Stacked on striking topography, the new building for Auburn High School (AHS) is a culturally attuned senior hub providing a vivid, inspired range of learning and social environments. Conceptually grounded in the site’s dramatic landscape, First Nations heritage and industrial history, this building supports the pedagogical goals of staff within, while aspiring to educate in its own quiet way.

Sitting on a former brick quarry and replacing a dilapidated old building, its two-storey form steps down into the steep slope, each floor oriented along natural levels to create a distinctly zoned experience. Conversations with local Elders informed every touchpoint: from sitting, landscaping, colour palette and material choices to art selection, spatial use and movement mapping. The new AHS building is a resourcefully designed building visibly made from and for its place, suggesting an empathetic way forward for contemporary Australian educational facilities.

Photography: Martina Gemmola