Swinburne University of Technology has completed its new ‘front door’, and the Advanced Technologies Centre (ATC) is now open for research and teaching at Hawthorn campus in Melbourne.

The $140 million building represents the largest investment in the university's 100 year history, the final design, developed by Melbourne-based H2o architects.

Images by Paul Jones

The brief called for the building to be positioned to showcase the university to the community.

The street frontage of the ATC is dominated by a massive Smart Structures Laboratory which houses equipment that can apply extreme loads to buildings. The transparent design means allows the public to watch as scientists and engineers work within, interestingly enough, on construction materials.

Alongside the laboratory are social and teaching spaces, including a 500 seat lecture theatre that will also be used to host public forums and community events.

Behind the building’s three-storey front section are two towers, each 10 storeys high. One is dedicated to research and the other is reserved for the education of tertiary, postgraduate and TAFE students.

Interlinking the cluster of buildings is a series of hanging bridges, cobbled alleyways and landscaped lanes that were designed to give the feel of inner city Melbourne.

With land in short supply at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus, the building had to maximise the available space within a 2000 sqm footprint. The final design by H2o architects delivered a 20 per cent increase in campus size.

Importantly, the client also opted for a design that embodied sustainability principles.

Sustainability initiatives include the use of recycled materials, rainwater capture, lighting that adjusts in response to natural daylight levels and the building’s management system which, through its link to the Bureau of Meteorology, can predict changes in weather. The centre’s two massive towers are also sheathed in a facade that provides an insulating thermal mass.

The project was one of the first educational buildings to register for five Green Stars, when the Green Building Council of Australia toll was released.

Dr Andrew Smith, director of Swinburne's Facilities and Services Group, noted it was the first 5 Green Star rating awarded an education building in the country.

Smith said the transparent design was taken to ensure that the university’s technological endeavours were on show and not hidden in a back lot.

“It is about the university inviting the public to gaze in and participate for a moment in Swinburne’s long-standing love affair with the technology needs of industrial and post-industrial societies,” he said.

The Advanced Technologies Centre is located at 427-451 Burwood Road, Hawthorn.

Architecture & Design Team

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