Architecture, Design and Sustainability

Abstract

Dandenong High School is the amalgamation of three existing schools into a new ‘Schools within Schools’, SWIS, model opening stage 1 of 3 stages in 2009. In this interview, the principal, the architect, interior architect and ‘education architect’ unpick the process of transformation that resulted in a school model where seven matching school buildings each accommodate 300 students from Years 6 to 12. A striking message within this conversation is the importance of the education brief as a driver of the architecture. The interview reveals the complexity of the transformation process and the need for good communication and professional development with teaching staff before and after the desi..