Site Overview
site name:
Demountable Classrooms
other/former name:
Divisible Mobile Classrooms first erected at Kingsgrove North High School
architect(s):
Ted Edward Farmer (NSW Government Architect Office)
date of commission:
1965
date of completion:
1966
address:
North Head, Manly 2095, NSW
classification/typology:
Education (EDU)
protection status:
n/a
fiche editor:
Noni Boyd in 2008,
download fiche:
Demountable Classroom (Pdf)
Description
The first ‘divisible mobile classrooms’ was erected at the Kingsgrove North High School in 1966. The prefabricated sections, which extended from one side of the building to the other and included the sun shading, were expressed on the exterior of the building. The sections were designed to be bolted together rapidly and could be dismantled just as easily and moved to another site. A photograph of sections of the classrooms on flat bed trucks.
The divisible mobile classrooms’ were ‘usually superior, in terms of space and facilities, to many of the permanent classrooms built in the 1950s and early 1960s. The demountable’s versatility has proved extremely useful in meeting emergencies, such as fire-damaged schools and building delays, and for longer-term planning aimed at avoiding a surplus of permanent classrooms.
The demountable classrooms continued to be utilised during the 1970s and could be arranged on a sloping site by adding piers and steps to the front entrance. The components could also be staggered.
Examples can be found today at Chester Hill and at the School of Artillery on North Head.