A grand design

By Monique Ebrington
THE Little Yarra Steiner School in the Upper Yarra has secured $2 million towards a new gymnasium and language centre.
The funding is part of the Federal Government’s National Building and Economic Stimulus Plan.
Little Yarra Steiner School business manager Jim Taylor said the facilities would benefit the school’s students, wider community and local businesses.
He said the school community was also excited about the unique design and sustainability of the two buildings.
“The build will help create local jobs and we also plan to be environmentally sensitive in the way we go about the building’s construction, Mr Taylor said. “It will be both sustainable and stunning. I can’t speak for the whole school community, but from the planning side we’re very pleased.”
Mr Taylor said the gym would have multiple uses as a social venue and place to conduct dance, circus and other educational programs.
He said the commercial kitchen attached to the gym to cater for graduations etc, will also double as a space for cooking classes.
“The students will able to do a lot more than just play basketball in there,” he said.
Soft Loud House’s principal architect Alvyn Williams has worked with the Steiner School on various projects since 2001.
He said their team has worked with the school in selecting natural and local materials. “We’ve thought right down to the level of what glue will be used during the construction process,” Mr Williams said.
He said many unique considerations had been made for the gym, particularly, its roof that would be made from small pieces of timber and joined to create a strong lattice.
“The roof is a very innovative design, it’s not original, but I don’t believe it’s been used in Australia before,” he said.
“We’ve also dropped the building into the ground by a couple metres. So from Little Yarra Road it doesn’t block the view of the mountains and it has a much lower visual impact for a building so large. Our contention is to make them a building that will last for many lifetimes.”
Planning Minister Justin Madden visited the Little Yarra Steiner School lst week to announce that the state government had streamlined the planning system to secure the funding for the school.
He said he was pleased that the proposal for the new gymnasium took into account the surrounding environment and included sustainable features.
Mr Madden said the gym would assist the school deliver a diverse academic, social and physical education in a ‘lively’ classroom atmosphere.
“We agreed with parents that nothing is more important that a children’s education and we are standing up for Victorian families by speeding up the planning approval process to ensure students have access to the resources they need to achieve their best,” Mr Madden said.
The Little Yarra Steiner School aims to complete the new gymnasium by the end of 2010.