s.e.ed.

While working on the German International School Sydney (GISS) Masterplan, the client required an interim solution involving portable classrooms.

We saw this as a challenge to rethink the much established “demountables" which are a common feature of nearly every school in Australia, and achieve a modern solution aligned to our strong advocacy for sustainability.

The goal was to build sustainable portable classrooms at a cost and time frame equivalent to traditional portable classrooms, whilst also aiming for the international Passivehouse standard and use of timber as the primary construction material.

The result of our design is s.e.ed. - a prototype for a new sustainable environmental education space as the antidote to traditional demountables!

Each mass timber classroom was preassembled off site and craned into place in 5 modules within less than 90 minutes per building.

Designed and constructed to the international Passivhouse standard, the classrooms allow for filtered, clean air and thermal comfort year-round, whilst reducing heating and cooling demands by 90%.

The use of timber counteracts humidity levels to reabsorb humidity during wet weather and release in dry weather, naturally helping to create a balanced indoor comfort. The use of timber internally and externally connects the buildings to the surrounding bushland setting, providing a calm natural interior that supports a positive learning environment for the students.

Clean and fresh filtered air is also supplied within the Passivhouse envelope through Heat Recovery Ventilation units which maintains a constantly comfortable room temperature. Not only beneficial in hot and cold months or to students with asthma and allergies, HRV units are valuable additions throughout the bushfire season and help keep CO2 levels below a critical 800 ppm in all classrooms.

Considering the continued demand for portable classrooms across Australia in the foreseeable future, we hope to see these s.e.ed.s become an integral part of a sustainable growth strategy within the education sector.