This project was undertaken as Consultant Design Architect to Architectus, Sydney (Design Directors: Lindsay and Kerry Clare) .

‘The Chancellery embodies the University of the Sunshine Coast’s commitment to an authentic subtropical public architecture. It’s location consolidates the central precinct of the campus master plan, which is based on the Jeffersonian model of the University of Virginia. Placed directly opposite the library, the Chancellery creates a new hub and student focus while deferring to the library as the university’s centrepiece.

‘The building includes the new Chancellery, 14 tutorial rooms, 40 academic offices, student services, a 250-seat lecture theater, a cafe and Council meeting rooms. Generous outdoor covered spaces connect these uses and create a democratic environment for the 850 occupants as well as students.

‘Wide stairs lead up to quite different, yet visually linked, zones: to one side the Chancellery, and to the other, a large open timber deck. The deck is an open-air learning space equipped with power and data for flexible, casual student learning and interaction. This large atrium space- a roofed plaza- operates like a town square and provides a social focus for the collegiate fraternity.

‘ESD principles are central to the design. Offices and tutorial rooms are mixed mode, that is, they operate without air-conditioning for most of the year, however each room has an individual air-conditioning unit to maintain comfort during extreme temperatures. Separate switching for each space eliminates unnecessary use of energy. All corridors are external and not air-conditioned, and the lecture theater is cooled by a displacement air system.’

From ‘Architectus- between order and opportunity’ by Haig Beck and Jackie Cooper published by ORO Editions 2009.