Hillman Primary School – Administration Building

An initial 2014 masterplan positioned a new Administration Building for the school on the existing campus; however, when PA came to be involved in the project in 2016, both the school and Department of Education had revised their thinking to place the new facility to the northern boundary of the site.

Located over an existing and degraded playing court, the new building position provided a strong and clear street presence, essential for wayfinding. A resurfacing exercise on another existing playing court satisfied the school’s concerns over losing a court to make way for the Admin building.

The existing school architecture was based on low pitched roofs concealed behind parapet walls, commensurate with the prevailing design ethos of their time. This informed our overall design and, in response to this, we modified the standard pattern elevations to provide a visual response similar to the existing buildings, while designing without introducing box gutters or low pitched roofs.

This response allowed an outcome to address the Primary School Brief room accommodation, maintain zone relationships between the internal spaces and provide an aesthetic complimentary to the existing forms, without introducing long term maintenance issues present elsewhere.