The new Deakin Law School Building in Melbourne by Woods Bagot is described by principal Sarah Ball as ‘intentionally non-institutional and as a ‘campus lighthouse.’
The five-level building includes flexible, active learning spaces in a move away from the traditional lecture theatre typology. Technology bars, group pods and individual spaces for connection or private study offer both a sense of formality and informality. The building’s arresting geometry derives from the mix of non-traditional learning spaces contained within.
In support of student health and wellbeing, two levels of the building are entirely designated as places for student retreat and contemplation on campus. A Wellness Garden, located between the building and Gardeners Creek Reserve includes a wide array of native plants, stones, and a deconstructed creek with tiered seating. On the fifth level, a Winter Garden offers a three-meter-high vertical plant wall with floor-to-ceiling glass louvres.
An orchestrated contrast of masses from the exterior, the main lift and circulation tower to the west of the building is solid and iconic in expression and form with sculpted, concrete panels that capture and play with light and shadow throughout the day. The large volume containing the tiered presentation space is clad with zinc and articulated as a curved, organic extrusion.
Located on the northwest edge of the university campus, the building site was previously largely disconnected from much of the campus as a result of a waterway that cuts the campus in two. A new bridge completed during the construction of the Law School has since provided a feeling of connection as well as a dramatic entry point.
