NORTH SHORE CATHOLIC EDUCATION PRECINCT
SYDNEY
Challenge
WMK was engaged to develop a masterplan for the North Shore precinct that will showcase the future learning model of Catholic education. The challenge for Marist college was to re-imagine the existing school to accommodate an increasing student population as the college transforms into a co-educational institution.
The staged masterplan is provide opportunities for co-locating with community facilities such as theatre, café, function space, incubator space, as well as with tertiary education.
Additional opportunities to be explored on the site include improving outdoor space, infrastructure and traffic improvements, car parking, maintain and enhance the heritage items and street frontage.
Solution
The existing North Sydney precinct site is reimagined as an urban microcosm. A central plaza and a pedestrian spine aims to unify the separate occupant functions on the site, while also maintaining their distinct characteristics.
Through the refurbishment and expansion of existing school buildings the new masterplan provides a heightened learning experience for the existing and new students. Reshaping of both playground areas and classroom areas, create activity hubs for increased engagement in learning processes.
Operable walls allow classrooms to grow for multiple uses as well as redefining boundaries between indoor and outdoor learning experiences.
Outcome
Contemporary learning strategies complimenting refined architectural works will allow North Shore Catholic Education Precinct to expand and showcase their ethos and community.Activated hubs within the school allow for different zones and ways of learning, accommodating the future broader range of students.
The new precinct masterplan delivers a strategy for a connected, sustainable and activated environment that assists the schools in achieving their academic objectives and accommodates the potential for future opportunities, such as commercial retail and university tenancy on the precinct site.
