The industry is welcoming a further $810 million in government funding for its potential to kick start new innovations in education design.
The federal government recently announced the further funding to develop new high school science and language blocks as part of its $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution program.
The latest round of funding will fund the construction or re-development of 537 science laboratories and language learning centres across the nation, including 280 science centres, 179 language centres and 78 dual facilities.
Law Architects director, Sandy Law, said the cash will push forward new concepts and facilitate much needed improvements in education design.
“The funding has opened our eyes to the possibilities at hand and made architects stop and think about design and the way students learn,” she told Architecture & Design.
Law expects educational design will move towards multi-purpose developments that incorporate a range of facilities at one site.
“We will move from separate classrooms and corridors towards more flexible areas that incorporate taps, stoves, sinks and learning areas in one space,” she said. “More facilities will be closer at hand to create more versatile learning spaces.”
Law said the government funding has stimulated vital discussion that is required to transform the sector and keep up with changing learning needs.
“People are talking more and observing their possibilities as short-falls in educational design become more apparent,” she said.
The funding could boost new design innovations that will improve teaching and learning practices and kick start the long road to recovery in the sector.
“The funding will finally kick start some sort of shifting effect and deliver a range of benefits,” Law said.
