Building 94 was built to accommodate the RMIT TAFE School of Design, RMIT TAFE Library and other associated facilities and comprises of 7,350 sq. m. useable floor area, in a building of 10,200 sq. m. gross. The building allows the existing programs run by the RMIT TAFE School of Design to expand their student numbers and facilitates the creation of new programs. It has been designed to accommodate the increasing high technology demands of courses and the increased level of integration between RMIT TAFE and RMIT’s of higher education facilities. The project was funded by the OFTE in order to create a centre of design excellence at the TAFE level of education in Melbourne. It will compete with other centres already established in Adelaide and Perth.
The building is a six-level building comprising a basement and five upper levels. Basement, ground and first floors fully cover the site and the upper floors are set back as a single entity. A setback of 6m to the north and a light well have been utilised on the upper floors to maximise the amount of natural light available to the building. As a result most classrooms have external windows and views.
Information of building 94
From Cardigan Street, the building is designed with a number of different entry points to the various users of the building. The main entry serves the ground floor while a major external stair gives access to the first and second floor. This gives each of the major users in the building a street address.
The ground and first floor on Cardigan Street are treated as expansively as possible.
The wheel chair access is treated as a colonnade, the Department of Visual Merchandising's shopwindows are
placed facing Cardigan Street. The
structural columns visible on the
street are treated sculpturally. The
facade on the first floor facing
Cardigan Street is tiled in two
different glass mosaic tiles - a
grey putty colour over the
shopwindow, aqua green over the
School of Design's gallery.
RMIT BUILDING 94
TAFE School of Design
Architects: Allan Powell Pty Ltd with Pels Innes Nielson Kosloff
Completed: 1996
Alan Powell is an alumni of the RMIT Master of Architecture - Invited Program