Adelaide East Education Centre

Formerly Kensington Special School

2015 MBASA Building Excellence Awards

Excellence in Commercial / Industrial $5m to $10m

Pascale Construction was contracted by the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) to construct the new Kensington Special School which was relocated to a more spacious area within the Charles Campbell Secondary School Campus. 

The project involved the construction of a 3,000m² single storey steel framed building with masonry walls and light weight cladding.

The building accommodates specialised classrooms, gymnasium and administration offices. The project had a very specific brief with the requirement for a high standard of compliance and quality to meet the special needs of the students.

Extensive landscaping with a large paving area, native plants and in-ground irrigation was also included in the design. 

An underground Labyrinth system was incorporated into the work team which is connected to the mechanical system and maintains the temperature of the entire complex at 18°C all year around.

The unique architectural design comprises raked ceilings and high level automated window awnings. The window glazing consists of E Vantage Blue Green for energy efficiency. These features assist with the relief of rising internal temperatures whilst making the building a state-of-the-art centre in the education industry.

A 55,000L underground rainwater harvesting tank and a permeable surface layer carpark were part of the design, and required careful programming of the project stages.

The installation of the tank presented its own unique site coordination issues due to the size of excavation and removal from site of approximately 550 tonnes of spoil generated.

Ongoing communication with neighbours occurred regularly including numerous meetings to discuss work methods on the construction, entry adjoining properties to carry out works and finishes of the boundary fencing.

The Adelaide East Education Centre provides quality teaching and care to 55 students with intellectual disability and special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome.  Pascale managed to successfully meet the tight timeframe and completed the work in October 2014.