School Building Design · Perth, WASilver
Tree.

Project overview

A gateway between
two worlds.

Silver Tree is a school administration building designed to become the face of the school: a welcoming presence that creates a magical transition between the everyday world outside and the children's world within. After years of steady growth, the school needed a new administration building and reception, and a front door worthy of its community.

The building is designed to welcome students, parents and visitors alike: an entry point, a resting place and a meeting ground for the whole school community.

The design

A welcoming face
for a growing school.

A cylindrical tower as a portal: pass through it and you leave the outside world behind and enter the children's world within.

A new cylindrical tower forms the portal between the outside world and the school: a strong, memorable form that children and families recognise from the street. Beyond it, the community hub, with its exposed timber structure and high-pitched roof, gives an immediate sense of warmth and welcome.

The administration building sits beside the hub, with a transparent reception and staff offices overlooking the entry. This creates visibility, safety and a real connection between the school's staff and its families. Portal, hub, reception: a considered journey from street to school.

"A building as community infrastructure, strengthening the bonds between school, family and neighbourhood."

The design is as much about the experience of arriving as it is about the building itself: a sequence of moments that help children and parents feel welcomed, safe and part of the school community every day.