Prahran High School opens – one of the first vertical schools

Slattery is delighted to announce that Prahran High School, designed by Gray Puksand, was officially opened last week.

Slattery provided full cost management services on this unique project for Victoria, one of the first vertical schools to be built under the Department of Education’s program of inner-city education redevelopment. Slattery’s involvement with the school built on the former Swinburne University Prahran campus required close engagement and collaboration with the various consultants, user requirements and structural conditions. The new building is five levels in total, including science, technology and visual art areas, a gym and features a rooftop garden.

Lisa Phoa, who was one of the Cost Managers responsible for this complex says, “it was an interesting and inspiring project to be involved with, especially for VSBA, as it was one of their first vertical schools. We were pushed to challenge the norm and look at building schools in an updated manner. Gray Puksand’s vision for a large internal atrium created challenges and complexities around acoustic treatments and mechanical treatments. We explored multiple mechanical systems and even considered creating a labyrinth to provide potential learning stimuli for students. In-depth exploration into many options helped inform the design and the Department’s decision making. I am pleased to see the design come to life and see students in a building which I contributed to”.

The Slattery team look forward to seeing the first students and staff settle into their new learning environments this year.

Sarah Slattery, Managing Director, has previously commented on school design in our recent Kaizen – Counting the Costs of Vertical Schools,  “as the centre of our next generation, a school is arguably one of the most important buildings for project teams to get right. A positive school environment allows children to thrive and sets the foundations for future learning and development’’.

To read more about cost considerations of vertical schools, click here.