Tasmanian Sites
University Mall
University Central Mall Upgrade, University of Tasmania
Urban Initiatives Pty Ltd (Tasmania)
The ‘University Central Mall’ borders by the Morris Miller Library, University Centre, Administration Courtyard and Arts/Social Science forms the geographic and social heart of the Sandy Bay Campus.
This precinct was intersected by numerous pathways, steps and ramps that limited the use and enjoyment of the social heart of the Campus. Urban Initiatives brief was to create a design that would help to create a space that could be fully utilized by the students and staff in their everyday use within the campus.
The design of the Central Mall and Administration Courtyard area has improved the space creating an open and user-friendlier environment, ensuring disability and pedestrian access. Large open grassed areas have also improved the use and functionality of the site. The design has included opening of the wall within the current Library undercroft known as the Breezeway.
This allowed for ease of access between the Morris Miller Library and the Administration Building through the creation of steps, benches and openings that significantly changed the functionality of the Administration courtyard and helping to create good pedestrian link-ways to the adjacent buildings.
The design has dramatically improve the space and the accessibility not only for the Library and Administration building, but has transformed the space directly outside Lazenby’s Restaurant creating a great user friendly space for University functions, and the students and staff during their academic year.
The improvements to the space include
- New DDA accessible ramps;
- Stairs;
- Elevated grass terraces;
- Redeveloped courtyards;
- Generous and flexible seating with power supply;
- Improved nighttime illumination;
- Increased security aspects, with improved lighting that will allow for 24 hour CCTV facial recognition;
- The upgrade of underground services and their accessibility, incorporating future data and communication links.
Sustainability
The new central ‘Heartland’ precinct seeks to be sustainable in a number of ways:
Materials
The approach to the design is to utilise sustainably manufactured or locally sourced renewable materials. Local sandstone will be used as cladding, the precast concrete required will be locally manufactured and the timber for the custom made seats/benches will come from local plantations.
Energy
The Central Mall will have significantly improved lighting that incorporates the ‘Cosmopolis’ new generation metal halide lamp. The lamp itself uses significantly less energy than previous lighting and meets the illumination requirements for the security measures needed in the Mall.
Waste
The new recycling stations are a great advance. Two new units will be located in the proximity of the Central Mall.
The Central Mall project is hoping to achieve significant savings in the reuse of demolition and construction waste by:
- Pre-casting components such as step treads some wall units and form work completed off site.
- Utilising and expanding existing sub bases.
- Using abrasive blasting of concrete finishes to avoid ground contamination from aggregate slurry waste when using water.
- Taking the removed clay paver to be crushed offsite to be used in backfill and future garden bed mulch
more on this project (PDF)
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