Winning design unveiled for WSU Indigenous Centre of Excellence

Western Sydney University has unveiled the winning design for its proposed Indigenous Centre of Excellence by Sarah Lynn Rees, Jackson Clements Burrows, Peter Stutchbury Architecture, Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture, Uncle Dean Kelly, Hill Thalis Architecture and Flux Consultant.

The centre is a key part of the university's Indigenous Strategy 2020-2025, with the aim of sharing and preserving Indigenous cultures.

The building will be community-focused and will integrate Indigenous knowledge into its design.

"Our design engages with the layered physical and experiential histories of the site to create a proposal that is born from the spatial language of Country and healed through the return of waterway, ecology, and home for non-human kin," said Sarah Lynn Rees.

"Inspired by the form and safety of the mangroves and veiled by a woven like facade, the design acts as a canvas within which human and non-human kin can re-connect. The Indigenous Centre of Excellence will facilitate the practice of caring for Country and the transfer of cultural and academic knowledge, amplifying individual and collective cultural strength for the benefit of all."

The facility will accommodate a library, an Elders lounge, Indigenous research and student facilities, internal and external gathering spaces, as well as a theatre, cinema, exhibition galleries, teaching facilities and an Indigenous discovery space.

It will be made from mass timber with Country-focused materials and suppliers. The facade will be constructed using clay directly sourced from Country. It will also be landscaped with entirely Indigenous plants, honouring the site's ecology.

"Deeply connected with Country and Indigenous knowledges, the Indigenous Centre of Excellence will be a transformational space where communities can connect with the university while learning from and celebrating our incredible culture," said WSU deputy vice-chancellor Indigenous leadership Michelle Trudgett.

Vice-chancellor and president, Barney Glover, added, "This world-class building represents a significant opportunity for us to intensify our engagement with communities and will connect people and place to celebrate tens of thousands of years of Indigenous knowledge and history."