UNSW Canberra City campus masterplan approved

The ACT government has approved the UNSW Canberra City masterplan, designed by MGS Architects, Snøhetta and Turf Design.

The major new campus, to be built on government-owned land on Constitution Avenue within the Parliamentary Triangle, will accommodate 6,000 students and become a hub for defence and security innovation.

"The campus is an ideal location for industry, government and universities to collaborate and work more closely together," said Emma Sparks, who has been appointed dean and rector of UNSW Canberra.

"The campus will also be the new home for UNSW Canberra's highly successful Launch initiative, which is a purpose-built precinct designed to host industry and entrepreneurs in a vibrant, connected environment."

The masterplan includes 14 buildings across eight hectares and is framed as an integrated learning community with five connected precincts with distinct themes: City Edge, which will showcase the university to Canberra City; Reid Parkside, which will create a "sensitive interface" with the heritage easement and suburb of Reid; Reid Campus Core, which will form the heart of the campus; Civic Interface, which will be a "distinct and activated academic streetscape"; and Parkes View, which will "connect the campus to the city's parliamentary and natural landscape views."

"The last three years [have] seen UNSW consult and work with the local community to ensure the masterplan not only delivers educational and innovation outcomes, but also delivers a campus that revitalizes the eastern edge of the Canberra CBD," said ACT chief minister Andrew Barr.

The appointment of architects will begin later this year. The campus will be built in stages, with the final stage scheduled to finish in 2036.