A view of the Academy of Interactive Entertainment’s proposed Stage 1 expansion. Image: NBA Architecture.
The development of a Hollywood-style film studio in Canberra is a step closer with a development application lodged for the Stage 1 expansion of the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) campus in Watson.
The $38 million project is the first part of a three-stage campus renewal program for the not-for-profit, specialist educator in games, animation, film and visual effects that has been established on the site since 1996.
The expansion has been more than a decade in the making. It will eventually include a combination of sound stages, editing suites and virtual production technology – together with accommodation for students and staff of up to 580 people.
It’s also expected to provide hundreds of jobs for film students from the AIE campuses in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and Seattle and Lafayette in the US, and online.
AIE acquired the site in a direct sale arrangement from the ACT Government and plans a $200 million investment in Canberra over 20 years.
Stage 1 will be built on Block 4, Section 13 and consist of a higher education campus to bring together games and film education, research and screen productions.
The remaining two stages are proposed for the adjoining Block 2.
The proposed main AIE building.
Stage 1 will involve three buildings – the double-storey main building, a single-storey student production hall that will rise to 15 metres high at its apex and a single-storey student workshop.
All existing activities on the current AIE site will transfer to the new precinct, which will provide technology-intensive learning spaces, student facilities, film production amenities, a sound stage and a workshop.
The proposal also includes an electrical substation, internal road, landscaping, carparking, demolition works and new driveway verge crossing.
The existing asphalt tennis courts and a stormwater line will need to be removed, as will 68 trees, including 13 mature trees. But most of these will be replaced with new plantings, including 42 exotic deciduous species as part of the landscaping plan.
The proposal features a landscaped boulevard that incorporates Ngunnawal cultural values, sensory engagement and native plant use.
AIE says the Stage 1 buildings should be completed by June 2027, but wants to occupy the student production hall and workshop before then to meet the needs of staff and students currently located in the adjacent Canberra Technology Park.
It also wants to change the lease to reduce the minimum gross floor area (GFA) requirement so it can reduce the originally proposed height of the main AIE campus building to two storeys and enable on-site parking.
The proposed AIE studio.
Stage 1 is expected to accommodate about 177 to 207 people on-site, including 118 of the 188 full-time, on-campus students enrolled at AIE, 29 AIE staff, 30 industry partners, and 30 production personnel, who occasionally visit the site.
The Traffic Report says 62 new car parking spaces will be provided within Block 4 to go with the 154 existing car parking spaces within Block 2.
Vehicles accessing the site will be via Phillip Avenue, with the driveway opposite Bradfield Street to be rebuilt and reopened to traffic.
Two scenarios have been provided for peak hour traffic – about 170 to 198 vehicle trips per hour, and 149 to 173 vehicle trips per hour.
AIE says Stage 2 of the campus Masterplan is expected to be completed before 2031.
It will further expand AIE’s film production capability and introduce student accommodation for domestic and international students.
Plans also include the continuation of the internal access road to provide two entry/exit points on the site.
Underground parking could also be on the table, but AIE plans to keep using the existing carpark on this block, as well as the new carpark on Block 4.
The third and final stage is slated to be completed before 2040, and includes further underground parking and student accommodation.
A new carpark will have 62 spaces.
The project is the brainchild of entrepreneur John De Margheriti, founder of AIE and the Canberra Technology Park, and the man regarded as the ‘father of the Australian game industry’, who sees an opportunity to develop the film industry in Australia.
“I want to create something special for Canberra so that we can get more Hollywood-scale films made here,” he told Region in 2023.
The facility will provide producers with all the latest tech they could need, including large LED virtual production screens, such as those used to create the graphic backdrops in Disney’s The Mandalorian and Netflix’s 1899.
“We’re also doing it because it gives our graduates the opportunities to do more work in films,” Mr De Margheriti said.
“They effectively get paid to break into the industry.”
The DA is open for comment until 7 November.
