Woori Yallock Primary School is located in the Yarra Valley between Lilydale and Warburton.
A detailed consultation process with the school revealed specific teaching and learning requirements and led to the design providing for learning needs within the home bases and enabling immediate access to support spaces and adjacent collaborative spaces. These spaces were organised into different wings of the building and are expressed in the building form as different volumes. These volumes are arranged around an existing mature tree to create a central courtyard space.
The new building also steps down to follow the fall of the heavily sloping site and takes advantage of the views across the valley, while also providing a new street address and accessible entry. The East facing façade features a bespoke perforated screen with custom artwork created by local Indigenous Artist Ash Firebrace.
Neutral colours with soft greens were chosen to reflect the natural surroundings and large eucalyptus trees at the entry to the site. A dark brick base was used to ground the building in the sloping site and create a consistent datum line across the different wings of the building.