The new Middle Years Building at Hampden Specialist School’s Cobden campus provides a calm, welcoming environment designed to support the specific needs of middle years students as they grow in confidence, ability, and independence.

Replacing outdated relocatable buildings, the new facility includes classrooms, a central life skills space, student amenities, and a staff work area—spaces that prioritise comfort, safety, and age-appropriate learning. The building is simple and robust in form, oriented east–west to maximise natural light and passive solar gain. A gently sloping roof lifts to the north, opening towards landscaped outdoor areas and offering views to the surrounding site.

Internally, classrooms are acoustically and visually separated, creating focused, regulated environments that reduce distraction.

A central ‘Life Skills’ teaching areas is accessed by all classes, equipped with facilities which replicate a domestic environment, including kitchen, laundry, and dining spaces. These will double as a life skill teaching facility and a space for students to gather and eat at recess and lunch times.

The material palette echoes that of the Junior Campus in Terang, using warm, neutral tones and durable materials to create a sense of continuity across campuses and ease the transition for students progressing through year levels.

Surrounding landscaping includes new gathering and outdoor teaching spaces, with accessible pathways that support both active and quiet use. These areas are designed to aid self-regulation and sensory engagement, enhancing the learning environment beyond the classroom.

The Middle Years Building looks to provide dignified and inclusive spaces which support the school’s ambition to nurture independence and prepare students for life beyond school.