Buchan’s innovative design for the new North Plant building provides additional heating and cooling capacity for the expanding campus. It resolves architecturally as a large, sculptural form. Pre-finished, pre-cast concrete walls provide structural, material and erection economies with low maintenance. Screens surrounding the cooling towers to address acoustic requirements are faced with a selection of composite metal finishes chosen to create a striking façade that will age over time.
Buchan’s design for Lecture Theatre 213 comprises two 200-seat lecture theatres totalling approximately 1,000sqm. The building sits between the Centre for Aboriginal Studies and the existing Elizabeth Jolley Lecture Theatre Complex, both designed by Buchan. A dramatic covered way on the south side links the new building to the existing lecture theatre and intersects a landscaped corridor between the two buildings.
Sustainability and energy use are a focus, with generous overhangs to the eastern, western and southern glazed areas, and minimal solar exposure to the internal spaces of the building.