The remodelling of North Melbourne Primary School is an award-winning homage to the school’s architectural heritage, with its clever incorporation of steel products and its wall cladding made from Colorbond steel in the colours Jasper, Woodland Grey and Bushland.
The initial brief was to create a new building to house five classrooms, a library and administration offices. The new building was kept to the edge of the site in a long, narrow configuration to maximize and enclose the central hardstand space, forming a quadrangle. Roofing made from Colorbond steel in the profile Custom Orb and colour Jasper brought life to the design of a long, shallow sloping roof to the south. A polychrome pixellated brick plinth forms the base of the building from which vertically striped wall cladding made from Colorbond steel in the three contrasting colours springs to a single colour roof made from Colorbond steel.
The school is an excellent example of what can be achieved architecturally through clever design within the constraints of the government schools’ procurement methods, limited budgets and prescriptive briefs.
Architects: Workshop Architecture.