The Adelaide West Special Education Centre is an 80 place Special School designed to accommodate the needs of children with significant physical and intellectual disability. Typically, these children are all confined to beds or wheelchairs, have sensory impairment and two-thirds of the students are non-verbal. Delivered as part of the State government’s Education Works Public Private Partnership (PPP) project, the new school takes advantage of adjacency to Ocean View College to engender social inclusion for these children and hence develop their sense of self as a member of the wider community. An Activity Hall and Administration wing support a series of flexible Learning Areas that have an intimate relationship with an external sensory gardens. As briefed, it is essential that every activity becomes a learning opportunity, allowing each student’s horizons to expand. This requirement was translated to a plan that provided an outlook to stimulating spaces and environments along every route taken by students.

• Location Taperoo, South Australia
• Client SA Government
• Completed 2010
• Budget $11.5M