An artist’s impression of Stage 1 of the new UNSW Canberra city campus, viewed from Constitution Avenue. Images: Hassell.
Plans for the first stage of UNSW Canberra’s new campus in the City East by Lake Burley Griffin have been submitted to the National Capital Authority for approval.
Stage 1 will be built on a section of the surface carpark on Constitution Avenue opposite CIT Reid and cater for 660 students.
It will be the first of four stages which when completed will deliver a campus for 5000 students and transform dirt carparks and the ageing CIT site into a new tertiary education and research centre in Canberra.
The works application (WA) comes after the ACT Government approved UNSW Canberra’s masterplan for the site and a redesign last year of the two six-storey buildings in Stage 1 in response to feedback from the National Capital Design Review Panel.
The proposed Building 1 on the prominent corner of Coranderrk Street and Constitution Avenue will now have a smooth and rounded shape instead of mostly sheer vertical walls, as well as a large internal atrium.
Project architect Hassell also updated the façade to Building 2 on Constitution Avenue, and both buildings will now step back from the streetfront on the upper floor.
The two buildings will deliver almost 20,000 sqm of floor space between them and be connected by bridges at upper levels.
The site plan for Stage 1 of the new UNSW Canberra campus.
The new buildings, to be known as Parkes West and East, will host teaching and research spaces, retail offerings, cultural and student-focused spaces, facilities for new and existing industry partners, and a new courtyard space, Parkes Green.
The ground to level 2 floors will contain a mix of teaching, event and community spaces, while UNSW workspaces and research areas for research partners of varying scales and levels of security will fill the upper levels.
The buildings will sit on a single level basement with 98 parking spaces, services and end-of-trip facilities, with an access driveway to the south of Building 1.
A new perimeter ring road (Parkes Road south) will be built, with access from Constitution Avenue at the eastern end of the block and a 150-m slip lane for eastbound traffic only from Parkes Way.
Undeveloped areas of the block will remain as temporary surface parking, and when combined with the basement will provide 503 spaces – 37 short of requirements, but the proponent considers this adequate.
The new development will add 152 traffic movements to the current 390 during peak hour, according to the traffic report. This was not expected to significantly impact nearby intersections although the report acknowledges that they are already under pressure.
Building 1 will address the prominent corner of Constitution Avenue and Corenderrk Street.
The works will require the bulldozing of 100 trees but 99 will be retained in the eastern carpark portion of the site and there will be new plantings, mainly natives but also deciduous shade varieties in internal spaces as part of the landscaping plan.
A second row of trees along the Constitution Avenue frontage is proposed to strengthen the green buffer and provide amenity.
Open spaces within Stage 1 include a main concourse spine, paths that link a series of ‘outdoor rooms’, and shade trees along open corridors.
Landscaped terraces on level one and four of Building 1 will provide spaces for outdoor events.
Climate and sustainability measures include facades with vertical sunshading blades, rooftop solar arrays, and rainwater harvesting to irrigate green spaces.
A system of internal laneways will provide movement throughout the site and the pedestrian links will connect to Constitution Avenue and public transport stops.
The timeline for the project continues to be pushed back. This application was expected in mid-2024 with construction due to start in 2024-25 but 2025-26 is now likely with a completion date of 2028, two years later than first envisioned.
UNSW envisages 14 buildings across the entire site to be completed by the second half of the next decade. The city campus will focus on cybersecurity, robotics, artificial intelligence, engineering, and space.
It will complement the existing ADFA campus in Campbell.
The ACT Government provided the 8 ha of land at a peppercorn lease and agreed to spend $25 million with the university throughout its development and remediate the site.
Comments on the WA close on 23 May.
