Parklands High School Redevelopment
Parklands High School is one of two public high schools in Burnie, NW Tasmania and has an enrolment of around 430 students. The aim of the redevelopment was to improve an reconfigure general learning areas for modern teaching and learning, and provide spaces for the school to provide some differentiation in its educational offering in key specialist areas with the aim of attracting more students, and to improve the school’s links with Hellyer College and the wider community.
There was significant scope to improve and repurpose spaces in existing buildings across the campus, and adaptive reuse and refurbishment forms a major part of the works along with some new buildings to support the schools vision for specialist offerings. After much consultation with the school and Department of Education the following key areas were addressed as part of the redevelopment:
- Reconfigured administration and entry to improve functionality and redress the front of the school
- Grade 7 relocated into their own hub within an existing building, slightly separate from the core school
- Grade 8 and 9 learning hubs relocated into redeveloped spaces within the existing building envelope
- Relocated music and fine art into a newly refurbished arts hub, with purpose built music practice studios with recording capacity
- New multipurpose hall in which the performing arts will be based, located adjacent to the refurbished fine arts and music hub to create and arts precinct within the school. The hall also has a tiered seating capacity for 250 with a purpose built production box, which allows the school to integrate production management skills such as sound and lighting into its curriculum offering
- New learning hub at the centre of the school, which will house the library, tutorial space, small group and individual study spaces, support staff offices and resource areas. It is envisioned that the hub will also function as a major circulation route across the school, and throughout the design phase was referred to as the ‘heart of the school’
The redevelopment was completed in early 2019.
