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oolacotts Consulting Engineers are proud to be a key part of the team to successfully design and deliver the striking new Penshurst Public School located in Sydney’s south. The $47million project replaces the old school buildings with a new three-storey ‘S-shaped’ building, which appears to float over rectangular ground floor areas.

Featured above: Schools Infrastructure ‘Penshurst Public School Upgrade’ Video

The new Penshurst Public School can now accommodate approximately 1000 students within future focused education facilities. It includes 47 flexible learning spaces, administration/staff/student facilities, a library, and a large school hall.

Significant improvements to existing outdoor spaces were also made, including an extensive rooftop open play space and rooftop covered outdoor learning area (COLA). These areas will provide the school with an impressive 10 square meters of play space per student over the site.

For more on the completed project, including photographs, visit the School Infrastructure project page here.

Engineering Innovations at Penshurst Public School

Featured above: Penshurst Public School Entrance

Engaged by Pedavoli Architects, our Team provided structural, civil, stormwater drainage, and hydraulic engineering services on the project. During this project, our Teams implemented a range of engineering innovations and solutions including:

• The development of cantilever bored pier/shotcrete boundary retaining walls to maintain existing perimeter conditions, inclusive of brick retaining walls, security fences and landscaping.

• Standardised detailing for the curved perimeter beams, including reinforcement, to accommodate all the possible edge type conditions and simply construction.

• Dedicated penetration zones in the beam elements to simplify co-ordination for services installation.

• Designing out requirements for a grease arrestor and trade waste system.

• Utilisation of the OSD tank as a combined rainwater retention, storm water quality treatment and detention to control off-site flow rates and negate the need for three different systems and tanks.

• Use of water saving fittings and fixtures.

• Design of Post-Tensioned concrete floor structures to maximise efficiency and reduce column numbers, including large transfer beam spans over the Hall area.

• Adoption of 2016 Australian Rainfall and Runoff design standard to reduce detention tank storage volumes.

• Optimising site levels to achieve a balance of cut and fill.

• Collaboration between our Structural and Civil teams to minimise retaining walls and folds along the interface between buildings and pavements.

• Optimisation of the concrete structure at the building perimeters to reduce the quantity of secondary steel framing required to support the curved façade.

• Design of complex steelwork elements to achieve architectural forms and vision.

As stated by Woolacotts Principal Engineer, Brett Onslow

Our collaborative engineering teams provided the Penshurst Public School project with efficient and effective design solutions and expertise. This has resulted in the successful delivery of a magnificent new state-of-the-art school, which will undoubtedly provide great benefit to the students and community.”

Curl Curl North Public School Update

Featured above: Curl Curl North Public School Entrance

Woolacotts are also pleased to share news of the completion of the Curl Curl North Public School upgrade. Working alongside Tanner Kibble Denton Architects and ADCO Constructions, our team provided structural, civil, hydraulic and wet fire engineering services on the $30m redevelopment.

Stated by by School Infrastructure NSW:

This exciting project has delivered innovative learning environments for the next generation of young minds.”

Woolacotts were honoured to contribute to the design and engineering integrity of this future focused school upgrade. To learn more about the project, read our previous article or visit the Schools Infrastructure website.

To learn more about Woolacotts education infrastructure services and projects, visit our projects page here.