RP Infrastructure

Located in Freshwater in New South Wales, Harbord Public School was redeveloped to meet the needs of the local area’s growing student enrolment demand.

Project Overview

Harbord Public School’s redevelopment works included a new 3- storey building complete with 18 flexible home bases, a new library, learning commons, special program rooms, a covered outdoor learning area, learning common, practical activities area and landscaping.

The design of the new building centred on flexible learning spaces to allow the children to learn in different environment settings. The new building features ‘pods’ with giant cushions for comfortable working, writeable surface tables, a range of soft seating, and operable walls. Each Homebase and learning area was also equipped with mobile smartboard technology.

Additional scope to the project saw 14 pre-existing demountable classrooms removed to transform the area into an outdoor play area consisting of 2 outdoor decks, bike racks, and grass area. The new landscaped area provides additional outdoor space which the school had not seen for many years, allowing increased connectivity across the school campus.

Our Role

RP Infrastructure (RPI) was appointed midway through the construction phase to provide project management services to see development of the school’s new building through to completion and its defects liability period. A significant part of this engagement was to act as the Principal’s Appointed Representative under the existing GC21 contract with the Contractor and administer the project using School Infrastructure NSW’s Project Management System during the Design and Contracts Administration phases.

RPI was further engaged to project manage the design and construction of the additional landscaped areas following completion of the new building.

The Harbord Public School’s redevelopment project was awarded a Master Builders Association Construction Award for the 2017 Public Schools (up to $15 million) Category, and a High Commendation Award in the Category Commercial Construction $5 million to $25 million at the 2018 Australian Institute of Building Awards.

Key Challenge

The school remained operational during construction which meant maintaining student safety was paramount. Providing for machinery circulation space within the school site whilst maintaining adequate play space for students presented a key challenge and required a careful balance. Driving effective communication and close collaboration between Root Partnerships, the contractor, and the school stakeholders was critical to ensuring a positive outcome for all parties involved.