Melbourne School of Design
Project summary
The Melbourne School of Design Building, managed by Senior Project Manager Anne Thompson Eaton, is a $129 million architectural masterpiece at the University of Melbourne. Collaborating with JWA and NADAAA architects, the six-level building integrates two lecture theatres, 33 STEAM studios, workshops, and academic spaces.
The Studio Hall, enclosed by a coffered timber roof, serves as a flexible learning space. Innovative features, including stainless steel mesh from Tensile, create a sustainable, 6-star green star-rated building. The design fosters creativity and dynamic learning for students and staff. Retaining the heritage facade and implementing three-dimensional Ultra Frame solutions further enhance the project’s uniqueness.
…what Anne did on this project
The Melbourne School of Design Building, with a project value of $129 million, stands as an architectural masterpiece for the University of Melbourne. Led by Senior Project Manager Anne Thompson Eaton, this project aimed to create an environment dedicated to the study of sustainable cities and places of inhabitation. Collaborating with architects from JWA and NADAAA, the design process involved extensive workshops, presentations, and regular briefing meetings with faculty user groups, University Committees, and Reference groups.
The building boasts six levels and incorporates two lecture theatres, workshops, a library, two exhibition spaces, a cafe, a series of studios, and academic and professional workspaces, spanning a total of 15,772 square meters GFA. Central to the design is the Studio Hall, a large flexible space providing informal occupation throughout the day, enclosed by a coffered timber roof that mediates natural daylight and ventilation.
Incorporating innovative structural and services systems, the building achieved its targeted 6-star green star rating, reflecting the university’s commitment to sustainability. The architects utilized stainless steel mesh from Tensile, which stretched the entire height and span of the five-storey atrium, offering safety barriers while maintaining transparency and airflow, making it an essential component of the project’s aesthetics and functionality.
The transparent facades and open ground plane of the building reveal the creative and collaborative activities within to the rest of the university community. This design choice aligns with the idea that the building itself becomes a teaching tool and a broader studio environment, fostering a dynamic and stimulating learning environment for both students and staff.
In addition to the main building, the project also involved retaining the heritage facade of the Faculty of Architecture, showcasing engineering milestones. SBS Group collaborated with the architects and builders, creating a three-dimensional Ultra Frame lightweight solution for the internal three-story design, resulting in a cost-effective, detailed, and simple framing solution for direct fixing of internal linings.
The Melbourne School of Design Building stands as a testament to collaborative design, environmental consciousness, and experiential learning, nurturing the next generation of professionals in architecture, urban planning, ecologists, builders, and landscape architects.