The NT Catholic Education Office engaged Rossi Architects to come up with a way to best accommodate a new Middle and Senior School on a large property in Humpty Doo which houses the existing St. Francis of Assisi Primary School.
By looking beyond the immediate brief to consider the broader Humpty Doo community context we were able to identify the need for a community swimming pool. By incorporating a full 50m swimming pool at the boundary were able to provide a solution that not only exceeded the standard facilities available to a middle or senior school but also create much greater opportunities for community engagement by opening the pool up to the wider Humpty Doo community. This also created opportunities for additional funding streams accessible to the school in order to move ahead with the master plan.
Another strategic move utilised in the school plan was to share the major sports and administration facilities, again creating opportunities for controlled engagement of cohorts and maximising the financial benefits of shared facilities.
Individual buildings were laid out to define plazas and outdoor learning areas of various sizes. And by restricting vehicle access to perimeter of the property we were able to ensure the safety of students from vehicular traffic while also maximising ease of development in the future.