05/14 Education.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "05/14 Education."

Bonnie Hall
5 years ago
Views:

1 05/14 Education

Campus Hub Victoria University of Wellington The VUW Campus Hub and Library Upgrade responds to today s changing pedagogical environment and new trends for maintaining and disseminating knowledge.

learning, social and recreational functions and meeting student expectations for on-campus activities and amenities.

2 Campus Hub Victoria University of Wellington The VUW Campus Hub and Library Upgrade responds to today s changing pedagogical environment and new trends for maintaining and disseminating knowledge. Recognising that learning and social functions are no longer separate, the project shifts the boundaries between secure and non-secure elements of the library creating a greater overlap with learning, social and recreational functions and meeting student expectations for on-campus activities and amenities. Mezzanine level overlooking the Great Room with Reading Room above Integral to the overall project is the provision of upgraded library facilities, social, teaching and study spaces, improved retail facilities, student social / health care and recreational facilities, as well as a central indoor and outdoor space of high quality. Tim Beaglehole Courtyard and north facade of HUB Within the wider context, the project addresses the need for a front door, improves the interface with Kelburn Parade and increases legibility in the circulation network of the overall campus. Importantly, by overcoming both the challenging topography and previously poor connectivity in this precinct, the project establishes a new focal point and heart for the Kelburn Campus: a hub around which social and learning activities can revolve. The Campus Hub integrates the refurbishment of the Rankin Brown Library, the new Hub building and the new Tim Beaglehole Courtyard, with ground level refurbishments of Easterfield and Maclaurin Buildings. The key design intervention was to excavate the site of the Quad (between Easterfield Building, Maclaurin Lecture Theatres and Rankin Brown Library) and remove the Easterfield Lecture theatre which projected into this space. This strategic move established a new, continuous ground plane linking Kelburn Parade and, aligning the ground levels of all buildings in this sector of the campus, allowed the insertion of the new Hub building and the creation of a new outdoor space. The Great Room is a large ground floor double height space in the Hub. It brings together the activities of the adjoining library, lecture theatres and new retail spaces, providing a student focused space for social and informal learning activities, as well as large gatherings and events. The new Reading Room projects over the student space, symbolically interlocking both social and learning functions of the Hub. Opening directly onto the new Tim Beaglehole Courtyard, the Great Room and courtyard create a pairing of indoor and outdoor spaces a nucleus for the social and learning activities of the University. Large automated

A hub around which social and learning activities can revolve to establish a new focal point and heart for the Kelburn Campus. sliding doors allow both spaces to seamlessly merge.

High use collections as well as informal and group study areas are relocated to the lower levels of Rankin Brown, where larger floor plates allow for more flexible and alternative learning

3 A hub around which social and learning activities can revolve to establish a new focal point and heart for the Kelburn Campus. sliding doors allow both spaces to seamlessly merge. The Library is an integral part of the Campus Hub and is reconfigured to open into and actively engage with the new Hub. High use collections as well as informal and group study areas are relocated to the lower levels of Rankin Brown, where larger floor plates allow for more flexible and alternative learning configurations. A shift in the security threshold enables the Library to provide more services and learning functions within the Hub, complementing social learning activities and strengthening the vitality of the space. Key connections across campus come together in the Hub, permeating the perimeter and edges of the Great Room. The clear juxtaposition of old and new offers simplicity with spatial clarity, supporting way finding and providing the environment for a first class student experience. View to Reading Room from Mezzanine

4 A unique space to offer students an engaging, enriching and memorable learning experience. The William Macmahon Ball Theatre is a seventy-five seat teaching space, designed for the Faculty of Arts Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Melbourne School of Government, at the University of Melbourne. Directly responding to the University s commitment that the physical campus will remain the primary learning environment, the project was imagined as a unique space to offer students an engaging, enriching and memorable learning experience rewarding class attendance and emphasising the value of students coming together, in an inclusive forum, to exchange views and knowledge for the collective benefit of the group. Intentionally parliamentary, yet relaxed and informal, the design character extends learning experiences and supports holistic, shared and student-led approaches. Within the hemicycle plan, seating and sightlines induce high levels of interaction and visual connectedness encouraging discussion, collaboration, debate and oration. While traditional lecture spaces place students in fixed, tightlyspaced seating, listening to a lecturer s amplified voice, the William Macmahon Ball Theatre supports active learning at the heart of the Faculty of Arts graduate coursework. Speakers are free to engage in group discussions, with full remote control of AV systems. Seated on vibrant, mobile chairs, students can participate in interactive learning modes that offer multiple, dynamic opportunities for written or drawn communication, pin-up presentations and digital projection. All learning activities are supported by coordinated, acoustic, accessible and userfriendly surfaces and elements. The ceiling is defined by triangulated planes of translucent acrylic, suspended below stretched acoustic fabric. This undulating, glowing contoured form is multifunctional: a light fitting, skylight and sound dispenser defining space, lighting the room and distributing sound evenly to all occupants, no matter where the speaker is positioned. Floor finishes reference the ceiling with triangulated patterning. At ground level, a sandstone floor accentuates a speaker s presence, reflecting light, amplifying the voice and referencing the materials of Old Arts. Three entry vestibules, with dense carpet lining, serve as transition zones and discreet threshold entries. Sustainability is underpinned by plantation plywood joinery, adjustable natural daylight, low energy light fittings, durable upholstery and a displacement air system that utilises the floor plenum of the amphitheatre. A parliamentary character references classical forum traditions. A trompe l oeil coat rack, with wall hooks, adjacent to an entry. Within the hemicycle plan, seating and sightlines induce high levels of interaction and visual connectedness.

William Macmahon Ball Theatre Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne Cover Image: Campus Hub, Victoria University of Wellington Auckland Phone +64 9 307 5970 Fax +64 9 307 5972 auckland@architectus.

5 William Macmahon Ball Theatre Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne Cover Image: Campus Hub, Victoria University of Wellington Auckland Phone Fax auckland@architectus.co.nz Brisbane Phone Fax brisbane@architectus.com.au Christchurch Phone Mobile christchurch@architectus.co.nz Melbourne Phone Fax melbourne@architectus.com.au Sydney Phone Fax sydney@architectus.com.au Shanghai Phone Fax shanghai@architectus.com.au Architectus supports environmentally sustainable initiatives. This newsletter has been printed on sustainably produced paper using vegetable based inks and an aqueous varnish. The glowing ceiling hovers above a democratic space for face-to-face seminars, tutorials, lectures and debates.

12/12. Courts of Law. Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law

12/12. Courts of Law. Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law 12/12 Courts of Law www.architectus.com.au www.architectus.co.nz Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law Brisbane s new Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law accommodate 39 courtrooms including the ceremonial Banco