Our Work / Education

STEAM upgrade – Para Hills High School

Completed: 2025

Client: SA Department for Infrastructure and Transport / Department for Education / Para Hills High School

An astute plan and cost-effective materials management drove our resourceful refurbishment of STEAM facilities at Para Hills High School. Low light levels and congested classrooms were major problems to solve but, with limited resources available, we proposed bold, structural changes only where they stood to offer greatest benefit. Working within the existing footprint we conserved the strongest features, like expansive parquetry flooring in the woodwork and metalwork zones.

1/3

What we did: Secondary school upgrade
STEAM upgrade
Specialist facilities

The biggest modification was the insertion of a single, main entry and generous, central breakout. All learning zones benefit from direct connection with this new thoroughfare, easing student movement and minimising disruptions to formal lessons. Previously, students who wanted to access counselling services in the Wellness Hub from within the building needed to pass through multiple art classrooms. Now they can enter and exit discreetly via the breakout.

Solar tube skylights draw natural light deep into the building without costly roofline modification. Glazed sliding doors between the breakout and two learning areas amplify this transparency, expanding and connecting for flexible use and larger gatherings. Plywood, vinyl, pinboard, and acoustic ceilings usher in a contemporary feel and improved sound performance, and a display cabinet outside the Maker Space offers an opportunity to celebrate student work.

DORKY - BLUBUILT PARAHILLS - 21-05-25 - SOCIAL-24

With Home Economics, Robotics and Media Studies relocated within the campus, the new plan accommodates a Digital Lab, Think Lab and Maker Space for jewellery-making and other crafts, along with sizeable storage upgrades and a rejuvenated teacher preparation zone. Despite the consolidation of three large art rooms into two, the combination of specialist facilities is more flexible in the aggregate.

Despite the efficiencies pursued, the project was not without its challenges. We navigated hazardous material removal and remediated under-floor moisture, working closely with the builder and secondary consultants to keep the project on track. In the woodwork and metalwork rooms, improved safety and compliance was achieved through mechanical upgrades and thoughtful machine set-outs. In a neighbourly decision, we specified acoustic baffling to the outdoor dust extractor plant. Alongside additional indoor acoustic enhancements, this has brought a sense of calm to what is an otherwise high-traffic, industrious building.

Photography credits:Dorky, courtesy of BluBuilt