Kingston High School

JAWS Architects partnered with HASSELL to create a master plan and design for a new high school at Kingston, to accommodate 700 students. A central element of the design took the form of an abstracted sine wave, which orders the buildings on the site, and forms a community around the school’s central learning space. The mathematical metaphor of the wave relates to the journey that each student of the school undertakes in their progression from Year 7 to Year 10.

The school applies project based learning, using a flexible, open plan environment. In response to this, the design includes six learning pods and specialty buildings to accommodate performance, music, drama, food technology, a design and discovery centre, administration and a general learning centre. The school also has a sustainability focus, and so the master plan integrates the buildings into the landscape, using sustainable materials, green roofs, wetlands, and vegetable and native gardens. The design embraces passive solar and low energy use and every building offers views of the Derwent River.

Kingston High School is co-located with the Kingborough Sports Centre and operates in a unique sharing arrangement with Kingborough Council, meaning the school and local community both use the site’s sports facilities, car parking and school performance space, making this project an important community asset for the Kingborough area.