UniSA STEM Specialist Computer Pool
Adelaide, South Australia
The University Of South Australia STEM Specialist Computer Pool & Comms Room Expansion at their Mawson Lakes Campus brings extended learning opportunities in the Virtual Reality (VR) arena.
The active teaching room will also better support industry events, commercial opportunities and link to activities held with the adjacent Planetarium which provides wide ranging opportunities for engagement with schools and the community.
The brief was to create a unique identity for the VR space. It was to be fully inclusive and accessible to all, with a fitout that was a blank canvas allowing the students to be as creative and exploratory as possible with their VR projects. As students would have a variety of working techniques – they may be standing, using paddles, or swinging their arms – the furniture was to be movable and provide opportunities for the participants to walk through their VR creations.
Wall mounted screens mirror the same VR experience with content sourced from the single teaching position or live streamed.
The University has a standard carpet that they roll out, but this project called for a more interesting floor finish, and the Shaw Contract Community Process Tile provided an organic foundation for the rest of the finishes.
To assist with acoustics, walls were clad with panels chosen for their aesthetics, biophilic colours and textures and sustainability and commercial performance.
The University of South Australia STEM Specialist Computer Pool & Comms Room Expansion, Mawson Lakes Campus, is a thoughtful, innovative project which encompasses a positive influence upon people and the environment. With a clearly defined and executed design and result, it shows that a place that fulfills the client’s requirements is able to be constructed with the maximum viable use of sustainable and recycled materials, meaning a low carbon impact, and a healthier place of learning. It has created an area which is not only functional and truly interesting but enables a diverse array of people to use the space.