COLA shade structures · NSW schoolsCover planned around the school day.
Shade for outdoor learning, assemblies and play, with the footprint, clearances and weather cover chosen for the activity underneath.
COLA shade structures
Shade cover or a space that works in rain?
A COLA is a Covered Outdoor Learning Area. Start with what happens underneath it. A class working outside, a whole-school assembly and a basketball court want very different floor areas, and very different height above them.
A multi-sail canopy fits around an irregular play yard. A framed roof suits a footprint you could draw with a ruler. Cloth and waterproof membranes do different jobs, so settle how much rain cover you want before the structure is designed. Everything we build is engineered to the NSW wind codes, with certification available on request.
- Cover planned for recess, lunch, sport and pick-up.
- Supports kept away from equipment and from running children.
- Shade, rain cover and drainage settled in one go.
Selected work
Schools, childcare centres and play yards.
Terracotta sails at Glenmore Park, timber-post shade at a childcare centre, a sandpit sail with padded posts, and childcare shade at Merrylands.
How a COLA gets built
What we settle before anything is made.
Match the roof to the activity
A court needs height. An assembly area needs floor for the group and a clear way in and out of it. Mark the usable area on a plan, because the surface area of a canopy is a different number from the space people can stand in.
Check the shadow through the day
The shadow slides well past the roof outline as the sun drops. We plan the cover around the times children are actually out there, because a yard used at eleven and a yard used at three want the roof in different places.
Work around an operating site
Tell us your term dates and the areas that have to stay open. Footings have to be dug, steel craned in and concrete left to cure, and all of that wants a fenced work area and a bit of patience. Access and the order of work get agreed before anyone turns up.
Plan the documents early
The school or the asset owner confirms which approval pathway the project takes. We supply the design and the technical information for the structure being proposed, and we will talk to whoever needs to see it.
Keep the canopy maintainable
Leave a way to get at it for inspection, cleaning and a membrane change later on. A worn sail can often be replaced on supports that are still good, once the frame and the fittings have been checked.
Good to know
School shade, answered.
Where do we start?+
Send a site plan, the activities you want covered and roughly how many people use the space. Add the hours of use and any date you are working towards. We can talk through a measure and a couple of design options from that.
Can you install during term?+
Often, yes, where the work can be properly separated from students and staff and the access allows it. Tell us how the site runs and we will build the programme around it.
How long will the structure last?+
Fabric, steel and fittings all age at different rates. The cloth gives out first because it is the part living in the sun. Steel and fittings go a good deal longer where the coating stays sound and faults get fixed early. Ask for the written warranty terms on the components you are buying, because a fabric term is not the life of the whole structure.
Can you help with a grant application?+
We can give you the measure, the drawings and the technical specifications for the work. Eligibility, approvals and the submission itself stay with the applicant. Our funding guide is the place to start.
Do you also build for childcare?+
Yes. The plan has to suit the actual equipment, the age groups, how supervision works and how children move through the yard. A school layout scaled down rarely fits.
Who we are, and how a job runs from the first visit to the last tension.
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What needs to happen under the cover?
Send the site plan, activities and use times. We offer a free measure, blueprint and written quote.