Research by Queensland University of Technology has examined how students experience Brisbane’s vertical schools, identifying benefits as well as operational and wellbeing challenges.
New research into Brisbane’s vertical schools has found that well-designed multi-storey campuses can strengthen student connection and support new approaches to learning, as pressure grows for more education infrastructure in inner-city areas.
The research, led by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Professor Jill Willis and colleagues, examined student experiences at Fortitude Valley State Secondary College (FVSSC) in Brisbane.
The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Learning, Media and Technology in February 2026. The paper, Schools, space and atmospheres: the value of student stories in vertical schools, draws on data collected through the broader Thriving in Vertical Schools project.
As reported by Architecture & Design, Professor Willis said the research found that well-designed vertical schools could heighten students’ sense of connection across several dimensions.
“When these schools are designed well, they actually heighten connection for students,” Professor Willis told Architecture & Design.
Students experience school differently
FVSSC opened in Fortitude Valley in 2020 with 137 Year 7 students. The school was established in response to enrolment pressure at neighbouring Kelvin Grove State College and added a new year level each year until reaching full operation.
The school is one of a growing number of Australian vertical schools, which use multi-storey buildings to accommodate learning, administration, recreation and other facilities on relatively constrained urban sites.
The QUT research examined students’ own accounts of their experiences rather than relying solely on observations by educators or designers.
Students described their school experience in terms of connection to peers, the school and the wider community. Professor Willis described some of the responses as a sense of connection to something larger than the individual student.
The broader Thriving in Vertical Schools project has involved more than 300 students across three vertical secondary schools: FVSSC, Adelaide Botanic High School and Prahran High School. The project has investigated how vertical learning environments can support student learning, wellbeing and participation.
Design affects how schools operate
The findings have implications for the way school leaders approach the relationship between the physical environment and educational practice.
Vertical schools differ from traditional school campuses, where classrooms and facilities are generally spread across a larger horizontal site.
Multi-storey campuses instead bring different activities together across multiple levels, using features such as stairs, atria, balconies, flexible learning areas and shared spaces.
Research from the Thriving in Vertical Schools project has identified themes including connection, inclusion, safety, security, sensory experience and pedagogical innovation in the design and operation of vertical schools.
For school leaders, this can mean that decisions about timetabling, supervision, movement, use of shared spaces and student wellbeing are closely connected to the physical design of the campus.
FVSSC principal Chrissie Coogan told Architecture & Design that students had developed greater independence and responsibility for their learning and had taken pride in their school environment.
Movement is part of the school day
The vertical model also changes how students and staff move through a school.
Ms Coogan told Architecture & Design that managing large numbers of students across multiple levels requires clear routines and expectations.
Movement between classrooms, specialist facilities, recreational areas and other parts of the campus therefore becomes an important operational consideration.
The QUT research has also examined how students experience circulation and different spaces within vertical schools. The researchers’ work has highlighted the importance of understanding the lived experience of students rather than assessing a building solely according to its intended design.
This includes considering how students experience noise, movement, social interaction and opportunities for quiet or individual activity.
The city becomes part of learning
One feature of Brisbane’s vertical schools is their location within established urban communities.
At FVSSC, the school’s inner-city location has enabled students to use facilities and spaces beyond the campus, including the local swimming pool, art gallery and other parts of Fortitude Valley.
Professor Willis told Architecture & Design that this kind of connection between the school and its surrounding community was one of the opportunities created by the vertical model.
The approach has also supported trans-disciplinary learning at FVSSC, with the surrounding city providing opportunities for learning outside the traditional classroom.
The QUT research describes this broader relationship between schools and their urban environments as an important consideration as education infrastructure is developed in increasingly dense areas.
Wellbeing remains a consideration
The research also identifies challenges associated with vertical schooling.
The Thriving in Vertical Schools project has examined how factors including sensory experiences, safety, inclusion and access to different types of spaces affect students’ experiences of school.
The research highlights a number of tensions within vertical environments. Spaces designed to encourage interaction can also create noise or sensory stimulation, while highly connected environments may provide fewer opportunities for students seeking quiet or privacy.
These findings make the student experience an important source of information for school leaders and designers assessing how a vertical campus is functioning after it opens.
The QUT project has specifically used student stories and other forms of student participation to understand how young people experience the spaces in which they learn.
Vertical schools not a universal solution
Ms Coogan told Architecture & Design that vertical schooling was not appropriate for every location.
“Vertical schooling isn’t the answer everywhere,” she said. “The design needs to suit the local community, and the educational vision must drive the use of the building rather than the other way around.”
The QUT research similarly focuses on the relationship between design, educational practice and student experience rather than presenting vertical schooling as a single model that can be applied universally.
The project’s research has included work on how aspirations for vertical schools influence design, with researchers identifying a shared ambition among educators, designers and other stakeholders to develop schools differently from traditional models.
Pressure for more urban schools
The findings come as Brisbane faces continued pressure to provide education infrastructure in areas where available land is limited.
The Architecture & Design report highlighted calls from parents in West End for education infrastructure to be planned alongside a major residential development at the former Visy glass factory site.
The issue illustrates the wider challenge facing governments and education planners: new residential development can create demand for schools in locations where large conventional school sites are difficult to secure.
Vertical schools provide one potential response by allowing more students and facilities to be accommodated on smaller urban sites.
Image: Architecture & Design
