Learning Landscapes
fjclandscape designs school and campus grounds as places to learn, play and meet. Outdoor spaces are planned with the buildings, so learning extends beyond the classroom.
Our work includes the layered terraces of Fort Street Public School, the community garden and play spaces at Darlington Public School, and the terraces, courtyards and rooftop court of Inner Sydney High School.
Fort Street Public School
A constrained inner-city site is reimagined as a layered terrain for learning, play and community.
Darlington Public School
Indigenous plants in the community garden teach students how plants are used in cooking and culture.
Inner Sydney High School
Outdoor learning and recreation spaces sit between the buildings, from elevated undercrofts to a rooftop sports court.
Our Approach
Learning Outdoors
Gardens, terraces and courtyards act as outdoor classrooms, with shade, seating and space for group work. Outdoor learning settings support a range of teaching styles, from quiet reflection to hands-on projects, and give students a connection to nature, seasons and weather as part of their everyday school experience.
Play for All Ages
Play spaces offer challenge and calm, from active courts to quiet gardens, designed for safety and supervision. A variety of settings lets every student find their place, whether running, climbing, exploring or resting, and clear sightlines make it easy for staff to supervise large groups across the grounds.
Constrained Sites
On dense urban sites, we stack landscapes on terraces and roofs, as at Fort Street Public School and Inner Sydney High School. Rooftop and terrace landscapes multiply the usable outdoor space on compact sites, giving students room to play, learn and gather even where ground-level land is limited.
Country and Culture
Indigenous planting and stories shape the grounds. At Darlington, the community garden teaches the use of plants in Indigenous cooking and culture. School landscapes can carry knowledge of Country into everyday learning, helping students understand the place they live in and the culture of its Traditional Custodians.
Heritage Settings
New landscapes sit carefully with heritage buildings and courtyards, as at Fort Street Public School and Inner Sydney High School. Planting, paving and levels are designed to respect historic fabric and settings, so new outdoor spaces support contemporary learning while preserving the character that makes each school distinctive.
Community Use
Clear entries and secure boundaries let school grounds open to the community out of school hours. Shared use of courts, gardens and open spaces gives neighbourhoods more places to play and gather, makes better use of public land and builds stronger connections between each school and its community.
For further information about our learning landscape capability, please enquire by email. You can also explore fjclandscape and our work in schools.