While many of these conversations might be sector specific, others blur boundaries. In education, for example, how might the role of the campus change into the future? How can a spatial brief be shaped to reflect a certain pedagogical approach? Can other sectors play a role in shaping a university’s future vision? Our current work for the University of Tasmania recasts the campus as a community asset, a place where business, industry, community and the University can connect and collaborate. Learning is made accessible to the cleverest, but also the profoundly disadvantaged. 

When we consider the office of the near future, how might workplaces be reconfigured if people decide to work from home more often? Two things we have learnt: we can all work more flexibly by connecting virtually, and the physical office still provides an essential place to connect. How we each find a balance between flexibility and collegiality in the future will be important. As both workplace and home overlap even further, what does this mean spatially for next generation office buildings?

We have been thinking about these questions and more.

So how does a strategy-led design process work? In many ways. A survey of leading research and best-practice examples in relevant fields. Understanding how learnings from one sector might apply to another. A site selection study to assist in identifying organisational priorities. A yield study that incorporates benefits to the public realm – a certain measure of future development. Rather than a traditional masterplan, an urban design framework that provides a flexible and responsive approach to development. The process is exploratory. It draws on diverse contributions and seeks to find a solution rather than impose one.