Green Square Public School and Community Spaces in Zetland has won a major national architecture award, recognising a design that combines a primary school with facilities intended for use by the wider neighbourhood.
Read: Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre: Sydney’s Largest Pool Complex Opens
Designed by Australian architecture practice BVN, the project received the 2026 Daryl Jackson Award for Educational Architecture at the Australian Institute of Architects’ National Architecture Awards, announced on 30 October 2026.
The award recognises the building’s approach to education and its relationship with the surrounding community. Rather than keeping all facilities within a conventional school campus, the development incorporates spaces that residents and community groups can access outside school hours.
The National Architecture Awards jury highlighted the school’s contribution as social infrastructure, particularly its street-level basketball court and the artwork that makes the facility a visible part of the neighbourhood.
A Different Approach to School Design
Opened in 2025 as part of the Green Square urban renewal precinct, Green Square Public School was designed to accommodate up to 600 students from Kindergarten to Year 6.
The four-storey building separates the school’s learning areas from its community facilities. The upper three levels are dedicated to students, while the ground floor combines spaces for public use with facilities shared by the school, outside school hours care and community groups.
One of the most distinctive design decisions was placing the multipurpose sports court at street level rather than on the rooftop. The move gives the court a prominent position at the corner of Zetland Avenue and Portman Street, making it accessible for community sporting activities outside school operations.
The court also features The Belly of the Feast, a large-scale artwork by Archibald Prize-winning artist Blak Douglas. Painted across its walls, floor and ceiling, the work draws inspiration from dugong bones unearthed near the site in 1896, connecting the building with the area’s First Nations history.
BVN’s design also incorporates a distinctive brick screen around the building, providing shade and privacy to outdoor learning areas while allowing air to circulate.
Community Facilities Beyond the School Day
The City of Sydney manages bookings and community access to the shared facilities. The arrangement gives residents access to indoor and outdoor spaces without opening every part of the school to public use.
Two dedicated ground-floor community rooms along Zetland Avenue are available for hire seven days a week. The larger hall, auditorium and multipurpose sports court can also be booked outside school, outside school hours care and vacation care periods.
The courtyard has a separate arrangement, allowing public access without a booking when school and care activities are not taking place. The facilities cater to different community activities, from meetings and workshops to sporting sessions and larger gatherings. Their location on the ground floor also provides direct access from Zetland Avenue.
Green Square Public School: Community Facilities
Two Community Rooms
Available for hire seven days a week, with direct access from Zetland Avenue.
Hall and Auditorium
Available for community hire outside school, outside school hours care and vacation care hours.
Multipurpose Sports Court
Suitable for basketball, netball and volleyball activities, subject to booking and operating arrangements.
Courtyard
Open to the public without booking outside school and care hours.
The school also has dedicated learning environments, including The Imaginarium library, a music studio, visual arts and design studio, filmmaking studio, writer’s retreat and wellbeing space.
These facilities support the school’s educational role, while the shared ground-floor spaces give the building a wider function within the growing Green Square neighbourhood.
Read: Vulnerable Residents Worry About Parking Space Loss Amid Developments at Green Square
The national award brings recognition to an approach that places education and community use within the same development. Green Square Public School now stands as an example of how school infrastructure can be designed to accommodate the needs of students while making selected facilities available to the people living around it.
Published 6-November-2026
