The Viewbank Primary School Administration Building replaces a dilapidated, functionally inadequate building containing asbestos with a contemporary, purpose-built facility that promotes staff well-being and collaboration, whilst serving as a welcoming hub and public face for the school.

Client

Victorian School Building Authority

Completed

2024

Project Type

Education/ Workplace

Traditional Owners

Wurundjeri people

A new public face

In contrast to the former administration building, the new building provides a true public face for Viewbank Primary School. A landscaped, sunken entrance forecourt softens the often-hard boundary between the school and surrounding neighbourhood, creating an inviting public interface. Instead of a prosaic palisade fence and gate, the administration building itself completes the school boundary, providing security while minimising any obvious sense of detention.

The administration building’s spatial planning is a direct response to the existing site—a result of bringing the building up to the cranked site boundary and to frame views towards the school’s beloved, emblematic gumtree, whilst ensuring the building is now centrally located on the campus, visible from every part of the school. This plan results in a central foyer/ reception space and two wings for intuitive wayfinding—the north wing houses the staff offices and is oriented towards the gumtree, while the south wing houses the sickbay and amenities, and culminates in the generously proportioned staff centre with kitchen and conference room, with sweeping views across the school campus.

Gentle and tactile

The street frontage is composed of a mix of textured and matte brick that alludes to the existing brick buildings along the campus perimeter, whilst the two-tone metal cladding echoes the façade of the adjacent prefabricated teaching building. The entrance is announced by a sculptural split archway at the street frontage’s fold line, whose shape is reflected in the generous entry forecourt. The façade is further animated by porthole windows to the offices and roundels of projecting brickwork that register shifting shadows throughout the day.

Internally, the soft curves of the external archway and metal cladding are brought into the foyer in a welcoming gesture, minimising sharp corners and abrupt transitions between spaces to improve occupant safety. The interior colour scheme is muted and organic, creating a subdued backdrop for the busyness and clutter of administrative work. The predominant green carpet and feature paint colour pay tribute to the school's gum tree, punctuated by oases of blue—the round waiting space off the foyer, print centre, sickbay, washrooms, and staff kitchen—that signify places of retreat and quiet.