Caritas Centre – St Joseph’s School Port Lincoln

With school leadership changes and pandemic-induced materials shortages, the proposed Caritas Centre progressed through various design iterations before settling on a ground floor K-1 and first floor 2-3 facility. Completion of the project marked more than seven decades of successful partnership between Russell & Yelland and St Joseph’s School. This milestone was ultimately celebrated with a commendation at the 2024 Learning Environments Australasia Awards.

In early briefing consultations, we invited students to dream big. Shark tanks, waterslides and lion cages were some of the surprising wish list items! While these ideas might have seemed wild at first, they served as inspiration for some key design elements, like the internal staircase balustrading. Vertical timber slats here toy with concepts of enclosure and transparency, addressing safety compliance while delivering a playful nod to the animal cages from student brainstorming sessions.

Permission to play was realised in the curved feature windows of the blonde brick façade. Harmonising with the oversized spiral stairwell, they draw the eye to landscape views and the nature play area below. For balance, soothing, natural materials and colours anchor to the environment and help maintain learner focus during lessons.

With a tandem trade in boatbuilding, the local construction team fabricated aluminium fins for the first-floor windows, shading and directing sun in the bright, open breakouts and learning areas. Wet areas in breakouts offer curriculum flexibility, as do the glass cavity sliders between the year-level classroom clusters. This integrated design feature has been popular with the teaching staff, who can connect three rooms as needed, or maintain passive links between peer groups when kept closed.