Sydney’s ‘little school project’ named World Building of the Year ahead of towering skyscrapers | Architecture

An inner-city Sydney public school has been crowned the World Building of the Year, beating competition from towering skyscrapers, museums and major transport hubs to claim the title.

Darlington public school in Chippendale won the major building design prize at the 2024 World Architectural Festival in Singapore, claiming the gong ahead of more than 200 shortlisted entrants.

It was the second major coup for Australian architect firm FJC Studio in recent months after its design for Liverpool council’s new library, Yellamundie, in south-west Sydney, was named one of the world’s four most beautiful new libraries in September.

The Darlington school, which fully re-opened in July 2023 following major upgrades, features strong connections to Indigenous culture, weaving designs into the building’s identity and facades.

Aboriginal artworks are displayed around the school and in the cladding to preserve ancient stories and students can learn about Indigenous food and culture with a community garden that grows native plants.

Featuring saw-tooth roofs angled towards the sun, the building embraces sustainability mixed with stylish curved metal screens with high-level glazing to filter daylight while preserving students’ privacy.

FJC Studio previously won the top prize in 2013 – making it the first practice to win the award twice.

The win was humbling given the modest scale of the project, company associate Alessandro Rossi said.

“It’s a little school project, so to have won against all the other big projects … is a testament to the client and the community engagement that helped drive the design process,” Rossi said.

“The real winners are the children who will spend time in the building – a place of enrichment for many years to come.”

The school design fended off other entrants including Singapore’s Changi airport terminal 2 redesign, Mexico’s double helix-shaped housing tower and The National Star Observatory of Cyprus.

Festival program director Paul Finch, on behalf of the jury, said the school’s design explored and extended beyond the brief to include the views and experiences of the local community.

“This generated a reading of the history of place, culture and time,” he said.

“The result of the project is poetic, a building in which topography and landscape, inside and outside, form and materials, flow seamlessly in an unexpectedly delightful way.

“It is also an inspirational proposition about the acknowledgement and reconciliation of historic difference – a pointer to brighter, better futures for all.”

Australian architectural designs won 12 awards at this year’s festival including Parramatta Aquatic Centre for best sports building and the Nightingale Village apartments in Melbourne’s hip Brunswick suburb for best housing building.