Educational Facility, Wollongong University

In the most remote part of the TAFE (Technical And Further Education) Campus at Moss Vale, Murcutt and Lewin have designed a pavilion for the University of Wollongong, completing it in 2007, after two years of work. A long volume is positioned perpendicularly to the street by the other existing volumes, thus formally defining the edge of the park in which it is located. This intention is expressed by the form of the building, which has a solid brick wall on the side nearest the external part of the college, while the broken profile of the roof and the windows covering the entire wall facing the garden characterize the other side. The arrangement creates a sense of protection from the existing buildings, towards which the solid wall defining the edge only opens in one point, where the common area is located. From this hall, near the entrance, one reaches a sequence of spaces reserved for the staff and for teaching. As the functional areas require more space, the corridor bends, and the rhythm of the uprights of the casing on the facade thus accelerates. The sensation of the increased – or decreased – intensity is not merely a visual impression, it is also manifested by the spatiality created by the succession of five ramps rising from the entrance towards the opposite side, in the direction of the other pavilions. The roof also contributes to define the contrasting relationship between the static solidity of the spaces enclosed by the curtain of brick and the dynamic character of the glazed space. The idea of serenity, cornerstone of Murcutt’s architecture, which he has always achieved through a skilful equilibrium between static and dynamic spaces, within a harmonious composition aimed at creating a measured rhythm, is here enriched by a dynamic effect of acceleration, which marks the introduction of a new element in the production of the architect.