Wurun Senior Campus stands tall on world architecture stage

Victoria's education building design excellence was showcased by Wurun Senior Campus at the 2023 World Architecture Festival (WAF), staged in Singapore on 29 November to 1 December.

Designed by GHD Design with Grimshaw for the Victorian School Building Authority and built by BESIX Watpac, the school's 6-storey vertical design featured among 495 projects from across the globe, competing live at the festival.

"Wurun Senior Campus's participation at the World Architecture Festival highlights the Victorian School Building Authority's and the Victorian Department of Education's thought leadership in education facility design," said Martin Palmer, Director, GHD Design.

As the first building delivered as part of the Fitzroy Gasworks' regeneration in Melbourne's inner north, Wurun Senior Campus was one of 14 projects in contention in the WAF school category and one of four Australian school projects. A unique typology for Victorian school building design, the tertiary-education style campus was custom designed for senior cohorts from two schools.

While vertical schools are a relatively new but increasing solution to meet population growth in urban areas in Australia, they are more established internationally.

"In Australia we typically see mid-rise schools, between four and seven storeys, designed around a central atrium," said Palmer.

Wurun Senior Campus's stepped building form, wrapping around a busy street corner, explores a different vertical school model which gave rise to:

• Generous spaces for outdoor terraces on every level that are seamlessly connected to indoor learning environments. Students gain the wellbeing benefits of access to light, nature, fresh air and an immense choice of spaces for learning, recreation and socialising.
• An exciting learning journey. Rather than a classic large atrium response with a repeating, vertically stacked stair, the vertical layout of the campus building opens up to double and triple height spaces. A distinctive bright orange path incorporating the main circulation route, winds up through a series of interconnecting spaces that foster learning between disciplines.
• Rare, triple stacked sports courts. Two naturally ventilated indoor multipurpose sports courts are designed to connect with the adjacent new sports centre, the first vertically designed sports centre to be built in Australia. The campus also features an outdoor rooftop court.
• The performative façade optimised for energy efficiency, shading, views, glare, natural light and eliminates street noise. Its vertical blades, varying in size, angle and colour, break down the building mass, contributing to the building's cadence along the street.

About GHD

GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to a vision to make water, energy, and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients. Established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, GHD’s network of 12,000+ professionals is connected across 160 offices located on five continents.