Seamless furniture refurbishment turns heads at SA school.
A collaboration between Brighton Secondary School and Resource Furniture became the stunning backdrop for celebrations on the official September opening of this South Australian school’s new building, Tarni Warra meaning ‘sound of the waves’ in Kaurna language.
The priority for both refurbishments was to bring the traditional library spaces into the digital age. Architects were engaged to open up, modernise and create a fun environment with a “nod to the past but preparedness for the future”.
Phil expanded on the project saying, both libraries were very traditional, but we wanted more flexibility, we wanted research spaces and creative zones to inspire a variety of learners.
The junior school library space was opened to increase connectivity with classrooms and the outdoor nature play area. The size of the bookshelves and the number of books on display were reduced but the visibility enhanced of the fiction and non-fiction on smaller, lower shelves.
The design successfully de-clutters the space and allows more natural light in, making way for green spaces and indoor nature.
Resource Furniture sourced and custom-made much of the furniture to fit the school’s brief and the colours and wood grains sourced are exactly what the school and architect wanted.
Marcus said: “Resource Furniture perfectly matched the timber tones used throughout building to the furniture they supplied. They also constructed the lockers to match the timber and created a beautiful seamless look. It all works together and all fits into the space. “The students absolutely love it.”
Emma Gillings from Resource Furniture told us: “At Brighton Secondary School, our approach was to work alongside the school and architect to fulfil the brief. We furnished the space with a range of educational furniture and storage, and we were able to create the right functionality, colour
scheme, and flexible layout.
“We are very proud of our work on this space. To achieve the perfect finishes in the general learning areas we used neutral tones and wood grain. To differentiate the breakout and media spaces we introduced colour–mustard yellow. “The storage lockers were
custom made throughout the whole building, to do this we worked closely with the joiner and when it came time for the lockers to be fitted, we did hold our breath, but they fitted in like butter!”
