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Prefabricated School Buildings: Our favourite Harwyn features of 2021

Music rooms. STEM labs. Drama halls. Classrooms, And staff offices otherwise known as Prefabricated School Buildings. This year, we’ve seen just how versatile a Harwyn pod can be for schools.

So, with the year wrapping to a close, we thought now was the time to press rewind on our top 5 school features of the year.

1. St Michael’s Grammar: How one prefabricated pod became seven for the school.

One music pod just wasn’t enough for St Michael’s Grammar School.

After trying everything to improve the acoustics in their music facilities, St Michael’s knew there had to be a better way. So they reached out to us for one Harwyn pod.

And then? They installed another six!

As Director of Business Mr Farai Mufuka said, “The original intention was to only get one. But as soon as it was installed, the performing arts staff were knocking down my door to get another one.

“So we did. In fact, we bought another six. So now we have seven pods – six are music rooms and one is a uniform shop. I think that says volumes about how thrilled we are with our Harwyn pods.”

Read St Michael’s story

Prefabricated School Building

2. Camberwell Girls Grammar: Pods primed for instrumental music

Like many schools, Camberwell Girls Grammar found themselves in a space predicament.

After expanding their music program, they ended up with too many students. And not enough room.

So Camberwell Girls started weighing up their options. Building onto existing architecture was a possibility. But it was also a significant investment – both in money and time.

Then came exploring various prefabricated options for their school. But the school’s Business Manager Stephen quickly became disappointed.

“Many of the pods we looked at were essentially converted shipping containers.

“Fairly dull, lifeless spaces that were touted as home offices. But really, they were nothing more than a glorified box – clad in some other external material.”

That’s when Stephen found Harwyn and thought their prefabricated buildings would be perfect for his school.

From the aesthetics to the flexibility of our spaces, Stephen was sold. And it didn’t take long for the students to fall in love too.

“[Our students] have almost ditched the traditional classrooms in the old Mountfield house. It’s all about being in the pods.”

Read Camberwell Girls’ Grammar story

Prefabricated school building

3. Huntingtower School: Facilitating STEM with Harwyn prefabricated pods

Huntingtower always knew the value of STEM learning. But before 2018, they didn’t have a distinct space for their students to enjoy hands-on learning activities across STEM.

So they started searching for the perfect STEM space.

Before too long, Huntingtower found Harwyn – and fell in love with our stunning pod designs.

But craning the pod into their tight space was not going to be an easy feat.

Luckily, our talented crane operators and truck drivers made this challenging mission seem seamless.

“The logistics were extremely well planned. The location access was tight… [which meant] the delivery and fitting had to be precise.

“[And I loved that] Harwyn checked in [at all stages] to make sure we were satisfied. We even made some minor changes on the spot – and Harwyn did this at no extra cost. The result was just brilliant.”

Read Huntingtower’s story

Prefabricated School Building

4. Presbyterian Ladies’ College: Classic classrooms for a growing school

With a rapid rise in student enrolments, Presbyterian Ladies’ College (PLC) needed to explore new classrooms – quickly.

As PLC’s Business Manager Hamish Blair explains, “We were looking to complement the transformation of our Senior School facilities by adding new external classrooms.

“We looked at a wide range of options, eventually settling on pods as being the most adaptive to our needs.”

But PLC didn’t want just any pods. They had to be spaces of the highest quality and durability possible matching any alternative building option for their school.

After meeting with us, Hamish loved the look and feel of our Harwyn prefabricated buildings. And he loved how we could tailor our pods to their needs.

“[Harwyn] nurtured us through the development process and helped make it timely, efficient and extremely easy.”

Read PLC’s story

Prefabricated Classroom

Interested in a Harwyn for your school in 2022? Our premium pods could be the space solution you’ve been searching for. To learn more or for a custom quote, call 1300 HARWYN (1300 427 996) – or enquire now.