Former Infants School

What is Significant?
The former Infant School at 2-4 Park Street, Malvern is a red-brick school building erected in 1913-1914 to a design by George William Watson, chief architect of the Public Works Department. It is a highly intact example of Watson's standard infant school plan with a hall at its centre, cloakrooms to the front and classrooms to the sides and rear. The exterior is characteristically Edwardian in its use of red-brick walls and terracotta tiled roofs with decorative cresting.

Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):
-The original external form, materials and detailing of the 1913-1914 building.
-The extraordinarily high level of intactness of the building exterior (including the unpainted state of the face brickwork and terracotta elements).
-The legibility of the original freestanding envelope provided by the undeveloped front setback and open school yard setting more generally.
-The limited presence of modern signage on and around the building.

The hall's original Art Nouveau style leadlight windows can not be seen from the street but should be considered significant architectural elements if they survive.

None of the other buildings and structures within the school grounds contribute to the significance of the place.

How is it significant?
The former Infant School at Park Street, Malvern is of local historical and architectural significance to the City of Stonnington.

Why is it significant?
Historically, the former infant school is significant as a demonstration of the major change in educational methods in Victoria in the early twentieth century, when efforts were made to provide school buildings to serve the particular needs of very young children (TEH 9.2 Developing a system of state education, Criterion A).

Architecturally, the building is significant as a highly externally intact example of an Edwardian school building, embodying the specific characteristics of infant school design, including the central hall crowned by domed octagonal ventilators (Criterion D). The ventilators and the tall grouped classroom windows demonstrate a concern for providing students with a hygienic environment with good ventilation and ample daylight.

Group

Education

Category

Infants school