Designed by fjcstudio, Australia’s Darlington Public School won this year’s prestigious World Building of the Year Award. This was announced at the World Architecture (WAF) in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. The school was appreciated for its sensitive and inclusive approach to early learning and education.
It is the second school to win the World Building of the Year Award in a row, and it is tucked away in an inner-city suburb of Sydney. An old 1970s school on the site was replaced to create the new and improved Darling Public School. The school maintains a strong connection to the local Aboriginal community, and the construction process was a collaborative approach and quite cost-effective.
Designer: fjcstudio
The school adopts the beautiful Indigenous culture by preserving and displaying an amazing collection of Aboriginal artworks around the school. It also includes a community garden with indigenous plants to help students learn indigenous cooking and culture. You can catch a look at the inner courtyard from the main entrance while curving metal screens offer privacy and protection to the outdoor learning and play areas. This creates a pleasant and lovely light. The structure is also equipped with passive elements like sawtooth roof angled to the sun, high-level glazing, and protective curved screens,
“The architect of the winning project explored and extended the formal program of the client, to include the views and experience of the local community and a variety of users,” said Paul Finch, Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival. “This generated a reading of the history of place, culture, and time. “The result of the project is poetic, a building in which topography and landscape, inside and outside, form and materials, flow seamlessly in an unexpectedly delightful way. It is also an inspirational proposition about the acknowledgment and reconciliation of historic difference – a pointer to brighter, better futures for all.”
The building will accommodate a preschool, kindergarten, and primary school. It will be able to accommodate more than 500 students, according to the school’s website. Since the building process included two stages, classes were conducted during construction.
