Horsham Special School

Council of Educational Facilities Planners International (CEFPI) Victorian Chapter Awards 2013-2014:
New Construction: Entire New School – Winner
CEFPI Australasian Region Awards 2014:
New Construction: Entire New School – Commendation

Horsham Special School focuses on delivering individualised education to students with a wide range of disabilities aged five to eighteen. The school is designed with a variety of active and passive learning and play spaces, indoors and out, to support the teachers in delivering an individualised and diverse curriculum. The building encloses a large central courtyard with no hidden corners, whilst the teaching spaces surrounding the courtyard allow constant but discreet supervision, maintaining student safety without the use of confining fences and gates.

Tactile materials and coloured surfaces spark the imagination of students whilst providing subtle cues to help orientate students around the campus. Practical requirements such as immediate access to toilets and kitchenettes and DDA are seamlessly integrated throughout the building, as are ESD strategies such as maximising day light and cross ventilation, night purging, solar chimney and thermal mass.