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How can we provide an environment that provides our ākonga with connections to their life experiences, curiosities and their culture/s?

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Connecting with local kaumatua so we can learn the stories of our tangata whenua.

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A kitchen where children can cook and people can meet and prepare to host others. This would also compliment the school garden.

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Having a large 'flexible' use space such as the one in the middle of the school now,  allows opportunities for children and teachers to work in lots of different sized groups is great for learning with and from each other. It also allows for the space to be redefined according to the different needs we have at different times...break out spaces off this are important for when people need quiet spaces as well.

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In Reggio Emilia they design the central piazza with  all the main faces of the school facing onto it, because it is a public meeting place; the idea is that it  fosters group work, socialisation, story telling and relationships- all things we believe are  important... at APS there could be opportunities for this indoors and outdoors as well.

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Indoor - outdoor work spaces where children can enjoy working in the natural local environment, enjoy the seasons and the trees and grass etc. It'd be great to keep the garden going and maybe have the hens and bees that you had planned Fi.

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Indoors it would be great to have lots of windows so the children and teachers can enjoy the different light throughout the day, so that indoor plants can grow ....but also to balance this with dedicated wall space(s) to be able to have great displays of children's work.

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Providing different spaces that look friendly and comfortable will help our visitors to feel like sitting down and staying!

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I love the different ways APS teachers and learners have connected with the community in the past e.g. RSA, NIWA, Museum, Mini Gym...
We need a space that allows for community members to visit and facilitate learning easily.

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How do we design and create spaces that actually inspire our students? Sometimes that doesn't mean having the latest furniture, colour blocking etc. Here is a space that I love... (not the dwelling part but the indoor garden and kitchen part).

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Photo by Rory Gardiner.
Photo by Rory Gardiner.
Winner of Australian House of the Year at the 2019 Houses Awards, it's no surprise that Daylesford Longhouse is something special to behold. Architects Partners Hill collaborated with owners Trace Streeter and Studio Ongarato co-founder Ronnen Goren on the property, which encompasses a boutique farm, garden kitchen, cooking school, reception venue and a home. A study in inclusion, these elements are consolidated within a single 110-metre linear shed. Internalising all agricultural and hospitality activities under one expansive roof provides a purpose-aligned container for living, learning and entertaining as well as nurturing animals and fresh produce.

"The Longhouse recalls a Palladian tradition of including living, working, storing, making in a single suite rather than referring to the Australian habit of casual dispersal," says architect Timothy Hill. "It emphasises how much - or how little - you need for a few people to survive and thrive. A handful of animals, enough water and year-round crops".

Set minutes from the idyllic town of Daylesford in central Victoria, the elevated property looks out over vast plains and bushland across Daylesford, Hepburn Springs and Mt Franklin. Set across 20-acres, Streeter and Goren were enchanted by visions of a new rural life where their interests in food, family, design and ideas would converge. Despite this, the couple quickly discovered the challenges of extreme temperature variations, strong winds from all directions, lack of water and ravenous local wildlife.

Hill refers to the environment as beautiful but hostile. In response, he proposed a giant greenhouse whose form would be "big enough and protected enough for the landscape to flourish, inside".

The resulting property derives from highly rational and deductive decision making, with economy and sustainability underpinning the project. Revitalising the pastoral shed vernacular, the industrial structure sits on minimal footings with a gravel floor. The Longhouse is built to passive house standards with very few heating and cooling inputs and provision for solar panelling and battery storage. The 1050 sqm roof harvests every drop of rainwater, which is collected in 340,000 litre tanks for both on-demand use and bush firefighting. Hill used complex algorithms to calculate the optimal roof area to capture the amount of water required to grow the garden and be ample for everyday use and the cooking school.

An indoor garden oasis flourishes within the shed's translucent glass-reinforced polyester skin. Gel-coated cladding provides different levels of UV and infrared resistance, while panels with various finishes optimise solar penetration and shading depending on the orientation of each façade and roof plane. Large openings and high fenestration frame views of the surroundings and skies, as well as control ventilation.

An open portal from one side of the house to the other means that on approach, visitors can see right through to the countryside beyond. Gentle landscaping of mounds and miniature hills softens the rectilinear form. Once inside, generous verdant reception areas bookend the central kitchen and cooking school, providing a nuanced setting for casual dining and more formal ceremonies. The immense internal volume is modulated by timber and brick insertions laced with foliage. Planting beds, large trees, 'The Lodge' owner's residence and 'The Stableman's Quarters' guest houses are all contained within this protective sanctuary.

