Woodend Primary School, Sheidow Park, South Australia

Important characteristics: building designed for different uses in the future.

Designer: Arch. Terence Feltus

• Grade level: 5 - 13 years
• School housed: Elementary school Year of construction: 1995
• Students: 300

Woodend was built to resolve the lack of elementary schools in the area cause by the population growth in the area. Demographic predictions suggested that this need would only be for a limited period, therefore, the structure was designed to be remodeled to be uses for residential or businesses.

The school was designed and built by a private company and the rented for a period determined by the school board; it was the first experiment of this type in Australia. The Department of Education and Children Services has a significant role in the projects planning in order to guarantee that the structure would have the necessary educational requirements in the short term. The result was a balance between present uses and future. The architectural aspect expresses the requirements of the future uses while keeping a formal and spatial connotation that would not disturb the students.

Build near a mall, the school has a library, offices, classrooms and areas for educational support. The school administration offices were designed in order to be compatible with the nearby mall and the offices and shops in the neighborhood. The classrooms, combinable to form a sort of road, were designed to be converted into lodgings with two bedrooms.

The Department of Education stipulated an initial lease for 15 years with the possibility to renew for another five. After that, they will see of the entire building will still be necessary.