Wilson Architects has provided a school on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast with a new highly-flexible space that encourages extensive collaboration.
Completed in June 2016, the Learning Hub at St. Andrew’s Anglican College incorporates primary and secondary school libraries, multiple collaborative teaching spaces, staff offices, professional development care, several student lounges and an expansive outdoor learning area.
Located at the centre of the campus, the two-storey building sits between the primary and secondary schools. Inside, materials such as glass and metal are balanced with wood to add warmth and richness to the learning space. On the other hand, the outdoor gathering area supports large numbers of students in an open-air learning setting.
The facility supports the College’s transition to more collaborative teaching and learning, following trials undertaken prior to, and during the design phase. The new Hub has set up the strategy and sequence for future construction stages, and has been described by students as a university-like facility.
“[The space has] shifted the focus towards student-centred learning, as opposed to concentrating on teachers and their classrooms,” says Hamilton Wilson, managing director of Wilson Architects. “[It] has given students a real sense of ownership of the space and their learning.”
