Sydney Central
Architect's drawing of Sydney Central building
Start Date: January 2006
Completion Date: June 2008
Latest news
The vision
Centralised student services
Sciences and Technology library
A mini city centre
Relocation of previous occupants
- 14.08.07 A first look at SydneyCentral
- 24.10.07 City Road footbridge comes down
- 18.06.08 Jane Foss Russell Building is the new name for Sydney Central
Currently under construction, the Sydney Central building (yet to be formally named), is located on the Darlington campus, adjacent to the Wentworth Building and facing city road.
Sydney Central will create a mini city centre for the combined Darlington and Camperdown campuses which will be open 24/7.
Melbourne based architects, John Wardle won the design competition for the Sydney Central building. The firm has a strong track record in academic projects including the award-winning RMIT Biosciences building and the UniSA Landmark building.
Sydney Central is located at the geographic centre of the united campus. It makes sense, therefore, that all student services for instance the Student Centre, International Student Services etc. will be brought together in the new building. Relocating the University's student service providers into a single area will allow more efficient service delivery to the student population.
Locating the Sydney Central building on City Road provides the necessary infrastructure to support students as they live, work, study, and enjoy leisure activities at the University.
The Sciences and Technology library will unite in one, purpose-built library, the collections currently located in seven different libraries across the University. An estimated 256,000 volumes, along with electronic resources that support research and teaching within the various science and technology disciplines will form the new Sciences and Technology library.
The new library will offer improved service and extended operating hours which haven't been possible before due to the scattered nature of the resources.
The Sydney Central building will be the first step in creating a mini city centre for students, staff, visitors and local residents. A central feature of the building is a large outdoor plaza (3,000 square metres) destined to become a vibrant social space for dining, socialising and entertainment.
Along with cultural, recreational and sporting facilities (all available for public use) it is intended that the area become a community resource for special events such as markets and exhibitions.
Retail outlets
Sydney Central has approximately 900 square metres of flexible retail space, designed to accommodate a wide range of retailers. Its exposure to City Road, easy access to public transport and location on the the major pedestrian thoroughfare across the united campus will draw campus users and the local community into the area.
The Tin Sheds Gallery and the associated Art Workshop building have been relocated to the Faculty of Architecture in the Wilkinson building.
