VISION 44 — QUIET LIGHT
Five practices in search of one cohesive whole might
appear problematic, but the results defy the resulting
fragmentation of too many voices. With many of the
designers either former RMIT students or current
academic staff, it appears as if the design studios
wanted to honour the institution and Peter Corrigan’s
totemic Building 8. Under the broad direction of Lyons,
the architectural team comprised MvS Architects,
NMBW Architecture Studio, Harrison and White,
Maddison Architects and landscape architects
Taylor Cullity Leathlean.
The teams’ creative thrust primarily occurs behind
and beyond the existing blocks, rising to a crescendo
of rooftop gardens and recreational areas. Facilitating
the creative endeavours by five practices, Viridian
ScalaSeraphic™ glass provides delicate veils across
numerous atria while areas illuminated via PerformaTech™
are distinguished by clarity and light transmission.
The construction program stretches most of a city
block and converts internal congestion and gloom
into spatial vibrancy. Voids, staircases and escalators
all drive circulation where indoor/outdoor spaces reflect
a response to the rooftop gardens, funky cubicles and
footbridges – the kind of ‘sticky’ spaces that keep
students connected to each other and their studies.
Previous page View from above Bowen
Street – parallel to Swanston Street – towards
the key elements of the project as a merger
of old and new. The new mood towards
permeability and socially sustainable spaces
is most evident.
Right Student engagement and privacy are
enhanced through voids and flexible interiors
offering communal and private spaces.