Staged delivery of new learning facilities, increasing capacity on a live school campus.

Catholic Education South Australia engaged SHAPE to deliver the St Thomas More School New GLA Building, a single‑storey development to expand capacity and create a more diverse, engaging learning environment. Works were delivered in two stages and include the new General Learning Area (GLA) building, covered outdoor learning area (COLA), toilet block, decking, and a civil package with a redesigned kiss‑and‑drop zone and underground rainwater tanks.

On the compact, fully operational campus, staging was essential to reduce site footprint and disruption. Stage 1 saw the delivery of a modular toilet block and decking which was handed over early to meet the school’s immediate operational needs. The modular build was delivered in-house by our Modular by SHAPE specialist team. Stage 2 involved the new build of the library and GLAs, along with the outdoor works.

Located at the rear of the campus, the new GLA required extensive service connections back to existing infrastructure. With limited survey data, SHAPE undertook early investigations to map services and confirm scope.

Working with subcontractors, multiple routing and sequencing options were developed for the school’s review. Careful planning provided a cost‑efficient solution that kept higher‑impact activities to school holidays, with remaining works safely segregated from occupied areas to maintain daily operations.