“Set in a diverse neighbourhood with a large cohort of students, Richmond High School touches on a number of key design areas in terms of vision and values. Community, diversity, wellbeing, sustainability, safety, technology and ensuring learners are at the centre of everything – these elements were equally critical to the brief and areas we prioritised with every aspect of design for this exemplary urban vertical school.”
David Tweedie, Director at Hayball and Project Director on Richmond High School
Built on the former site of the 1872 Richmond Central Primary School, the new Academic building on Griffiths St completes the Richmond High School redevelopment across two sites, including the Multipurpose building located in neighbouring Gleadell St. The school caters for 650 students in years 7-12.
Maximising the utility of outdoor learning and play environments, and offering a generous multi-purpose forecourt, the compact building form wraps learning environments over 4 levels around a central atrium, providing an interconnected spatial experience that is instantly communicative of an integrated, holistic and welcoming school environment. Critical to this distribution of program, has been the desire for equitable access for all year levels to specialist space at the heart of the building’s cross section, while grounding the building with the placement of performing arts, library, and food.
Supporting the Department of Education’s brief for contemporary senior learning, and allowing several ‘structural’ models, learning environments have been configured to provide a full range of purposeful learning settings serving cohorts of 108 students, 3 of which exist on each general learning floor. Importantly, the integration of flexi-labs on these levels allows adaption to the senior and middle school cohort’s needs, and an ongoing evolutionary learning program.
As one of the oldest industrial suburbs in Melbourne, Richmond has undergone dynamic generational shifts, while retaining a strong commitment to social housing, and is rich in diverse cultures and socio economic backgrounds. Hayball’s design fully supports local residents – providing a welcoming and flexible centrepiece to uplift and benefit the entire community.
We will be telling some more personal and local stories about Richmond High and its people and associated facilities in upcoming issues, this is a really special community project that we are proud to share with you all.