Ethos Urban was engaged by the University of New South Wales to undertake multiple capacity studies and a development framework aligning with its vision as a 21st Century campus.
Ethos Urban has been involved in testing the capacity of sites around the University of New South Wales (UNSW) which has benefitted from the Light Rail service to the campus since 2020.
The Urban Design team demonstrated how buildings and the public realm can be arranged to accommodate existing and new functions of the University in a manner that is easy for students to navigate, is functional and efficient for university operations.
Underpinning this work are ten design principles ensuring a holistic approach including respecting neighbouring solar access, increasing floorspace in proximity to public transport, and achieving public benefits such as active ground floors, increased circulation, and open space.
Utilising a 3D model of the campus, the Urban Design team rapidly tested built-form in a layered urban environment with varying terrain, public domains, movements, land uses and heritage items. This process has assisted with complex urban design and architectural studies that take overshadowing and view loss into consideration.
Combined with yield analysis and scripting, we have evolved this testing over time - often exploring multiple scenarios in a rapid prototyping environment, in order to demonstrate the benefits to UNSW and Council.
Key aspects of campus capacity testing included:
- Articulate principles of growth, quality and function across the campus.
- Consideration of a range of programs including student housing, adaptive re-use, teaching and learning that could give to students a rich experience of university life.
- Test fit for individual buildings integrated into the campus public domain.
- Rapid prototyping of development options using computational methods.