Photo by Rory Gardiner.
Photo by Rory Gardiner.
The owners' shared interest in 19th and 20th century villas inspired the interiors of The Lodge and Stableman's Quarters. A contrast to the prosaic country cottages prevalent in the district, they feature ceiling roses, claw foot baths and ornate skirtings, flourishes that recall the manors of a bygone era. Paint selections ensure there is an uplifting sense of blue skies and long sunsets every day, even in the depths of winter, with pale blue for The Lodge and blush tones for The Stableman's Quarters.

Hill uses radical contrasts to demarcate internal spaces, such as giant vs. petite, agricultural vs. refined, hard with romantic and tactile. Materials are largely pragmatic and robust, with Australian Cypress Pine used for barn doors, walls, surfaces, planters, seating and decking due to its resilience to rot. Both raw clay bricks and glazed bricks laid with contrasting mortar define the bathing pavilion, lookout area and kitchen enclosure. Daylesford Longhouse encompasses its own internal ecosystem and habitat, which perfectly sustains living in - and of - the landscape.

[Images courtesy of Partners Hill. Photography by Shantanu Starick, unless noted otherwise.]

accommodation australia australian design barn bathrooms blue bricks courtyard dining room extreme love garden hospitality design house Houses Awards interior architecture kitchen landscape design living room materials Partners Hill plants residential design sustainable timber translucent window

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Daylesford Longhouse Residence & Working Farm by Partners Hill.

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Photo by Rory Gardiner. Photo by Rory Gardiner. Winner of Australian House of the Year at the 2019 Houses Awards, it's no surprise that Daylesford Longhouse is something special to behold. Architects Partners Hill collaborated with owners Trace Streeter and Studio Ongarato co-founder Ronnen Goren on the property, which encompasses a boutique farm, garden kitchen, cooking school, reception venue and a home.

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Thinking about opportunities for our learners to contribute to our community is a sustainable way (ongoing). What connections can we make with people, places and resources within our local environment? How can we improve our local environment?
Bonni

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What does it mean to be an A.P.S learner? What do we value?

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What does it mean to be an A.P.S learner? What do we value?

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What do we (teachers, students, families and community) believe is important for our learners to know, do, experience? What skills and dispositions will support this? How does this influence our local curriculum?
Bonni

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I still think the idea of seeing the local community as an extension of our school (both the people and the places) as part of our APS culture...from the library and museum to the farms and the river track, having the mindset that the school is the hub of many wider connections and possibilities where ideas and  people feed off each other takes it further than just the schools physical walls.

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Giving students opportunity to explore their passions and connect with experts within our community who can support with this.
Bonni

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Incorporating natural resources into the spaces (e.g. more wood, less plastic)
Bonni

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Spaces that are collaboration friendly but still allow for small group work or quiet spaces e.g. more than one glass breakout space. (Lexie)

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Having good sized wet areas for worry free art activities.

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When we develop our new school vision, having it on display (in some way, shape or form) for the learners to take pride in their contribution to develop the vision.

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Spaces that meet diverse learning needs / styles. E.g, indoor, outdoor, quiet, small group, large collaborative spaces and a sensory space. (Lexie)

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In visits to other schools I have seen this done in a variety of ways e.g. Greetings in the languages/cultures of the school community displayed, map of the world in the office area with students/staff who are linked to particular countries, clocks showing time in different countries, displays..... At Clutha Valley they have the flags of every country represented at the school. It is a real talking point and new students/families to the school feel an instant connection. (Rach)

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Love how the APS 'family' are referred to often e.g. Facebook posts. Makes everyone feel like they belong (Rach).

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Flexible learning spaces that can be changed as needs change. No 'big barns' but spaces that can be rearranged. (Rach)

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The ability to see all students, especially those in breakout spaces or outside.  Inner glass?  (Rach)

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For coming together and working across the school, assemblies, wet day sport... Having a space where we can be 'together' that is warm, dry and where learning can be left to be continued with the next day.

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Covered outdoor areas which create another learning space (Rach).

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Somewhere to work during CRT or take small groups of students for support, testing.... (Rach)

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Students love to be able to take their work to their own space, a quiet space if they are struggling with noise, a space where they can collaborate with others, indoor and outdoor spaces... (Rach)