International School of Western Australia (ISWA)
Playground Enhancement

Client: International School of Western Australia
Year: 2018-2020
Collaborators: Phase 3 Construction, Cadsult Irrigation, Talisman Consulting, Playcheck.

Awards: 2021 AILA WA Award of Excellence, Health and Education.

The International School of WA’s playground enhancement project is a beautiful, fun, creative and curated set of play, pedagogical and cultural interventions. However, equally as impressive as the built outcome, is the Student and Staff input into the design process. Four Landscape studio ran a series of workshops with both staff and students to identify what is required to create a truly unique, exciting, ISWA-centric campus, which was supplemented with weeks’ worth of in class work undertaken by the ISWA students relating to playground design, this included; persuasive writing, mapping, scale drawing, brainstorming and artworks.

Fundamental to the International School of Western Australia’s philosophy is student agency, in which students have voice, choice and ownership of their learning and the environments it takes place in. The design team worked closely with the school’s students and staff to develop an engaging outdoor school environment based on this philosophy. The educational and play areas are woven throughout the school grounds, providing multiple opportunities for building resilience, companionship, motor skills and respect for each other and the environment.
The landscape has been designed as an extension of the interior classrooms and the outdoor spaces are now used for many class activities, including reading, math, art, cooking, science, photography and computer work. The final outcome is a creative and curated set of play, pedagogical and cultural interventions that will mature into a high-quality campus for future generations of students. AILA WA 2021 Awards Jury Citation.

 Images: Silvertone Photography