ACEVentures: The Rise of Vertical Schools in Australian Cities!

 I have always been fascinated by modern school designs, considering that my own school in the US is pretty much just a big, dated, and uninspiring brick and mortar structure. I was very intrigued when the ACE mentorship program announced it would be holding a webinar for students about an ongoing vertical school construction project near Sydney, Australia. The webinar was hosted by the directors of the project, Simon Kearny and Daniel Buternick who work for Turner and Townsend, a construction consulting and management firm. They were tasked with constructing a new primary and secondary school on the grounds of an existing school, that would accommodate a large number of students due to the growing population of the area. The old school building constructed in 1875, was run down, contaminated, took up too much valuable space, and could only serve 400 students. The vertical school concept seemed to be a solution that would effectively accommodate the growing population in an urban area where land is scarce and expensive. While I lived in Asia, I saw this concept employed in densely packed megacities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Singapore; Mr. Kerney and Mr. Buternick stated that they got some inspiration from the designs of the vertical schools there. Of the designs submitted to the competition, the design that was ultimately chosen, in my opinion, was by far the most inviting and inspiring looking structure. 


As construction began, the team faced an array of challenges, including heavy contamination of asbestos and hazardous waste due to the school's old age, which would be quite costly to remove from the site. Another interesting challenge they faced was over 20,000 archaeological findings being found on the site, greatly slowing down construction. One example was an old cellar, uncovered one year into the project, which was restored and glazed over with glass for viewing purposes, rather than being destroyed. It was decided that the 17 story building would be a steel construction this was a challenge because concrete construction is more widespread and common in Australia; though steel constructions are steadily becoming more popular there as they are safer, as they require less site based personnel, are more sustainable, are up to 20% lighter, and are much stronger than concrete constructions. 


Mr. Kearney and Mr. Buternick showcased some photos of the inside of the school; everything from the high, uncovered ceilings, to the spacious, innovative, inviting interior design, the abundance of bright, vivid colors, and the organization of the entire space, left me in awe. They stated that they believe that vertical schools will become more popular in urban areas where land is scarce and expensive, and where there are larger populations of students. This 17 story building is the tallest vertical school project in Australia, but other vertical schools that are 6-10 stories tall, are being constructed in cities all around the country.


I asked Mr. Kearney and Mr. Buternick about the sustainability of the building, and whether it draws its energy from renewable sources. They responded that while the building itself does not get its energy from renewable sources, it has some design aspects that make it more sustainable. These include a rainwater collection system that reuses rainwater for the building's plumbing and toilet systems, and a permeable facade that allows for natural airflow throughout the building, reducing the amount of energy used by the air conditioning system. Overall, I found this webinar very engaging and insightful; it made me want to further explore strategies on how to make schools in urban areas more sustainable and efficient.

(All information and images were obtained from Simon Kearney and Daniel Buternick's presentation at the ACE Mentorship program virtual webinar.)

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