Hartford College Masterplan

State of the art campus embodies new school aspiring to Wisdom, Virtue and Academic Excellence.

Hartford College is a Catholic Liberal Arts school for boys in years 5 to 12 which opened in 2023, occupying the site of a former Catholic primary school. The college is located in heritage-listed Daceyville, in eastern Sydney, a garden suburb planned by Sir John Sulman around the time of WWI.

Expanding a campus with clarity & care - our design strategies address growth while strengthening community links.

Sam Crawford Architects undertook a comprehensive master planning process for the expansion of Hartford College’s campus in Daceyville, Sydney. The process considered various masterplan options, each addressing site limitations, educational priorities, and community integration.
 

Hartford College Masterplan Gallery

 

 

The masterplan’s staging strategy allowed for progressive construction:

• Stage 1 (completed 2024) included the refurbishment of the an existing campus building to accommodate Year 8 classrooms and specialist rooms
• Stage 2 works introduces the new Banks Avenue building with the remaining spaces, including 5x classrooms, the library and chapel.

This approach ensured continuity of teaching and reduced reliance on temporary demountables.

The process involved comparative evaluation of costs, staging impacts, planning pathways, and student experience. The selected option provided superior spatial organisation, a landmark street interface, and required fewer temporary facilities. Planning approval was structured around a Complying Development Certificate (CDC) for the initial Stage 1 works and a single DA for the remainder—offering the least risk to critical Year 8 accommodation timelines.

Crucially, the design harnessed several key site opportunities: a clearly defined street frontage, improved site access, and the ability to create generous outdoor learning and recreational spaces. Thoughtful consideration of acoustic separation between active and quiet zones enhances the learning environment, while strong visual connections between indoor and outdoor spaces foster community and transparency.

The selected masterplan was ultimately progressed toward DA submission as the most coherent and future-facing solution for Hartford College’s long-term growth.

Project info	Details
Team	Sam Crawford, Gabrielle Pelletier, Héléna Short, Rhys Nicholas, Justine Anderson, Justin Pak, Sofia Nay
Client	Hartford College
Completion	Ongoing

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