School Buildings


Royal Oak Primary School

This building is a new classroom block built along the edge of the existing sports field in a school campus which had very little space available for expansion. After several years of unrelenting roll-growth and expansion of buildings, the Board of Trustees was very anxious not to lose more outdoor play space. By careful management of the school’s area entitlement, funding was negotiated to provide four new teaching spaces into a two-storey building of 493 m2 which, with demolition of the decommissioned swimming pool, allowed valuable hard court space to be maintained.

The brief included provision of four full-sized classrooms together with 3 smaller meeting rooms for small group teaching and a separate computer suite. Classrooms are designed to allow teachers to create their own smaller activity “zones” within each space e.g. reading corners, wet areas etc.

To ensure good sound-proofing and fire protection between floors a concrete floor structure was used supported by solid, precast concrete external wall panels. These panels form a waistline at the first floor window sill level to reduce apparent height. Cladding above this is Hardiepanel with expressed joints. Corridors and stairs were placed to link visually with the outdoor court with feature walls that are accented in bold colour externally. The building shape and siting links with an existing classroom block to create a sheltered, north-facing outdoor court area.

Total building cost when completed in 2003 was $760,000 plus GST.