This project saw Coburg Special Development School, Coburg High School, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), and Lynall Hall Community School (‘The Island’) combine on one site.

Entrusted by the Victorian School Building Authority, Higgins delivered the significant redevelopment of the campus ahead of the relocation. The outcome is a purpose-built educational community, accommodating up to 96 students from Prep to Year 12.

We built a range of modern spaces to support the growth of the new school community, including three flexible learning zones, administrative quarters, and communal hubs across two interconnected wings. With a focus on outdoor learning and integration with play areas, the design highlights the importance of accessible and dynamic educational environments.

We also built a new dedicated car park facility for staff and VCAA personnel as we demolished the existing VCCA carpark to make way for the new development. We completed this alongside our main scope as a separable portion. In meeting the target handover date of February 2023, we finished this area with landscaping and enclosure fencing before starting work on the two main buildings.

The site had a steep slope with neighboring properties on both sides, making it difficult to move large plant equipment, especially when we lost access to certain areas during the build. Our sequencing strategy was key to navigating this. We also procured specialist equipment for upper floor work and worked with the council to adjust the precast concrete panel layout, improving access where needed.

The slope and split levels called for a large concrete retaining wall, 40m long and 4.5m high, to support the building platform and upper areas of the site. After further consultation with the council, we added more retaining walls along the boundary to stabilise the lower ground floor. We brought in around 10,000m³ of structural fill and reused the topsoil across the site to create the building platform, which was compacted to prepare for underground services and structural work.

We began with the smaller North building, a large concrete structure featuring post-tensioned reinforced slabs and a steel roof, before moving to the simultaneous construction of the South building. To save time, we built two elevator shafts in each building as complete single towers utilising prefabricated precast concrete panels.

The building envelopes are simple and robust, featuring brick veneer, precast concrete, aluminium glazing, and metal cladding.

Uniquely, we installed ceiling-mounted lifting hoists in some student areas, requiring close coordination with structural and architectural fit-out elements.