Architecture News

Project 12 Architecture recently concluded a significant expansion project for Meadows Primary School in Broadmeadow, a vibrant multicultural suburb within Melbourne's northern region. The initiative focused on creating a new 10-classroom facility, designed to accommodate an additional 200 students. This comprehensive development, spanning 1270 square meters, not only introduced new teaching spaces but also integrated essential support areas, private consultation and wellbeing rooms, and dedicated work zones for staff, alongside updated student and faculty amenities. Furthermore, the project involved a thoughtful refurbishment of various existing learning environments across the campus, transforming them into more adaptable and specialized spaces to better cater to the evolving pedagogical requirements of the school community.

Details of the Meadows Primary School Modernization Project

In 2022, Project 12 Architecture, under the leadership of Aimee Goodwin and Louis Gadd, successfully delivered the transformative expansion of Meadows Primary School. Located in Broadmeadow, Australia, this initiative was driven by the necessity to accommodate a growing student population and to provide contemporary educational facilities. The core of the project was the construction of a new building that now houses ten classrooms, significantly increasing the school's capacity. Beyond these new classrooms, the architectural vision included dedicated spaces for student support, private consultation rooms for wellbeing services, and improved facilities for staff, fostering a more integrated and supportive learning ecosystem. Concurrently, existing campus structures underwent extensive renovations, converting traditional classrooms into flexible learning environments and incorporating specialized consultation areas. The overall design aims to reflect the school's rich multicultural identity and enhance the educational experience for all. Alchemy Construct managed the general construction, while Simon Ellis Landscape Architect contributed to the exterior design, ensuring a holistic and inviting campus.

This project highlights a forward-thinking approach to educational infrastructure, demonstrating how thoughtful architectural design can adapt to the needs of a diverse student body and a dynamic learning environment. The emphasis on flexible spaces and comprehensive support facilities sets a new standard for primary school design, fostering an inclusive atmosphere where every student can thrive.

The Swiss Pavilion at the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale will be curated by architect and urbanist Paola Viganò, whose proposal, developed with StudioPaolaViganò and an interdisciplinary team, delves into water's complex role. Recognizing Switzerland as "Europe's water tower," the exhibition will explore water not merely as a vital resource but as a territorial, ecological, and political condition, examining its influence as a legal entity and a force that sculpts landscapes, infrastructures, and the built environment.

This immersive installation, featuring the central performative work "I am water," integrates design research, artistic elements, and insights from political ecology, science, technology, and law. It highlights pressing issues such as receding glaciers, at-risk dams, hidden rivers, and urban rainwater management to prompt reflection on human coexistence with water systems and the collective responsibilities this entails. The project underscores water's active medium connecting diverse territories, disciplines, and scales, inviting viewers to engage with urgent environmental and architectural discourse.

Water: A Territorial and Ecological Perspective

The upcoming Swiss Pavilion at the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale, led by architect Paola Viganò, will present a comprehensive exploration of water's multifaceted influence. Drawing on Switzerland's geographical significance as "Europe's water tower," Viganò's curation, developed alongside StudioPaolaViganò and an expert team, goes beyond viewing water solely as a natural commodity. Instead, it positions water as a fundamental territorial, ecological, and political element, recognizing its profound impact as a legal entity that actively shapes both natural and constructed environments.

This innovative exhibition will unfold as an uninterrupted spatial and thematic experience, centered around the compelling performative piece "I am water." The display integrates rigorous design research, thought-provoking artistic contributions, and interdisciplinary perspectives drawn from political ecology, scientific inquiry, technological advancements, and legal frameworks. By focusing on critical issues like melting glaciers, vulnerable dam structures, concealed waterways, subterranean streams, oxygen-depleted lakes, and the management of urban stormwater, the project offers a series of interpretive lenses. These lenses aim to shed light on the intricate relationships between complex environmental systems and contemporary spatial practices, urging visitors to reconsider their role within these interconnected realities.

Fostering Collective Responsibility Through Architectural Dialogue

The Swiss Pavilion's vision, crafted by Paola Viganò, underscores water's dynamic capacity to link diverse geographical areas, academic disciplines, and scales of intervention. The exhibition encourages a profound reflection on the modalities of coexistence and the shared accountability necessary for navigating our evolving relationship with this essential element. This curatorial approach challenges conventional understandings by presenting water as an active force that demands integrated consideration across various domains, from architecture to public policy.

Viganò's selection follows a rigorous multi-stage competition organized by Pro Helvetia, wherein an international jury unanimously endorsed her forward-thinking proposal. The curatorial team includes Maria Medusheskaya, Etienne Schillers, and Alessio Tamiazzo from StudioPaolaViganò, with additional contributions from Paolo Benettin (UNIL), Loan Laurent (HRC-EPFL), artist Marie Velardi, and collaborators from ESTIA. This collaborative effort builds upon the Swiss Pavilion's historical commitment to engaging with critical spatial narratives and architectural history, as demonstrated by previous exhibitions like "The final form is determined by the architect on site" at the 2025 Biennale. The 20th International Architecture Exhibition, themed "Do Architecture — The Possibility of Coexistence in the Face of Real Reality" by curators Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, will run from May 8 to November 21, 2027, continuing Switzerland's long-standing participation in this prestigious global event.