UniSA Mt Gambier Learning Centre

The university’s central, linear “piazza” welcomes all, and reads as an oversized lounge, with natural light flooding the informal and banquette seating from skylights overhead. The gas log fire zone is popular here in winter, and a large–format abstract carpet depicts a pixelated aerial view of the region in a colourful talking point for students and visitors. Teaching, learning, administration and support services branch off from this central spine as lower-height wings, as does a prominent and flexibly planned lecture auditorium with retractable bleachers.

During the early briefing process, we learned that up to 90 per cent of the university cohort was female. With many of these students mature-aged and travelling from far-flung areas to study nursing, social work, education and business courses, understanding how to support this demographic would be crucial. Modelled on the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and Mount Gambier Hospital, we incorporated clones of local and metropolitan nursing wards and birthing suites. These realistic simulated environments improve regional student familiarity during metropolitan placements and encourage employment mobility.

Catering for Mt Gambier’s rapid growth, the building triples the size of UniSA’s facilities in the area, with a fourfold increase in student capacity. A high-speed fibre optic connection ensures local students can access resources at the same rate as their metropolitan counterparts.

Importantly, the project also provided crucial economic stimulus in the region, with BADGE Constructions awarding $4.5m in work to 30 subcontractors and suppliers from the Limestone Coast. Despite the building’s complexity, the project ran to time and budget, and a fully coordinated building information model helped to minimise waste throughout construction.