Parkhurst State School Resource Centre by Arkhefield

The Parkhurst State School resource centre, designed by Queensland practice Arkhefield, has taken out the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) coveted J. W. Wilson Building of the Year Award for 2011. The Federal Government’s $16.2 billion Building the Education Revolution (BER) program funded the building, which is located in Queensland. The new resource centre transforms a once lowkey primary school into a place of life and vibrancy with simple but dramatic elements of form and colour.

Under the BER programme, schools were generally required to work within a predetermined building type with limited opportunities for change. Parkhurst State School resource centre is different, as the architects have adapted the building to accommodate an auditorium and computer lab specifically requested by the school. Parkhurst State School’s new resource centre takes an ordinary brief, site and standard government issue floor plan and challenges these conventions by using dynamic, playful settings to uplift the community and the learning ethos of the school.

The vision for the school was to create an engaging space for twenty-first century learning that moved beyond traditional classroom environments. The pre-existing school campus comprised of a dated collection of classrooms, sheds and relocatable buildings. Arkhefield’s response was a long awaited development within the school community.

The generator of the building’s form, volume and identity came from looking at the idea of the contemporary veranda as a social gathering space and place maker. The external circulation areas around the building have revitalised the life and bustle of the school. Children mingle readily around these outdoor spaces to play and have lunch – a vibrant contrast to the more controlled internal spaces.

Parkhurst State School resource centre was envisioned with a simple, clear logic that has done much to win the approval of the local community. The clarity of the building’s conceptual ideas is indicated through its bold form, coupled with efficient, cost effective planning. Two main functional zones are offset about the main entry, each expressed as opposing skillion forms housing different social uses of space.

Primary spaces focus onto the street so that cars and passers-by can readily see the new school building, and its affirmation of progress and forward thinking. The additional volume and light created by the skillion slope and deep overhang create a dramatic front veranda with focus given to the interior. Subsidiary spaces are expressed as an inverse to this arrangement with a secondary skillion oriented back towards the school campus.

The building has updated the school’s image with contemporary architectural expression, bold colour and strong graphic elements. Arkhefield’s resource centre reinforces the school’s values of innovation and non-traditional learning methodologies.

Historically, design and construct constraints have compromised the realisation of good architectural concepts. Arkhefield’s Parkhurst State School resource centre is a sound example of a project that is confidant yet simple and this adds much to its success. The building’s final realisation demonstrates the exemplary outcome of having clear ideas, an engaged contractor and an enthusiastic client. Arkhefield’s new addition to the school is truly something to learn from.+

Photography Casey Imaging

1. The new resource centre’s frontage showcases bold colour and form. 2. Overhangs reflect the architects’ interpretation of a contemporary veranda. 3. Lines are playfully kinked to breakaway from orthogonal monotony. 4. Auditorium space. 5. Furnishings are simple and modular, encouraging student interaction.