Canberra Primary School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

Canberra Primary School sits on a site measuring 63 by 71m surrounded on three sides by high-rise public housing and fronting a main road on the fourth. The client is the Ministry of Education, Singapore.

The zoning of the school is clear; the more public and noise generating areas such as the playfield, multipurpose hall and canteen, are placed closer to the front, facing Admiralty Drive. The administrative offices are placed towards the eastern side and the classrooms towards the north. The design form is slightly curved suggesting containment or embracement; yet open and ‘porous’. The school is mainly 4 storey in height with good access and generous circulation space.

In this hot, tropical climate, we have orientated the teaching classrooms in the north-south direction, resulting in a saw-tooth arrangement. Direct sunlight is avoided to minimize heat gain and glare. The Media Resource Library is elevated to create an open, oval shape amphitheatre cum foyer space underneath for the students and parents to gather and interact. This unique open space, not mentioned in the design brief, is truly the focal point of the school.

As life of a primary student revolves more, if not as much, outside the classrooms, consideration for outdoor spaces is very important. In Canberra we try to provide different types of outdoor spaces: the playfield for bigger organized games, different games court for organized or leisure playing, smaller turfed courtyards for breaktime games. The parade square and amphitheater provides yet another surface texture and space for the utilization of students. All these activity, interactive spaces are ‘secure’ and safe, away from the vehicular traffic area and the main road. From our visit, we can see that these spaces are well utilized for student activities.

Internally the furniture is arranged such that light coming in from the window lights ups the classroom from the side. Side lighting is the best as it prevents the occurrence of silhouettes or glare. In addition since the furniture layout means that the classroom is more wide than deep, no students will be too far back to see the board clearly.

The treatment of the school utilizes a number of forms, textures and planes to evoke distinctive and lively outlooks of a primary school. A more playful roof forms were used. The administrative blocks have pyramidal roofs while the classrooms uses curved roofs. We also played with different shapes for the school, oval, square, rectangular and curved forms are used to add variety and interest to the primary school. The school and students are able to identify with their new built environment and are proud of it.

Educator Narrative

I, Miss R. Selvarani, am the Principal of Canberra Primary School.

As set out in the MOE’s guidelines, the physical infrastructure of the school provides all the necessary facilities for our pupils.

The distinctive architectural design of the school offers it a striking presence, making it a prominent landmark in the neighbourhood.

The architect has creatively provided a useful oval shaped amphitheatre cum foyer area under the Library. This area functions as the ‘heart’ of the school where the students and parents gather and interact. The parade square also provides another space for the students to engage in meaningful interaction.

The new school environment is well appreciated by the pupils and teacher. The design has helped to instil a sense of identity and create unity in the school.