Swanston Academic Building

Photo: An aerial view of the location of the future Swanston Academic Building and the Swanston A’Beckett Building.

An aerial view of the location of the future Swanston Academic Building and the Swanston A’Beckett Building.

Photo: The Swanston Academic Building will add a vibrant presence to Swanston Street. Courtesy: Lyons Architects

The Swanston Academic Building will add a vibrant presence to Swanston Street. Courtesy: Lyons Architects

  • Swanston Academic Building vision
  • Location
  • Features in brief
  • Project update
  • Timeline
  • Consultants
  • News

      • Swanston Academic Building vision

    • Consolidation of City campus
    • Teaching and learning spaces for the future
    • Study, recreation and retails spaces

      • The future Swanston Academic Building (SAB) is RMIT’s biggest investment in a teaching and learning facility to date. The Swanston Academic Building is also the largest construction project that RMIT has ever undertaken. The building will cover a Ground Floor Area (GFA) of 40,000 square metres, will be between 12 and 14 storeys high and will form a significant part of RMIT University’s “Swanston Street precinct.”

      Consolidation of City campus

      One of the main purposes of the Swanston Academic Building is to consolidate RMIT’s three academic colleges – Business (BUS), Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) and Design and Social Context (DSC) – on to the Swanston Street campus.

      The College of Business offers TAFE, undergraduate and postgraduate programs over a range of disciplines, including accounting, law, business IT, economics, finance, marketing and management. The number of College of Business students accounts for over a third of the overall student population.

      The Business cohort of students and staff are currently located in Bourke Street and are several blocks away from the heart of the City campus, which is bordered by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell and Franklin Streets.

      The future Swanston Academic Building will be the new home for the College of Business staff and students will be able to fully engage with the rest of the student and staff community on the City campus and have a richer university experience.

      Teaching and learning spaces for the future

      The future Swanston Academic Building will be distinguished by innovative, state-of-the-art learning and teaching facilities – the features of which are shaped by input from RMIT academic staff – and are available to the entire City campus.

      Since May this year, Lyons architects and Damien Bonnice, an RMIT-based project manager for the Swanston Academic Building, have consulted extensively with a wide range of academic staff to gather information about their current (and future) learning and teaching methodologies (pedagogies) and the types of learning and teaching spaces that will enhance their teaching practice.

      Student feedback will also inform the shaping of the future teaching and learning spaces.

      Staff and student consultation concluded at the end of July, 2008.

      Study, recreation and retail spaces

      The Swanston Academic Building will also introduce more student study and recreation spaces on to the City campus.

      Students are being consulted about their study space needs and plans for spaces designed for either solitary or group study are being drawn up.

      Student recreational areas and retail outlets selected to meet students’ needs and budgets will also form part of the Swanston Academic Building.

      Location

      The future Swanston Academic Building will occupy the vacant Swanston Street car park next to the Oxford Hotel, on the corner of Swanston and A’Beckett Streets, and the neighouring RMIT Building 48, at 449 Swanston Street, which is set to be demolished in 2009.

      The Swanston Academic Building will be built around the historic Oxford Scholar Hotel and will be flanked by Swanston, A’Beckett and Stewart Streets.

      A second development for RMIT University will be built behind the Swanston Academic Building. The 10.000m2 Swanston A’Beckett Building will be the new home for RMIT’s ITS (Information Technology Services), People and Culture (Human Resources) and the Academic Registrar.

      Features in brief

      The multi-purpose Swanston Academic Building will:

      • Provide state-of-the-art learning and teaching facilities for the University community
      • Be the new home for RMIT’s College of Business
      • Set the bar high with innovative, sustainable design practices, which include:
        • harvesting of water off the roof for flushing toilets
        • the filtering of natural light into the building through horizontal atriums, which will reduce the need for electric lighting
      • Introduce more student recreation and study spaces to the City campus; some of the proposed spaces include:
        • a group debating café
        • text screen arcades
        • informal student areas for collaboration and networking
        • a rooftop learning space.
      • Allocate space for retail use

      Project update

    • May – August 2008
    • April 2008

      • May – August 2008

      Lyons has conducted detailed briefings with academic staff from College of Business Schools, the College of Science Engineering and Technology (SET), the College of Design and Social Context (DSC), executive staff from the Student Services Group and student representatives to gain feedback on teaching and learning resource needs and student-centred study and recreation spaces.

      After the completion of the staff and student briefing, architects will then begin the Swanston Academic Building schematic design, in which concepts and themes are converted into preliminary drawings and the building’s scale, appearance and its proximity to adjacent buildings are explored.

      RMIT is also documenting the design, development and construction process of the Swanston Academic Building.

      Sue Johnston, from the Program and Courseware Enhancement (PaCE) team in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) is managing this multi-faceted project. The University is undertaking to:

      • photograph the progress of the project using two high-quality, time-lapse still photographic cameras;
      • conduct video interviews with key personnel, such as project managers and architects;
      • provide video and still-photographic coverage on site at ground level, of soil investigations, demolition, excavation, foundation laying, construction, finishing and landscaping; and
      • collect project documentation.

      The wider community was also given the opportunity to comment on the Swanston Academic Building and the Emily McPherson Building – currently under refurbishment – at the “Help us design a new home for business” information evening that ran on Wednesday, 30 July.

      Around 100 guests from the business community, government, the architecture profession and the education sector attended the information session to meet the architects, view presentations on the building and refurbishment projects, ask questions and provide feedback. Read more.

      April 2008

      The Swanston Academic Building project vision and concept was introduced to all RMIT Pro-Vice Chancellors and Heads of Schools at a workshop that ran in April.

      A further presentation for staff and students was also held.

      Timeline

      Briefing/feasibility/Masterplan

      end July 2008

      Schematic design

      end November 2008

      Design development

      May 2009

      Construction documentation

      October 2009

      Building 48 decanting

      April 2009

      Building 48 demolition/early works

      November 2009

      Construction completion

      2011

      Consultants

      RMIT Project Manager

      Damien Bonnice

      Client Relations Manager

      Tony Metherell

      Architect

      Lyons Architects

      Structural Engineer

      Bonnaci Group

      Services Consultant

      Bassett

      Building Surveyor

      TBA

      Quantity Surveyor

      TBA

      News

      Getting down to the Business of buildings

      RMIT Openline, Friday, 22 August, 2008

      RMIT University recently showcased two major building projects that form a significant part of the University’s $500 million capital works program.

      RMIT to build business school

      Australian Financial Review, Tuesday, 29 July, 2008

      A new home for its business school and a large commercial building will form the heart of a $200 million plus redevelopment of part of RMIT University’s substantial land holdings.

      RMIT to pamper business students

      The Age, Tuesday, 29 July, 2008, Page 3

      RMIT business students could be treated to such digital delights as a “group debating café”, “text screen arcades” and an interactive grassy knoll when the university’s most expensive academic building opens around 2011.

      [Next: Gallery – SAB interio]