School of Design and the Built Environment

Located within Exchange, the innovation precinct at Curtin University’s Perth campus in Western Australia, the School of Design & the Built Environment (DBE) has a new home. Reflecting the built form of the campus using brickwork, concrete and façade screening, this low rise, five-storey building has been designed to serve as a living laboratory and teaching tool. In addition to supporting the school’s learning and teaching program, it is home to professional and academic staff; industry and research partners and complementary commercial tenants. The result of a masterplan completed by JWA in 2016, Curtin University had a clear understanding of its desire to make deep connections to industry and research partners while acutely aware of the changing nature of university life. The building needed to promote collaboration, the teaching and learning spaces were to be technology intensive, student centric, multi-modal, formal and informal. The building itself was envisioned as a living laboratory that can be the subject of teaching and research. Ideally including integrated spaces that were inviting to industry, open to its partners in the commercial sphere. To achieve these ends, the lower levels of the building are open, porous and accessible. A large central courtyard links the adjacent activities of the Makerspace, Collaboration Hub, foyer and Exhibition spaces at ground level. This courtyard is the active heart of the building, a sheltered space that offers and encourages activity and interaction between people and place. Steel entry shrouds indicate the front door to the building, an urban marker to welcome the community in. Seating along the edges of the building and courtyard offer places to linger when activities within spill over into the courtyard. The primary circulation area inside the building is an actively changing space, supporting a wide range of learning functions such as presentations, informal learning, crits, discussions and classes. Inter-related operations of the collaborative hubs are visible from social learning spaces dotted around the exterior of the building. Productivity and collaborations are visible, highlighting partnerships between industry and research. Lower levels of the building are highly activated, inviting and dedicated to showing off the activities inside. Clear sight lines through the building and atriums add to the sense of permeability and connectivity, drawing natural light inside. Specialist learning spaces are housed above, along with a dedicated staff workplace. These spaces feature different levels of flexibility, privacy and density. Designed as a pedagogical tool and an exemplar in sustainable design, the building has a 6 Star Green Star intent using the Design and As Built tools. The building prefaces robust and responsible material selection, excellent indoor air environment, independent power generation and passive solar design. The building itself will provide opportunities for teaching and research. Elements of the building are a referential tool for teaching and learning - a Living Laboratory.