Boola Katitjin, Murdoch University
“Our brief was to create a building that respected and expanded the character of the current campus with its bush courtyards and colonnades. The Lyons team have excelled in meeting this brief. They have truly created an extraordinarily innovative concept that will stand the test of time and will meet all of our aspirations and needs over coming years.”
Andrew Weston, Associate Director Capital Delivery, Murdoch University
Building 360 – Boola Katitjin for Murdoch University in Perth is the first large-scale mass engineered timber building in Western Australia. It marks the beginning of a visionary transformation set to unlock the campus centre, consolidate the academic core, and provide a new address for the university. Boola Katitjin positions Murdoch University to pursue growth in education and research. The project strengthens the campus master planning vision by creating a consolidated academic heart with student-centred spaces that support hybrid learning and industry engagement.
The project explores the potential of a highly flexible, adaptable grid that will accommodate the future needs of Murdoch’s teaching and learning within. Close collaboration between architecture, engineering and best practice sustainability combine to deliver a new vibrant core for the campus. This flexibility enables efficient whole-of-life asset management and learning space optimisation as pedagogy and technology evolve.
In collaboration with local studios Officer Woods, The Fulcrum Agency, Silver Thomas Hanley and Aspect Studios, we led a design that reflects the character of Western Australia and builds on the original bush campus of Murdoch University. The design language extends the bush courtyards and colonnades into contemporary circulation and gathering spaces, embedding place-responsive identity across the academic precinct.
Education & Learning
Carey Lyon
Led by Lyons, with Aspect Studios, Officer Woods, The Fulcrum Agency, Silver Thomas Hanley
Murdoch University
Murdoch WA 6150
Located on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar People
16,000 sqm
Complete, 2023
Building 360 – Boola Katitjin is part of the Murdoch Campus Masterplan and is one of a number of transformational projects for the Perth campus. Our design elevates teaching and learning spaces, creates a new address to the campus and resolves long standing access issues. A strong and successful north south spine provides links and activity, enhancing precinct cohesion and legibility. By clarifying desire lines and connecting key destinations, the spine improves wayfinding and supports active transport across the campus. We maintained the character of the campus by responding to existing regional modernist architecture, echoing its form, shape and material. The design maintains cohesion and integrates a series of previously disjointed buildings and spaces. The new built form brings an innovative new presence, creating a vibrant core and unlocking the potential of the existing library spaces. Boola Katitjin and its surrounding landscape creates a campus rich with opportunities for social interaction. These moves contribute to a richer learning environment where informal peer-to-peer collaboration is visible and supported at multiple scales. Designated community and industry engagement spaces promote broader connection between Murdoch University and the community. Locating these programs along primary circulation leverages footfall to activate the ground level and strengthens university-industry partnerships.
A distinct feature of Boola Katitjin is its use of a world-leading engineered timber frame. Marking the first mass timber building in Western Australia, the project feels right at home in the bush campus of Murdoch University. Through a series of workshops with the client we developed a shared vision for the iconic timber construction. The timber structure drove planning decisions, allowing us to place large student spaces on the upper levels of the building. The mass-timber system also creates warm, biophilic interiors that enhance student comfort and wellbeing. Our design found a functional balance to incorporate concrete while maximising and showcasing timber throughout. Laminated timber beams and columns are used in conjunction with cross-laminated timber floor panels, to utilise plantation-grown timber as a replacement for traditional concrete and steel structure for the majority of the building. This construction strategy supports sustainable campus design objectives and demonstrates efficient material use. With its lower carbon footprint and increased opportunities for natural ventilation, the timber structure contributes to the environmental sustainability of the building and will receive a World Leadership 6 Star Green Star rating. We’ve harnessed the true technical capabilities of a timber structure with the benefits of a flexible, future-proof design.
“As a University that prides itself on our bush campus, with a strong 20-year masterplan, we are focused on the delicate balance of the local environment as we proceed with the construction of the Building 360. We have been working with our own Murdoch experts together with those from our partners to implement comprehensive environmental plans.”
Darren McKee, Murdoch University Chief Operating Officer
The building follows a creative warehouse model that offers a highly flexible and adaptable core. This model completely transforms how learning is executed and allows both technical performance and internal flexibility over the full life cycle of the building. Through our consultation process with Murdoch University we identified a need for spaces that encourage large format collaborative learning. Spaces are planned to support hybrid learning environments with integrated AV, enabling large cohorts to work in teams and share content seamlessly.
We developed a spectrum of learning spaces to support a range of delivery pedagogies, including collaborative, tech-enabled, experimental and digital immersive learning. The building includes immersive industry collaboration facilities such as augmented reality and artificial intelligence studios to allow students to interact with industry and learn skills that tackle real world scenarios. This variety aligns with contemporary university architecture trends, improving utilisation across timetabled and informal learning.
The diversity of activity in the building provides high amenity, incorporating teaching and learning spaces among peer learning and academic workplaces, student services, community and industry engagement spaces and food and retail. The design unlocks the library renovation, expanding the campus and providing more space for peer learning. Locating student services and social amenities alongside academic workplaces encourages informal advice and mentoring, strengthening the student experience.
Carey Lyon, Co-Founders, Practice Executive
View Carey's Profile
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