Portland Bay School is a government special development school for students between the ages of 5-18 years with an intellectual disability, serving the Victorian western district community around Portland. Prior to the commencement of this project the school was housed in a collection of ageing portable buildings squeezed onto a small site, insufficient for safe operation. This project has delivered entirely new facilities on a new site, enabling Portland Bay School to have a presence in the local area and offering the school the opportunity to highlight its important role within the community.

Client

Victorian School Building Authority

Project Type

Education/ Special Needs

Traditional Owners

Gunditjmara people

Completed

2018

Communal protected courtyard

With 14% of the student cohort identifying as indigenous, Portland Bay School recognise the importance of the local Gunditjmara culture to their community. The indigenous history of the Portland region is significant as it demonstrates the presence of semi-permanent settlements formed long before Europeans arrived in Australia. These ‘C shaped’ settlements consisted of areas, interconnected and clustered around communal use spaces.

This arrangement of space informed the planning of new facilities for Portland Bay School and established the layout on site, evolving into the concept of the communal courtyard, enveloped and protected by learning communities.

The importance of the courtyard space was reinforced by the school’s request for a calm setting where students could move about unrestricted. Perimeter fencing and passive supervision from staff areas ensures that the courtyard is a safe space, whilst the landscaping provides opportunities for sensory experiences, outdoor learning and community gathering.

“The new school needed to personify calm. A school with soft colours, interesting textures, varied shapes, winding paths, inviting landscapes and unique spaces will develop a love and ownership of the environment which will create the calm climate that makes students feel safe in their world and allow learning to blossom.

The new Portland Bay School has transformed the learning environment for generations of students in this town. ”

— Stephen Crossley, Portland Bay School Principal

Fluid movement and familiarity

It was vital that the new facilities provided an environment that was safe and offered a sense of familiarity for its students. The gabled roof forms provides low spring points externally, producing a building that on approach is not overwhelming or intimidating.

Combined with the low-scaled building forms, a simple palette of tumbled bricks, metal sheet cladding and subdued colours help to create an educational environment that is non-threatening and feels familiar in the rural residential area. Travel between learning areas is unobstructed- students can move between learning studios and collaboration areas with no level changes, no exposure to the outdoor elements, and in most cases, without having to negotiate doors. Similarly, travel between buildings is convenient, as there are multiple access points to all buildings, with graded walkways reducing the need for steps and ramps where possible.