Griffith University is seeking expressions of interest (EOIs) from architecture firms to design a $150M building at its Nathan campus, which will be the new home for the education, criminology and applied psychology disciplines.
The EOI process will run to 27 November through the Queensland government’s QTender website. The university will then invite a shortlist of practices to participate in a design competition.
To be known as the Professional Education Building, the 24,000-square-metre facility will play a major role in consolidating the arts, education and law academic group with that of health. It will include facilities for general academic functions as well as specialist teaching spaces, including wet teaching laboratories.
Director of major projects at the university, Steve Grimes, said the architectural competition would focus on large firms with established capacity in higher education projects, but that the university would also be carrying out a number of associated relocation and refurbishment projects, and these projects would generate opportunities for smaller firms. He encouraged local firms to submit EOIs.
“Queensland is home to outstanding architectural talent and we want to see it engaged in this project,” he said.
The Professional Education Building will be the latest in a number of major projects at the Nathan campus.
“Two substantial developments have started the process of transforming Nathan into a world-class campus for teaching, learning and research in the 21st century,” Grimes said. “The Engineering, Technology and Aviation Building and the Sir Samuel Griffith Centre have become the centrepieces of the Nathan campus and will be joined by the Professional Education Building in 2025.”
The Sir Samuel Griffith Centre was designed by Cox Architecture and the Engineering, Technology and Aviation Building was designed by Hassell.
