The future of design education will be on display from next week, with designs for the new Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning for the University of Melbourne, on showcase for the first time.
Designed by Melbourne architectural firm John Wardle Architects (JWA) and Boston firm NADAAA, the designs will be the focus of a month-long exhibition.
The new building will be unique in that it will give students the opportunity to work in a wide variety of work places and types of spaces. Unlike campus buildings that are usually closed to external view, the design allows everyone to see the activities and vibrancy inherent in a studio environment.
Professor Tom Kvan, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, said the plans were at the cutting edge of educational design, and would dramatically change research and teaching across the faculty.
“Through extensive consultation, we articulated a need for a pedagogical and living building that celebrates design, one that is not just a manifestation of our collective work, but something that we can look to for examples of good design that will grow with the faculty,” he said.
John Wardle, Principal Architect at JWA, said the firm has been inspired by the themes set out by the Faculty from the start.
“At its heart the building is planned around a massive open chamber, and this hall is both highly specific in its intention to inspire collaborative activity and broad flexibility, predicting new modes of learning that must be accommodated in response to a constantly changing curriculum.”
Scheduled for completion in 2015, the new building exhibition will take place from February 27 to March 17 in the Wunderlich Gallery in the current Faculty of Architecture Building.
More details are available at http://www.msd.unimelb.edu.au/events/newbuilding/
