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Properties, Facilities & Development

B418 School of Design and the Built Environment

  • June 2019 Commenced

  • February 2022 Completed

Crafted by John Wardle Architects, this new home for Curtin’s School of Design and the Built Environment (DBE) supports collaboration and showcases creativity and innovation. The building is designed as a pedagogical space, functioning as a living laboratory that facilitates the intersection of learning, teaching, research, and industry.

Where co-creation lives

Located within Exchange, at the northern end of Curtin’s Perth Campus, Building 418 includes a diverse mix of technology-rich formal, informal and specialist learning and teaching spaces in addition to a makerspace, exhibition area, workspace for DBE staff and industry and retail space.

Exchange is Curtin’s first dedicated industry-connected innovation precinct that brings education, experts and community together to encourage and facilitate the sharing of knowledge, ideas and creativity.

Project features

  • Five stories intermixed with diverse and flexible learning areas and industry space.
  • Curtin Venture Studio and three retail spaces on the ground plane.
  • Gallery and exhibition space to showcase student work and design.
  • Makerspace, collaboration hub, computer studios and research areas.
  • Exposed services and structural elements to aid students’ understanding of building functions.
  • An allegorical outdoor landscape, including a central raingarden for gathering and pause, Melaleuca trees and a flexible, semi-enclosed courtyard.

Songlines & public artwork

As part of the Building 418 project, an enhanced Reconciliation Action Plan created the opportunity for a Noongar artist to be commissioned to craft a piece to feature within the building, and subsequently the John Curtin Art Gallery collection. REALMstudios worked in conjunction with APPARATUS, to secure the chosen artist, award-winning Kamsani Bin Salleh.

Continuing in collaboration with REALMstudios, Kamsani Bin Salleh created Winin Katidjin Bilya (Living Knowledge River), an artwork etched into the building’s centrally located courtyard. This piece explores cultural narratives and details the story of the two Whadjuk Noongar Songlines that traverse and intersect within Curtin’s Exchange precinct: ‘Kujal Kela’ (Twin Dolphin) and ‘Djiridji’ (Zamia). Kamsani spent time with Noongar elders; Dr Noel Nannup and Professor Marion Kickett to learn relevant stories and receive guidance to create this powerful and educational artwork.

CLIFF, a second internal artwork, crafted by Janet Laurence in collaboration with Event Engineering, draws the viewers eye as the central staircase is ascended. This installation depicts Western Australia’s landscape through a series of hanging stones, each exploring a geological story relating to time, weather, movement and formation.

Project benefits

Building 418 supports DBE’s interdisciplinary nature by creating a sense of belonging and encouraging interaction between students, researchers and industry. Its communal and adaptable nature breaks away from a silo mentality to better reflect the mode of delivery seen in industries relevant to the School.

Awards

  • The Hillson Beasley Award for Educational Architecture, AIA Western Australia (WA) Awards, 2023
  • Award for Interior Architecture, AIA WA Awards, 2023
  • Award for Sustainable Architecture, AIA WA Awards, 2023
  • Landscape Architecture Award for Health and Education Landscapes, AILA WA Landscape Architecture Awards 2023
  • Award of Excellence for Health and Education Landscapes, AILA National Landscape Architecture Awards 2023
  • Silver Winner in the Better Future Category, 2019 GOV Design Awards