettinginvolved/
Yarrabilba Family and Community Place: https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/our-work/family-and-community-place-yarrabilba
Parkside Primary School: https://parksideps.sa.edu.au/
Brocor Landscaping: https://brocor.com.au/portfolio/kororoit-creek-primary-school-amphitheatre/
Subiaco Farmers Market: https://subifarmersmarket.com.au/
Pick of the Crop healthy eating initiative: https://hw.qld.gov.au/pick-of-the-crop/