University of Melbourne Student Pavilion / KoningEizenberg Architecture

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The design of the building features an exposed concrete skeleton, combined with sustainably harvested wood, to create an exuberant and environmentally progressive identity. Shaped columns sculpt the interior spaces, rising from the ground to the rooftop to support the concrete floors and roof.Text description provided by the architects.Driven by student input on diversity, gender equity, well-being, and sustainability, the Student Pavilion provides a home on the University of Melbourne campus for students to study and linger. Located within the new Student Precinct, it expands services for commuter students by providing informal dining, study, arts, meeting and event spaces that they can use at liberty during the day.Containing spaces that focus exclusively on welcome and inclusion, the Pavilion offers relaxed and robust settings for student life, free of classrooms. Occupiable outdoor spaces, projecting balconies, rooftop gardens, and exterior circulation on all levels create a hub of visible activity.The building is part of a master plan effort (designed in collaboration with local architects) to create a Student Precinct with updated campus amenities. The Precinct also aims to reinstate the precolonial landscape and highlight the cultural significance of its traditional owners. The University is pursuing a GBC Australia “6-Star” rating, equivalent to LEED Platinum.The building’s expression is reinforced by the use of sustainable materials as well as visible passive and active environmental strategies. Sustainable features and gestures of inclusion merge in the building’s most distinctive features: photovoltaics shade a rooftop landscaped outdoor space, large expanses of glazing offer visibility inside and out, seating spills from the indoors to the outdoors at all levels, wood siding highlights nature, and the circulation is organized to extend a strong invitation to all students that they are free to use the whole building.