Port Melbourne Secondary College (PMSC) is an innovative typology and inclusive environment that blurs the barriers between university and secondary school to adapt to the changing world.
A visually striking vertical school for advanced technology, creativity, and learning, the building serves as a new, forward-thinking, sustainable precinct for students and the surrounding community.

The new school has high aspirations as the first substantial piece of social infrastructure to be built in Fishermans Bend, owing to its location and emphasis on STEAM, which will expose pupils to high-tech employment routes that this future innovation hub will offer.

By anchoring the JL Murphy Reserve – the central park within the broader precinct – with a built form that can be experienced in the round, it presents itself to the community with an extroverted architectural language that not only announces its civic nature but also its strong connections to the Port Melbourne area, including proximity to the bay, pre-settlement landforms, industrial history, and maritime infrastructure.

By creating purposeful links to adjacent recreational facilities and future modes of active transport, the building is designed to reinvigorate the post-industrial neighbourhood bridging it with an emerging vibrant urban environment and connecting students and their learning environments to the extensive natural surrounds.

The design is highly sensitive to the needs of young people and constantly strives to provide a haven that inspires and supports their growth. It has embraced the opportunity to elevate the quality of architecture, built form and space of a state-funded school and to instil pride in place in students, staff, and a growing new community.

Photography by Dianna Snape