Stallard Meek Flightpath Architects (SMFA), in collaboration with Catholic Education South Australia (CESA), St John Bosco Primary School, and BluScape, is set to transform the school’s courtyard into an inspiring and inclusive space for learning and community engagement.
With a dynamic team that includes Susan McDougall (Associate and Registered Landscape Architect at SMFA), Caitlin Roy (Graduate of Architecture and Landscape Architect at SMFA), Chris Munce (Landscape Manager at BluScape Commercial Landscaping), Lok Hei Ho (Civil Engineer from Jack Adcock Consulting), and JP Jacobs (Cost Consultant at Donald Cant Watts Corke), this project brings together expertise from diverse fields.
The redevelopment aims to create a multifunctional courtyard that caters to students, staff, and the wider school community while embracing principles of sustainability, inclusivity, and creativity.
SMFA worked closely with the students at St John Bosco Primary School, using their ideas to shape the courtyard design in meaningful ways. Reception students loved the idea of colourful autumn leaves, inspiring the inclusion of an Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku’ tree, which changes with the seasons and has striking red bark in winter. Years 1 and 2 wanted “a bridge with water under it,” so a small footbridge was added over a water rill in the rustic garden.
Years 3 and 4 asked for quiet places to sit and a maze to explore, leading to a mix of seating options like an amphitheatre, logs, rocks, and secluded pods surrounded by garden beds. Older students in Years 5 and 6 dreamed of class veggie patches and an arbour for relaxing, so raised garden beds were included, along with a sturdy timber arbour in the fairy garden that can support climbing vines and fairy lights.
In this interview with Architecture & Design, the School and SMFA shares insights into their design vision, the sustainable practices integrated into the project, and the collaborative process that ensures the space reflects the aspirations of its students.
Architecture & Design: How will the proposed courtyard design accommodate the needs of students, staff, and the wider school community, particularly in terms of functionality and inclusivity?
St John Bosco School: Our new courtyard design will become the heart of our school community, with all members utilising the many spaces we have created in the design. We are an inclusive community with many children utilising breaks to assist with their concentration in class. Our new courtyard will be utilised by children and our Education Support Officers to calm and reset ready to go back into class and participate in their learning. We have included many features that incorporate the Japanese culture and language our children explore as one of specialist lessons.
SMFA: Our brief from the school was to create a brand-new garden setting for the courtyard that would provide a welcoming space for students, parents and staff to reflect the school’s diverse multicultural community. This has been considered in the design with a range of spaces, elements and uses that subtlety incorporate these themes through colour, symbolism, language, and nature.
The courtyards central pathway provides a clear and welcoming direction though the school. The smaller secondary paths connect each classroom through the various spaces to the heart of the courtyard and school. This arrival point is defined by a central tree and meeting area that symbolises knowledge, growth, and community as it draws everyone together.
The paths helped to divide the space and create seven main spaces:
The meditation garden, the fairy garden, the rustic garden, the red tree forest, the outdoor classroom plaza, the production garden, and the amphitheatre mound. These have been designed with consideration to the age of the students, and their social and developmental needs.
What sustainable practices or materials are being considered in this project, and how do they reflect the school’s commitment to environmental responsibility?
St John Bosco School: We wanted to have natural spaces that utilised sustainable materials and promote our children, staff and families to connect with nature and embed sustainable practices in our everyday work. Natural materials were desired to blend and be in harmony with the selection of plants that will be planted in the space.
SMFA: Extensive planting is proposed in stark contrast to the existing hard play area. This will provide passive cooling to the courtyard and adjacent classrooms. Hardy plant species were selected with consideration to their solar orientation and water requirements.
Reclaimed materials will be used for many of the timber elements such as the arbour, seating pods, log steppers and timber platform seats.
The water pump will be activated by a push button to control water use which will eventually drain into the surrounding garden beds and provide passive irrigation.
How will the upgraded courtyard support outdoor learning and foster a sense of community within the school?
St John Bosco School: St John Bosco School is a multi-cultural and multi-faith community, we view ourselves as a village where everyone is welcome. Our project brief to the landscape architects was to design an inviting space where many people could gather from large groups to more intimate spaces for small group work.
SMFA: The design was influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach, a focus towards student’s self-leaning through exploration and play in a supportive community. To foster this sense of community all spaces needed to be accessible and inclusive for students, staff and parents alike and allow community interaction.
Each space has an aspect of informal play, contemplative relaxation, and self-guided learning whether that be built elements that can spark up the imagination, or natural elements that can educate students about (and the importance of) eco systems. Trees and plants have been selected to educate students on the changing of seasons growing requiremnents There are sensory aspects of colour and smell to the butterfly garden and raised planters to promote an understanding of where our food comes from.
The outdoor learning spaces such as the amphitheatre and outdoor classroom will also allow students to engage in learning and the environment in an alternative atmosphere to the typical classroom.
Kaurna artwork and language is intended to be incorporated into elements such as the water rill and amphitheatre with further consultation with the school community and Kaurna artist, Alan Sumner.
Can you share how the input of students, parents, and staff will be incorporated into the design process to ensure it meets their expectations?
St John Bosco School: Our students, staff and families were heavily involved in the courtyard design. All our children engaged in lessons with a teacher that visited each class and documented the children’s requests and vision for the new space. The children’s sketches were welcomed by the landscape architects, whicht influenced many of the concepts included in the courtyard space.
SMFA: The students’ ideas were collected by their teaches and presented to us during early consultation. These delightful student ideas were used to guide us through the design process. Staff and parents also provided feedback through the process informing considerations such as allergies, parent seating areas, student safety and supervision.
Anything you’d like to add?
St John Bosco School: It has been a pleasure to work alongside the landscape architects, to create the perfect design that suits our community and context. We look forward to watching our design come to fruition. We expect to watch our new courtyard evolve and get better over time as our plants grow and the community engage with the differing spaces.
SMFA: We worked collaboratively with Bluscape, who had early contractor involvement with the aim to refine details while meeting budget requirements without jeopardising design intent or the school’s vision for the space.
Renders: St John Bosco Primary School / SMFA
