Coombabah State High School Tuckshop

This tuckshop renovation had to comply with several regulatory overlays including the DET’s Design Requirements for School Facilities, the current Australian Standards for Design for Access and Mobility, and additional requirements identified during site meetings.

Working within the existing tuckshop footprint, the new design includes back-of-house facilities such as the kitchen, cold room, freezer, store room, dry store; ancillary spaces including the office and cleaners’ room; and the student-facing servery and new balustrading outside

As part of our signature visioning process – and to help us obtain a holistic and comprehensive understanding of the existing tuckshop’s limitations and drawbacks, so we could identify opportunities for improvements – we facilitated a series of meetings with key stakeholders the during the project initiation phase.

We assembled all of the key parties –  including school representatives, the tuckshop convenor, the project manager, and DoE stakeholders – to seek their perspectives and input about various requirements for the project.

In these early workshops, we also presented exemplar projects for their review and consideration.

After these workshops, we presented our initial concepts and sought their responses and feedback, before agreeing on the final design direction for the project.

In order to avoid disruption to tuckshop services during term time, the design phase was expedited to allow construction to commence at the start of the summer school holidays.

Careful programming and sequencing of the works enabled the entire project to be completed within a 7-week timeframe, enabling the upgraded tuckshop to re-open at the start of the new school year.

The design prioritises improved workflows and layouts for tuckshop staff and staff and student “customers”, through the careful arrangement of food and equipment storage, meal preparation areas, presentation and serving, and point-of-sale functions.

It also enhances the student experience thanks to an expanded queuing system which features more extensive balustrading, large metal walkway screens and integrated menu boards.

The upgrade provides several important improvements against operational time and cost metrics, and has enhanced the delivery of healthy food choices for staff and students at the school.