Designing for the Needs of a Thriving School Community Hub

Abstract

This is the story of a community hub in an independent South Australian faith-based school. The aim of this community hub is to address multi-generational disadvantage with an agile approach that is personalised to the needs of local families. While co-located infrastructure exists—comprising a school, church, kindergarten, public sector children’s centre, opportunity shop, community shed and emergency housing—there is a need to promote connections within and beyond this infrastructure through a dedicated community hub space. To address this need, in 2020 we prepared an architectural design concept for a welcoming community space located at the intersection of school, church, and kindergarten, providing a physical structure to ‘wrap around’ the existing personal services. This space has yet to be built but will ensure the community hub can help people develop the capacity to change their own lives. The ethos, culture, and approach that has been adopted for this community hub is based on the ‘Family Zone’ model developed by Lutheran Care. The vision for this hub has wellbeing as the focus which resonates with the shared values and mission of school, care agency and church. In this chapter we, the school’s principal and the architect who developed the architectural design, reflect on the school community’s journey. The common theme is that it takes time to build cooperative relationships, connections, and trust. ‘You are welcome’ and developing a sense of belonging is at the heart of developing this community hub.