The proposed works are situated on the lands of the Gaibal, Jarowair and Western Wakka Wakka Peoples. We take this opportunity to acknowledge them as Traditional Owners and we pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.

Following the completion of the Master Plan of Good Samaritan College in Toowoomba (by Speculative Architecture Brammer Architects) the college reached out to LatStudios to consider the external landscape setting for the campus.

Through close collaboration with the College and Speculative Architecture we sought to re-frame the campus as a learning space where the natural landscape is celebrated in a landscape setting where nature, conversation and storytelling are intertwined.

The scale and charm of the school undeniably that of a residential back garden all but missing the hills hoist; It is this familiar, personable sensibility that we as a design team keenly explored for the landscape approach to the project. It was this human scale the design team reflected on to ensure welcoming point of arrival and a meeting place for the everyday.

As the tree canopies mature the school yards become more a complex ecosystem of groves and clearings or natural archways and thresholds into garden rooms rather than super scale traditional playing fields or urban courts imposed onto landscape. The re-emergence of endemic planting and local materials on this site are key to crafting authentic space for the Good Samaritan College. The design intent for the proposed planting palette will draw heavily on the colour, texture, tone and seasonal change of the endemic species of the region. The inspiration of this palette is about accenting the local qualities of Toowoomba and developing a palette that exudes a sense of familiarity and calm for visitors to the College and we look with interest to how this learning landscape matures in time.

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