Norwegian practice Snohetta, which is responsible for the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York and the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, will join South Australian (SA) firm JPE Design Studio and JamFactory in designing University of South Australia’s (UniSA) flagship Great Hall.
The new $38.5 million development in Adelaide will be Snohetta’s first Australian project, and is expected to transform on-campus life when completed.
“We are aiming for an inspiring design that is architecturally expressive,” says UniSA’s Vice Chancellor, Professor David Lloyd, adding that the project is planned as the heart of the campus.
“Most of all we want the Great Hall to be a place students will remember fondly long after they graduate and one which gradates will want to return to – it will be a place where achievements and milestones are celebrate.”
The Great Hall will include sports facilities, a swimming pool, a landscaped plaza, and facilities for graduations, examinations and corporate and cultural functions. Although planned primarily for students, staff and alumni, it will also be a public draw card in the CBD.
“It will contribute a new vibrancy to the City West campus and the West End and promote renewed investment in commercial services along Hindley Street,” says Professor Lloyd.
The proposed site is adjacent to the recently finished Jeffrey Smart Learning Centre designed by John Wardle and Phillips/Pilkington, currently occupied by the City West Child Care Centre and former Cargo Club building – both which will be demolished following the relocation of the Centre to new premises.
Jeffrey Smart Learning Centre by John Wardle and Phillips/Pilkington. Photography: Jim McGuinness
