MLC Junior School

Schools today are very different from what they were in 1886 when MLC was founded in Burwood, Sydney.

Rote learning with children arranged in rows of desks facing a teacher at a blackboard have been replaced by fluid environments where children are encouraged to learn by direct experience and collaboration with others.

By the 1960s, the MLC School was outgrowing the suburban block it was founded on. Residential sites were purchased on the other side of Park Road to the east of the main campus where a swimming pool and gym was built in the 1960s. In the 1970’s, a hockey field was built above a car park to the north.

In 2003, a new Aquatic Centre designed by Lippmann Partnership was completed which replaced and expanded on the original outdoor pool. Based on the success of the development, MLC approached Lippmann to review their masterplan with a view to designing a new junior school for 300 girls to the north of the hockey field to book end the aquatic centre. This eastern precinct of the school now bears Lippmann’s distinctive stamp.

From the outset, the direction of the project was led by the then School Principal, Barbara Stone, an educational visionary. Stone was a progressive educational advocate and at the forefront of ‘transformation learning’.

She provided the brief and encouragement for Lippmann to study the literature and visit the town of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy. Here, he absorbed the pedagogical concepts developed by Loris Malaguzzi in the 1940s. Stone also impressed on Lippmann the role of digital technologies and their relevance and importance for young people living in a new age.

Stone championed the concept of learning ‘studios’, rather than traditional ‘class rooms’. The ‘library’ was renamed an ‘information hub’ and the dreaded ‘sick room’ was renamed a ‘wellness centre’. These terms became commonplace in schools in years to come but Stone’s radical approach went considerably further. Unlike many schools who talked about transformation learning in a flexible environment, she challenged Lippmann to dispense with internal walls and create an environment where children could interact with one another in a more social context and one that would be highly stimulating.

The concept for the new school was a village for children.

An entrance for dropping off and picking up, a ‘piazza’ or public gathering space for children, parents and teachers to gather, an internal street with ‘studios’ for learning and playing to the northern side, and smaller spaces to the south for more intensive concentration. Growing up in this environment would prepare children for the big world to come, but they would be in control of their destinies.

Lippmann delivered the unencumbered open ‘studios’ that Stone was advocating, loosely defined by joinery such as student lockers. Where walls were included, they are merely sliding glass doors or operable screens covered in fabric for acoustic control. In both cases, acoustic control is available, though rarely sought — the acoustic ceiling and carpeted floors suffice. And rather than traditional school furniture, such as desks orientated to blackboards, there are a series of playful elements, including vibrant oval-shaped rugs, referred to as ‘magic-carpets’. Children can lie down or recline in beanbags, couches and armchairs akin to a living room environment or use the more conventional trestle-style tables and chairs.

The external landscape was given equal priority with grass covered mounds and outdoor seating (broad timber stairs) covered by shade structures. The ubiquitous wi-fi system operates inside and out so there are no boundaries to the learning environment. Whilst commonplace today, this convenience was innovative in its time.

On the southern side of the street are the smaller spaces – staff offices and meeting rooms, group learning cubicles, wet areas, storage and toilets. But even here many of the walls are operable, enabling children and staff to reconfigure them as desired.

Natural ventilation and lighting, common features for Lippmann, are embedded in the DNA of this building. The brightly coloured transparent lifts and stairs celebrate the thrill of movement, while providing views and orientation for those who use them.

Pivotal to the design of the MLC Junior School is the ‘piazza’ and ‘information hub’. The piazza, derived from the northern Italian town Lippmann visited in his initial research, is conceived as the village where children can enjoy sitting in the café adjacent to the central atrium. Used as a main thoroughfare, this atrium space is also used for assemblies, events, or simply an additional playing area during inclement weather. “Outdoor space was at the forefront of our minds,” says Lippmann, pointing out the terrace on the first floor and the roof terrace that also doubles as another area for school assemblies. Bringing the outdoors in, via richly coloured skylights, animates the indoors and offers another staccato visual element. The information hub, like the piazza, is the centre of the building and acts as a central meeting place and destination for knowledge seekers.

For Lippmann and his team, the priority was not only to create functional learning spaces following a new pedagogy but also to provide an environment that was child-friendly and conducive to young minds. Praised by the then Governor General Quentin Bryce at the official opening in 2009, Lippmann savours the comment of a nine year old girl to her mother at the end of her school day at MLC: ‘I love it here, do I have to go home?’

By Stephen Crafti

Project details

Location
Burwood, NSW
Client
MLC School
Key consultants
TTW, BSE, RLB
Builder
Hooker Cockram Projects Pty Ltd
Photography
Willem Rethmeier

Schools today are very dif­fer­ent from what they were in 1886 when MLC was found­ed in Bur­wood, Sydney.

From the out­set, the direc­tion of the project was led by the then School Prin­ci­pal, Bar­bara Stone, an edu­ca­tion­al vision­ary. Stone was a pro­gres­sive edu­ca­tion­al advo­cate and at the fore­front of ​‘trans­for­ma­tion learning’.

The con­cept for the new school was a vil­lage for children.

On the south­ern side of the street are the small­er spaces – staff offices and meet­ing rooms, group learn­ing cubi­cles, wet areas, stor­age and toi­lets. But even here many of the walls are oper­a­ble, enabling chil­dren and staff to recon­fig­ure them as desired.

Schools today are very different from what they were in 1886 when MLC was founded in Burwood, Sydney.

From the outset, the direction of the project was led by the then School Principal, Barbara Stone, an educational visionary. Stone was a progressive educational advocate and at the forefront of ‘transformation learning’.

The concept for the new school was a village for children.

On the southern side of the street are the smaller spaces – staff offices and meeting rooms, group learning cubicles, wet areas, storage and toilets. But even here many of the walls are operable, enabling children and staff to reconfigure them as desired.