Looking Forward Third Edition

WCSS Redevelopment Update

Dear WCSS Families,

Welcome to the Third Edition of our Looking Forward redevelopment newsletter. At our Community Forum and Master Plan Launch last term we sought feedback and there was a survey available for attendees to complete. If you missed out, it is not too late to provide us with your feedback as we finalise plans for our building and grounds redevelopment. Please follow the link to complete a digital copy of the survey.

Meet our Architects

LeanHaus

Leanhaus was founded by Architect Ben Caine in 2017 after a career in top commercial design, construction, and development firms. Frustrated with the prevailing idea that architecture should be highly specific, bespoke, and complex, Ben saw potential in the practice of performance-based design that leveraged building science with lean design and construction.

Leanhaus’ mission is to provide healthy, sustainable and mindful homes. We have been working with Ben and fellow architect, Colin, focusing on creating sustainable and healthy school buildings that are simple, adaptable, affordable, and inclusive of Steiner design principles.

Leanhaus work with Passivhaus to deliver healthy, comfortable, sustainable buildings specifically for WA’s warm, temperate climate. To read more about the health benefits of Passivhaus design and the projects Ben and Colin have completed, visit  https://www.leanhaus.com.au/ 

REALMstudios

As the Landscape Architects engaged in the upcoming development of the school campus, we would like to introduce ourselves to the community.

The REALMstudios team of Landscape Architects has been engaged by the school to work on the future Landscape Master Plan for the school campus. This is our first task that will provide the open space framework and vision to inform the following two delivery stages of the Master Plan.

We at REALMstudios are master planners, urban designers and landscape architects with five studios across Australia. Part of our Perth team that is eagerly working on the exciting development of the West Coast Steiner School are Damien Pericles, Founding Director of REALMstudios, Saki White-Sugito, and myself, Jasmin Pericles.

Damien and I are parents of three children; two are WCSS Alumni and now attend Perth Waldorf School, whilst our youngest is amid her primary school journey at WCSS. We have been part of this wonderful school and its community for 12 years.

With a deep appreciation of the school, together with our professional knowledge, we aspire to provide a strategic design approach for the bourgeoning campus, reaching the vision of a purpose-built school in keeping with Steiner philosophies.

For further information on REALMstudios please visit: https://www.realmstudios.com

Will the temporary classrooms be supportive of a Steiner education?

One of the many attractive features of our school is the nature-filled playground and the outdoor space in which our buildings are located. This is certainly a hallmark of Steiner schools across Australia. Our existing classrooms, however, are former public school buildings constructed for a different era. This does not stop us from being a Steiner school. Indeed, in Germany—the birthplace of Steiner education—many Waldorf/Steiner schools in former East Germany are housed in buildings reminiscent of the minimalist Eastern Bloc style.

Our existing classrooms were built around the late ’50s and early ’60s and no longer meet the standards expected of modern learning spaces. They are small in size, lack adequate natural light and ventilation, and were not constructed with sustainable practices in mind.

While the temporary classrooms we will be hiring are standard in design, they will represent a vast improvement over our current classrooms in terms of space. We will ensure that we make use of the existing furniture from the classrooms that are to be demolished, and our teaching staff are committed, as always to creating inspiring and beautiful learning environments for their students. It is worth remembering that these temporary structures will only be used for the 2–3 years needed to build our new classrooms.

Most importantly, I recall the words of one of the passionate parent-founders of the Freie Waldorfschule in Dresden. His school was located in a concrete and stone Eastern Bloc-style building, with metre-thick walls that could not be remodelled. He spoke to us at length about the school’s history and its survival as an underground movement during WWII. “Buildings are perhaps 30% of a school,” he said, gesturing around him. Then, laying his hand on his heart, he concluded, “The remaining 70% lies here.”

When is all this going to happen?

Our desired timeline is as follows:

Of course, in the words of poet, Robert Burns,  “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” For that reason, we have allowed for generous margins in our timeline to account for unforeseen hold-ups, so dates are reflective of best-case to worst-case scenario.

Rest assured that we are committed to completing all demolition work when staff and students are not on site. All building that occurs during term time will be tightly managed to ensure the safety of all on site.

On occasion, there will be the inconveniences of building noise and vehicle movements, however, the benefits to be gained of a spacious and healthy classroom for children to learn in and teachers to teach in will certainly be worth it.

If you have further questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to email development@wcss.wa.edu.au  

Warmest regards,

WCSS School Council