Teaching and Learning
The Project is committed to providing students with practical experience and exposure to the Project through the integration of teaching and learning opportunities into the Project’s core activities, and by supporting the use of the Project as a ‘real-world’ case study for curricular subjects across multiple faculties.
Providing teaching and learning opportunities for students also supports the Project’s aim of co-creating the Project with students. Through these engagements students can benefit from the ‘real world’ experience of working on a major project and feed their ideas, knowledge and aspirations directly into the Project.
Teaching And Learning Initiatives To Date
Curricular Coursework
Derisking the NSP Mainworks
The class assumed the completion of Early Works in the New Student Precinct site, and that the start of the main contractor tendering phase had commenced. The NSP Project Team provided project documentation to the class, presented to the students and facilitated a site tour.
Studio 10: Architecture as Memory IV - Student Centre @ Fishermans Bend Campus
Using the New Student Precinct Project as a case study for user-centred design, the NSP Project Team and lead architect presented to the class and provided feedback to students during studio crit sessions to inform the developing designs and strategies for student works.
Studio 44: Radical Classroom
This masters studio, led in collaboration with NSP Lead Architects Lyons and Architecture Associates, explored the design of a new John Smyth Building as gateway into the New Student Precinct and campus from Swanston Street.
Developing an Engineering Project Management Plan
As part of the Master of Engineering Management Capstone subject, students worked in groups to complete a Project Management Plan, using the current construction phase of the Precinct as a case study.
Rolling out the Welcome Mat
Master of Architecture students participated in a Design Studio to develop designs for the Precinct’s arrival landscape. Designs focused on creating a sense of arrival and place, forming a new focal point for student life on campus.
Designing the Inclusive University
As part of a Design Studio, Master of Architecture students proposed interventions to buildings across the University, including those within the existing Precinct, to improve site accessibility for all users.
Construction Procurement Methods
Master of Construction Management students explored a typical tender and bidding process for the procurement of consultant services using the Precinct as a case study.
Designing Green Roofs and Walls
Using the Frank Tate Building in the Precinct as a case study, Urban Horticulture students presented designs for a green roof, including stormwater retention and irrigation requirements.
Designing for Heat in the Public Domain
Melbourne School of Design students explored how the Precinct can maximise efficiency throughout the year by using smart design solutions for every season.
Risk Management in Construction
Master of Construction Management students considered risks associated with construction on a precinct-scale, developing a Risk Management Plan that identified, analysed and mitigated risk using the Precinct as a case study.
LandscapeMATERIALITIES: Student Activated Structures
Students at the Melbourne School of Design participated in an elective Design Studio to explore and design temporary, multipurpose outdoor furniture for specific spaces in and around the Precinct.
PERFORM: Desigining Spaces for Creative Events
Master of Architecture students participated in a Design Studio in collaboration with the Precinct Project’s cultural partners, Arts Centre Melbourne, to design a creative events space for the Arts Centre, that could have similar applications in the Precinct’s future amphitheatre.
Urban Soils, Substrates and Water
Urban Horticulture students explored issues relating to soil management in urban environments, using the Precinct as a case study. Students focused on the effects of paved surfaces on the composition of substrates and tree root systems in the Precinct, investigating methods of improving soil, substrate and water conditions in urban environments.
Research Projects
Research @ The Living Pavilion
The Living Pavilion would not have been possible without the team of hard working researchers behind the project. The New Student Precinct team would like to thank all of the researchers involved.
Microclimates in the New Student Precinct
Using the Precinct as a testing ground, Landscape Architecture PhD student, Wendy Walls is investigating how temperatures can change in relation to local spatial conditions and fluctuations in atmospheric qualities.
A Framework for 21st Century Campus Identity
Master of Architecture student, Zachariah Dahdoule proposed strategies to mitigate the depletion of teaching and learning spaces during construction and development at Parkville Campus through his thesis, focusing on the development of the Precinct and proposed development of the Melbourne School of Engineering site.
Data-Driven Adaptive Urbanism
Master of Architecture student Alex Morse explored how people utilise, engage with and adapt public spaces. Using the Precinct Project’s Grow Room activation as a case study for his thesis, Alex developed prototypes for sensory analysis of space utilisation with the aim of informing public space design.
Co-creation Postdoctoral Research
Dr Rimi Khan from the Melbourne Social Equity Institute has commenced research on 'cultural complexity' in University communities using both the New Student Precinct as a case study and examining the role of educational institutions in developing and supporting cultural diversity and inclusion.