Brisbane Catholic Education has lodged a Ministerial Infrastructure Designation (MID) application for a brand new co-educational secondary school in Windsor’s inner north.
The Windsor Inner North Secondary School or WINSS, as it’s being called, would replace the existing St Mary of the Cross Primary School at 22 Grafton Street. That school is closing at the end of 2026 after more than 95 years, with enrolments having dwindled to just 73 students.
In its place? A five-building campus designed for 910 students and 113 staff, with a target opening of 2029.
Architects Hayball have designed a campus that steps down the site’s dramatic 20-metre slope, from RL 25.0 in the northwest corner to RL 5.0 in the southeast. It’s a seriously challenging piece of topography that requires significant excavation and retaining walls across the entire site.
The school sits above the existing Airport Link tunnels, which run parallel to the western boundary along Roblane Street. The southbound tunnel is roughly 12 metres from the property line with the crown sitting 15 metres deep. The future Northern Busway tunnel is also proposed nearby, running beneath Roblane Street.
What’s in the masterplan?
The campus is split across five buildings, to be delivered in up to four stages.
Building A is the centrepiece — a central facility with a performing arts hall, library, canteen, administration offices and GLA classrooms across multiple levels. It features a city-view terrace with sweeping southward views.
Building B sits to the east and houses staff car parking, a student drop-off zone, a loading dock, and a covered sports court at the upper level. It includes two basement levels of parking.
Building C is the northern building — five storeys of administration and learning communities, plus a rooftop staff terrace.
Building D is a two-storey specialist learning hub (the STEAM/innovation building) that sits atop the Building B podium. It also includes two basement levels.
Building E is the southern or junior learning building, with four storeys of classrooms and a wellbeing hub. This building is subject to the acquisition of adjoining lots on Roblane Street.
The maximum building height is 24 metres (five storeys), and total GFA across the site comes in at 12,610 sqm on a 12,952 sqm site.
Project Rundown
| Development Parameter | Proposed Development |
|---|---|
| Address | 22 Grafton Street, Windsor QLD 4030 |
| Development Type | Secondary School (co-educational) |
| Site Area | 12,952 sqm |
| Height | 24m / 5 storeys (max) |
| Total GFA | 12,610 sqm |
| Buildings | 5 (Building A–E across up to 4 stages) |
| Student Capacity | 910 students |
| Staff Capacity | 113 teaching staff |
| Outdoor Recreation Space | 4,637 sqm (36% of site) |
| Car Parking | 83 spaces (47 staff, 36 visitor) |
| Bike Parking | 180 spaces |
| Developer | Brisbane Catholic Education |
| Architect | Hayball |
| Landscape Design | Tract |
| Structural Engineer | Inertia Engineering |
| Building Services | BSE (Building Services Engineers) |
| Sustainability | Rooftop Solar: Solar power generation proposed Energy Efficiency: Net-zero operational carbon emissions target aligned with Laudato Si’ Water Conservation: WSUD stormwater management with reuse for landscape irrigation Green Landscaping: 4,843 sqm total landscaping (37% of site); 3,103 sqm deep planting (24%) Active Transport Facilities: 180 bike spaces, new on-street pedestrian/cycle paths, bus queuing for 2 buses |
| Date Submitted | Early 2026 (MID application) |
| Assessment Level | Ministerial Infrastructure Designation (MID) |
Tackling the slope
The 20-metre fall across the site is the defining design challenge here. Buildings A and B are both cut roughly 10 metres into the existing ground, requiring substantial retaining walls.
Structural engineers Inertia Engineering are considering two retaining wall options: contiguous or soldier piles with shotcrete infill and permanent ground anchors, or sprayed concrete with permanent rock bolts using a hit-and-miss excavation method.
Geotechnical investigations found extremely weathered rock as shallow as 500mm below ground in some locations, with moderately weathered rock between 2.5 and 4 metres down. Most buildings will sit directly on rock foundations — except Building E in the southeast corner, which will need deep piled foundations due to alluvial soils.
The landscape vision
Landscape architects Tract have designed around a target of 10 sqm of outdoor space per student. The overall outdoor area (hardscape and softscape combined) totals approximately 9,000 sqm, with about 4,900 sqm of green space.
Four significant mature trees are being retained as key landscape features, including a Bunya Pine and existing fig trees. The Bunya Pine gets a special mention in the documentation, it produces large cones, so the area beneath it will need to be fenced off or managed.
Key outdoor spaces include the Rosary Lawn (a large circular green at the upper level), the Fig Tree Garden, a Kickabout Lawn, the City Terrace overlooking the CBD, a productive garden connected to the school canteen, and terraced Bunya Pine gardens with sandstone block walls.
The landscape design graduates from “Senior | Mature | Civic” character in the south to “Junior | Playful | Natural” in the north, reflecting the different year levels across the campus.
Design language and materiality
Hayball’s design takes strong cues from the surrounding Queenslander homes. Longline metal cladding references traditional metal roofs, while metal window hoods echo the classic sunshade. A masonry base grounds each building and connects to the site’s geology.
On Bonython Street, vertical battens and exposed eaves gutters tie back to the residential character. Cascading gardens soften the building edges.
The buildings step down in height as they move south from Roblane Street, five storeys in the north dropping to a more domestic three-storey scale at Grafton Street, which faces existing detached houses.
The design embraces the significant slope from the north of the site down to the south at Grafton Street. A universally accessible pedestrian spine through the site responds to the topography through the provision of lifts, stairs, and ramps.
Hayball Architects
Why a MID?
Rather than going through a standard DA with Brisbane City Council, BCE has gone the Ministerial Infrastructure Designation route. MIDs are assessed by the Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, with the Planning Minister making the final decision. It’s a common pathway for schools, hospitals and other community infrastructure.
The school replaces St Mary of the Cross Primary, which has been on the Grafton Street site since the 1920s. BCE identified Brisbane’s inner north as a priority location in its 20-year New School Development Schedule, responding to growing demand for co-educational Catholic secondary schooling in the Windsor, Wilston and Lutwyche area.
If approved, WINSS would be built across four stages, with Stage 1 including Building A (the central facility) and Building B (parking and sports court). The school is targeting a 2029 opening.
