Moondani - Pascoe Vale Primary School

Moondani is an example of the value that good design can add to create a durable, long-lasting building reflective of its’stakeholder’s aspirations. The key design drivers for this project include Connection to Nature; Context and Scale; and Curiosity and Creativity. These themes were developed directly from the very extensive stakeholder consultation process undertaken on the project which included staff, students, parents and traditional owners.

Moondani builds upon the existing streetscape by extending the language of the original heritage listed building, creating an extended street frontage of red brick buildings representing the evolution of the school since opening in 1929. Detailed analysis of the articulation of the bricks on the façade of the original building formed the basis of a contemporary language of red brick that is clearly contemporary, yet sympathetic to the history and context of the site.

Central to the design process was an extensive cultural consultation process with Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation on all elements of the building and the landscape. As well as the official naming of the building ‘Moondani’, the main four learning spaces have also been assigned Wurundjeri language names developed through the consultation process, that relate directly to their intended purpose, including ‘Bargoongagat’, meaning ‘gathering’ for the food technology space; ‘Booeegigat’, meaning ‘create’ for the art room, ‘Mungka’, meaning ‘maker’ for the Maker space, and ‘Durn-durn’, which means ‘mind’ chosen as the name for the library.

Indigenous planting has been used throughout the landscape, along with incorporation of plaques providing both English and indigenous names of the plants as well as information on their significance to indigenous culture. Footprints of indigenous animals as well as their indigenous names are also imprinted in various sections of the external concrete paving to extend the idea of learning and discovery well beyond the building.

To inspire Curiosity and Creativity, the design includes provision to showcase and display student work produced during learning and teaching sessions. The building itself was imagined as a teaching tool, by embedding concepts from different disciplines in creative ways within the building fabric, allowing for gradual discovery by students over time.

Examples include a true-scale comparison solar system embedded into the south façade, the layout of downlights in the Library and Multipurpose Space, based on the star map of the southern hemisphere, an M.C. Escher inspired fractal pattern on the floors and ceilings of the multipurpose room, as well as the use of the Fibonacci spiral to determine the layout of the windows, doors and display boxes on the northern facade. An oculus over the breakout space on the first floor allows students to trace the sun’s location over the course of the day, and measure how this shifts throughout the year. Exposed mechanical ducts in the ground floor classrooms as well as services under the linkway reveal how the building works and provide a further teaching tool.

Universal Design was a key consideration in ensuring that both indoor and outdoor spaces could support and encourage all types of learners with varying abilities, as well as all visitors to the school. A new central connecting path introduced from the school’s main entrance extends throughout the playground and connects to the northern side of the school grounds, allowing DDA access to all areas. A centralised play area contains a wide gradient of playspace types from more passive/quiet spaces to the east in front of the new STEAM building, to more active/energetic spaces around the existing snake and new kookaburra play sculpture, extending to nature-based play across to the west, and highly active sports courts located north of the playground.

The brief included the ambition for the project to inspire the next generation of STEAM leaders, which suggested a broader and more ambitious consultation process than typical for a project of this nature. To support this ambition, in addition to the extensive consultation process including staff, students and parents, we invited several STEAM leaders from various fields to review the design and provide feedback, as well as insights into what originally led them to pursue their respective careers. The panel assembled included Dr Julie Ownes, Vice-Chancellor of Research at Deakin University (one of Australia’s leading scientists), Dr Michael Spooner, Senior Lecturer in Architecture at RMIT University (recently ranked as Australia’s best architectural school), and Charlotte Day, one of Australia’s leading art curators (at the time the Director of the Monash Museum of Art and now Associate Director, Art Museums at the University of Melbourne).

Future proofing to support the evolution of teaching practice was carefully considered throughout the design process, with provision made for future removal of walls or the future installation of operable walls to support development and growth in the school’s pedagogical approach over time. The school stressed the importance of durability and longevity, with low ongoing maintenance costs, and this was carefully considered at each stage of the project delivery, highlighted through material choices and the decision to have exposed services through the removal of ceiling linings.

The highly connected internal layout of the building supports innovation in teaching practice with a series of break out and ancillary teaching spaces located to the south of the building, as well as access to another outdoor learning encircling the existing peppercorn tree. The landscape design explicitly reveals the existing water systems with a rain garden to capture surface runoff and treat it before it reaches the discharge point.

At the project outset, various siting and massing options were explored in order to minimise the impact upon the existing environment and maximise usable open areas. The constrained nature of the site suggested that the building needed to be double story in order to minimise its footprint. Its proposed location close to a number of established trees, including one of two mature peppercorn trees on the site, directly influenced the form of Moondani, which curves around this significant tree in order to not infringe upon the determined tree protection zone. Extensive planting of new trees from a selection of indigenous species provided by Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation has significantly improved the microclimate of the campus and will support better biodiversity on the site.

Sub-metering devices have been installed that enable students to log in to a website to see the energy consumption and generation of the building at different times of the year, providing information that can be integrated into the curriculum as well as increasing awareness amongst both staff and students of energy consumption.
Stakeholder consultation with students revealed that one of the most loved existing features on the site was an existing 6-metre-long concrete snake. Retention of this was a key consideration, and it was utilised as the basis of a new overarching narrative for the site, developed in consultation with Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. This narrative proposed that the landscape elements might draw on a story of an ongoing battle between the snake and a kookaburra, which was endorsed as part of the cultural consultation process. Together with the existing snake sculpture, this landscape narrative provides a sense of overall cohesion.

The project has been widely published both in Australia and internationally and was shortlisted for the Victorian Master Builder awards.

Environmentally Sustainable Design was established as a key component of the design driver Connection to Nature, and was a core priority for the school. The design focused on enhanced passive performance through careful curation of the glazing on each façade, with the northern façade prioritised in terms of glazing extent, and limited on the other facades. The thermal envelope was optimized as much as possible, including incorporating appropriate shading to windows as required. This has reduced the reliance on active HVAC systems within the building, reducing operational costs for the school. The HVAC system is complemented by the option to offer natural ventilation through the incorporation of operable façade louvres so that fresh air can be introduced as desired, which also supports a better quality internal learning environment.

To encourage Curiosity and Creativity, the opportunity was taken to integrate the visibility of energy technology as a teaching tool, as part of a broader educational driver to explain the importance of a transition to renewable energy and hopefully a zero emissions future. This was done through the integration of solar PV to the roof of the building as well as the incorporation of battery energy storage (a Tesla Powerwall). Provision of battery energy storage within the building now also benefits the broader campus, which has existing solar PV generation, to assist with lowering energy costs overall. Selection of internal materials considered their impact upon air quality as well as minimising the need for replacement in the future by prioritising integral finishes and low or zero VOC options.

As noted earlier, material layouts prioritised use of standard sheet sizes to ensure minimal cutting and wastage in construction. As well as providing a better quality internal learning environment, this also reinforces principles of a circular economy through sustainable material selection and application.