A modest public school in Australia has been named Building of the Year 2024 at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Singapore.
Created by fjcstudio
It surpassed over 220 architectural projects worldwide, including skyscrapers, museums, and airports.
Darlington Public School, located in the Chippendale suburb of Sydney, combines a brick structure with irregular contours and a unique “sawtooth” roof, according to Digi24.
Opened last fall, the campus offers outdoor spaces, including a large basketball court and a community garden. The building also has terraces with curved metal screens that allow natural light while preserving student privacy.
The design was created by fjcstudio, a Sydney-based architectural firm. The new school replaced an older, 1970s building on the same site, which was no longer suitable.
Strong Connection to the Local Community
The updated design, fjcstudio explains, has “radically transformed” the school into a modern learning environment. It captures the spirit of the original campus while supporting new educational needs.
With facilities for kindergarten, preschool, and elementary students, the school can accommodate over 500 children, according to the school’s website.
The new campus reflects its strong connection to the local community and Aboriginal heritage. Indigenous art is displayed in the lobby, entryway, and classrooms. Murals from the old school building have also been recreated to preserve this cultural link.
This year’s WAF marked the 17th edition of the festival, which divides awards into 18 categories. These include sports, transportation, health, and housing.
Darlington Public School was selected as Building of the Year from the category winners by a panel of 175 delegates. Other projects competing for the top prize included the National Star Observatory in Cyprus, a bus station in Poland, and a solar power plant in Turkey.
This win marks the second consecutive year the WAF jury has awarded the top prize to an educational building. Last year, a boarding school in China won Building of the Year.
