Remaking an architectural icon: The school demountable classroom
Building fast and innovative extra spaces for schools is not a new idea. Many of us have childhood memories of the last hot summer days of a school year spent in a stuffy old-style school demountable classroom.
Our minds would wander away from schoolwork, dreaming of a cooler place like the beach or a pool.
The NSW Government started manufacturing school demountable classrooms as temporary extra educational spaces in the 1960s. Portable classrooms like these have been used around Australia for decades. Some even call them an architectural icon of the times. They were simple steel-framed structures with plywood or fibreboard walls.
They didn’t have much protection from the elements, and weren’t very comfortable. But they did provide valuable extra spaces for schools with rapidly growing student numbers.
School Demountable classrooms of the modern age
Today’s schools still love the idea of being able to build additional and adaptable spaces quickly and easily. But they’re thinking more broadly and using them in much more creative ways.
Harwyn has responded to this by taking the concept of the school demountable classroom and completely reinventing it. Take our inspiring music pods at Camberwell Grammar; soundproof, colourful spaces surrounded by nature for students to learn and practise. Or our stunning rose-gold performing arts facilities at Yarra Valley Grammar.
Over the past 10 years we’ve supplied flexible school spaces to schools throughout Australia. We’ve built fully-customisable classrooms, music villages, art studios, STEM labs, counselling rooms and even full-sized assembly halls.
Our school pods do maintain one of the main strengths of the old demountables; their durability.
Even though the 1960’s prefabs were only made to last a decade with the intention of them being “temporary classrooms”, over 6,000 of them are, incredibly, still in use due to their ‘bomb proof’ frame.
Harwyn has gone further than this, building every part of our products from premium materials which are made to last a lifetime. Our pods are also ‘new and improved’ in so many other ways. They’re equipped with modern technology and amenities, creating a supremely comfortable and engaging learning environment to keep wandering young minds in the classroom.
Utilising offsite construction methods means they can be installed over a single weekend with no disruption to the school day. They’re environmentally sustainable, made from fully recyclable materials and with high level insulation to maximise energy efficiency. Unlike the portable classroom of days gone, they’re also beautifully designed and look fabulous.
The old school demountable classrooms may be an iconic memory. But Harwyn is taking this architectural icon to new heights, with stylish, inspiring and comfortable modern learning spaces for the schools of today.
Ready to transform your learning environment with our innovative, sustainable prefabricate classrooms? Don’t wait. Contact the Harwyn team today. Let’s collaborate to create a space that engages learners and stands the test of time. Start your educational revolution with Harwyn now.