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Joondalup, Perth, Australia
fjmt + spowers
With a thorny reptilian crown, fjmt’s new Chancellery building and business school puts Edith Cowan University on the map
By Christopher Moore
Sitting atop a prominent hill in the Perth suburb of Joondalup, Australia, this university facility, designed by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt), in collaboration with Hassell as associate architect, peeks above the treetops like a crown. Inspired by the native xanthorrhoea plant, a grass tree common in Perth, these four buildings house the school of business, the vice chancellor’s offices, and the administrative center for Edith Cowan University’s Joondalup campus.
One of the most remote cities on Earth, Perth sits on the far western coast of Australia. The nearest city of significant population is a 28-hour drive east. Richard Francis-Jones, fjmt’s design director, believes this geographic isolation didn’t directly impact his firm’s design, but did give it a freedom rarely experienced in its projects on Australia’s east coast. “This really is a frontier site. The work we normally do is within a tight urban context where the overriding consideration is dealing with the surrounding built environment. Here, though not a completely natural, rural site, we had the opportunity to expand further on our vision.”
Edith Cowan was instrumental in women obtaining the vote in Australia, and she appears on the Australian $50 bill. She established a school to train teachers in Perth in 1902, and the university that grew out of the original site of the school is now the second largest in Western Australia. Consisting of three metropolitan campuses and one rural campus, it has more than 23,000 students enrolled.
Contributing to the youngest of the four campuses, this 150,000-square-foot complex consists of two triangular volumes that form a public plaza, with a third linear complex consisting of two buildings. The signature of the project is its striking use of timber spines that fan upward from nearly horizontal to fully vertical at their apex. Built from jarrah, an Australian hardwood that is beautifully grained, rich in color, hardy, and resilient, the struts fan upward and outward, giving the design a sense of majesty. On one side, this curving form frames the vista of a nearby lake and spacious green lawn; on the other side, it opens wide in a welcoming gesture to the main arterial road into the city. “This is a city with a lot of growing to do,” Francis-Jones explains. “We wanted to create a sense of aspiration in the design for the staff and students of the university, as well as an urban landmark for the city.”
Want the full story? Read the entire article in our March 2006 issue.
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the People
Owner
Edith Cowan University
Architect
fjmt architects
Level 5 MCA
140 George Street
Sydney 2000
T: 61 2 9251 7077
F: 61 2 9251 7072
www.fjmt.com.au
Design team:
Richard Francis-Jones, David Haseler,
Elizabeth Carpenter, Lance White, Justin Wong, Jason Wedesweiler, Olivia Shih, Johnathan Redman, Matthew Todd
Spowers Architects Pty Ltd.
Podium Level, Central Park
152-158 St. Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000
T: 61 8 9288 8500
F: 61 8 9322 5729
E: perth@spowers.com.au
www.spowers.com.au
Design team:
Graham Bedford, Phil Skeels, Brenden Kelly, Jurg Hunziker, Phil Stejskal, John Crabtree, Joe Santoro, Tony Naso
Engineer(s)
Structural:
Bruechle Gilchrist & Evans www.bgeperth.com.au
Hydraulic:
RC Oma Design Services
Mechanical Serices:
BCA
Consultants
Electrical & Lift Services:
Engineering Technology Consultants
Wind Engineers:
MEL Consultants
Fire Engineers:
Arup Fire www.arup.com
Consultant(s)
Landscape:
Tract (WA)
Acoustical:
Arup Acoustics www.arup.com
Environmental Services:
Advanced Environmental Concepts
Building Code Surveyors:
John Massey Group
Quantity Surveyors:
Ralph Beattie Bosworth
Programmers:
James Clark & Associates
Furniture:
Duro Consultancy
General contractor
John Holland www.johnholland.com.au
Photographer(s)
John Gollings
61 3 9537 0733
CAD system, project management, or other software used
MicroStation www.bentley.com, Autocad usa.autodesk.com, FormZ www.formz.com
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the Products
Exterior cladding
Masonry:
Midland Brick, Joondalup Red
Metal curtainwall:
Symonite Aluminum composite
Wood:
Jarrah, timber engineered structures
Roofing
Metal:
Bluescope “Spandeck Hi –ten” Zincalume Finish www.bluescopesteel.com.au
Windows
Aluminum:
Capral Aluminium Framing System
Doors
Entrances:
Capral aluminum
Metal doors:
Capral aluminum
Hardware
Locksets:
Lockwood
Closers:
Dorma www.dorma-usa.com
Pulls:
Dalco
Cabinet hardware:
Hafele www.hafele.com
Interior finishes
Acoustical ceilings:
Armstrong mineral fibre www.armstrong.com
Suspension grid:
Armstrong www.armstrong.com
Paints and stains:
– Generally Taubmans
– Dulux Ferreko (Steel Work) www.dulux.com
Plastic laminate:
Laminex www.laminex.com.au
Resilient flooring:
Tarkets vinyl
Carpet:
Cavalier Bremworth www.cavbrem.co.nz
Lighting
Interior ambient lighting:
Austube www.austube.com.au
Exterior:
WE-EF www.we-ef.com.au
Conveyance
Elevators:
Kone www.kone.com
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