Australian architecture studio WHDA has updated the Swan Hill Specialist School in Victoria, adding a steel-framed sports court with colourful brise soleil that acts as its “catalytic social heart”.
The upgrade of the school, which provides education for children with disabilities from both Swan Hill and the surrounding rural areas, was funded by the local government’s Inclusive Schools Fund and carried out by Melbourne-based WHDA in two phases.
WHDA has upgraded an Australian school
The first phase, completed in 2023, saw the introduction of the new sports court, followed in 2025 by a second phase that added a student-run cafe alongside a library and learning hub.
Using these additions as an opportunity to reconfigure the wider site, WHDA sought to reestablish the school as a landmark for both students and the community, replacing an entrance that was previously defined by a car park.
A steel-framed sports court has been added to the site
“The core concept was creating a catalytic social heart for the school in the form of a central competition-grade sports court,” design director Douglas Wan told Dezeen.
“This court leverages the athletic abilities of students with learning disabilities, demarcates a social space for students to spill into from their classrooms, and presents a new welcoming face for visitors and parents coming in from the community,” he added.
Colourful brise soleil enliven the sports court
Drawing on the existing school’s material palette of red brick, cement panels and metal roofing, the sports court was designed as a utilitarian metal shed, enlivened with brise soleil that are powder-coated in primary colours.
Between the sports court and the school’s drop-off veranda is the new cafe, which can be combined with the court via a glazed up-and-over, garage-style door to create a large gathering space for community events.
Moving further into the site, the library and learning hub sit alongside the existing reception, reconfiguring the entrance thoroughfare as a more social space that can also host displays of student work.
“Shaping the reception, cafe and library as connected spaces, albeit with distinct identity, makes the daily drop off and pick up times a social and rambunctious event,” Wan said.
“The cafe and library are planned as informal extensions of the school reception, becoming an amorphous public square in miniature and wrapping around the new sports court with visual connections made between contemplation and action.”
A student-run cafe was also introduced
The second phase of the project retained 75 per cent of the site’s existing structures and simplified circulation, turning corridors into usable space and consolidating administrative and staff spaces in the northern end of the building.
Classrooms were also refurbished, with each being given a colour theme and an arched reading nook. These spaces now open onto a shared junior courtyard that includes kitchen and sensory gardens.
A new library and learning hub sit alongside the existing reception
Other educational projects recently featured on Dezeen include the updating of a 1960s prefabricated kindergarten in Hungary by Archikon and a school in Cameroon built using local materials and construction methods.
The photography is by Victor Vieux.
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