A student’s experience on campus, the many ways that their environment supports and encourages all facets of learning, is at the forefront of our thinking when designing an educational building. Different settings are choreographed to suit varying pedagogical approaches. There is a constant, a starting point for all learning, and that is curiosity – we seek to make learning environments that spur the curious on to discover and understand more.

We immerse ourselves in the world of our clients – whether it be Antarctic research, educational methods, analysis of the brain, studio teaching, or materials technology. Our design approach always seeks the best resolution between urban context, site response, architectural expression, sustainable strategies and learning activities within. There is no standard template for this.

The settings for learning must offer diversity and choice to students and to teachers. Informal learning spaces that are not timetabled allow students to widen the band of learning around the formal class, with conversation before and after class. They also allow for quiet study within a shared community. These spaces are fundamentally important to the buzz of a building – the reason why students want to stay on campus. Nooks and crannies, occupied edges, raking studies, suspended platforms, and sunken lounges, all contribute to a theatre of learning.

The materials that we use to construct a new building will speak to a community’s values. The care with which we assemble those materials is akin to the care with which we teach each generation. Materials and detail also impact upon the senses, engaging the curious mind. A brick pattern can seem mathematical, a steel plate window expresses precision, and a timber desk accepts the patina of history.

For us, creating a positive campus experience begins with creating buildings that support a community of learning that includes staff, researchers and students. A sense of collegiality between fellow students, and of belonging to their environment, demystifies and makes learning a participatory, shared experience. We strive to create a distinct sense of place that remains a valuable part of a student’s life journey that resonates well into the future.