Penleigh and Essendon Junior Boys School began in an Italianate mansion on windy hill, opposite the Essendon Footy Club. This building is exceptional in a residential area where Federation housing dominates. Slowly the school has accumulated much of the property in the block bounded by Nicholson, Raleigh, Napier & Fletcher Streets. Many of the ‘houses’ are now occupied by the school. This new project, a two story year 5 & 6 block with 3 classrooms above and below, is an important addition to the school and public interface to Nicholson Street.

Architect: McBride Charles Ryan
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Project Team: Rob McBride, Principal Architect; Debbie-Lyn Ryan, Principal Architect; Benedikt Josef, Project Manager; Amelia Borg, Natasha Maben
Engineer: Hive Engineering
Builder: Contract Control
Building Surveyor: Davis Langdon
Services Engineer: Medland Metropolis
Project Area: 1650 sqm
Photographs: Courtesy of McBride Charles Ryan / John Gollings