Landscape consultancy for Bateman Architects to develop the landscape and placemaking around two new buildings in separate areas of the school. Generous, active spaces and thresholds connect the buildings to their surroundings. Robust materials, consideration of shade and bushfire risks, a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees.
       The undercroft of the science building offers a gateway to a new active, comfortable, secure outdoor space in a formerly uninviting area. This threshold connects the school to the natural bush environment and celebrates it as part of the school’s setting and character. On the other side of the school, a sloped walkway connects the built environment to the new library, where the landscaping enhances the generosity and scale of the previously cramped outdoor areas. Brick paving transitions to concrete, as the hardscaping and lawn curve and meander around the building as a nod to the creek and a counterpoint to the architecture.
       In both areas of the school, limestone-coloured concrete blocks give material definition to walls, planter beds and paving edges, offering a visual cue for seating and a robust surface for playing. Their curved and lyrical shaping echoes the creek and offers small, embracing coves for students to sit alone or in groups. While there is limited planting due to bushfire risks, deciduous trees offer shade in summer, as does the undercroft of the new building.