With the University of Tasmania's Inveresk campus's final elements revealed with the urban realm, UTAS has turned its attention to its existing buildings.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Development applications are advertised for public comment with the City of Launceston council for upgrades and renovations to the existing Stone Building and the Architecture and Design building.
Launceston pro-vice-chancellor Dom Geraghty said the changes would create a mini "creative precinct" and would involve the relocation of creative students and staff from the Stone Building to the Architecture building.
"There are these two creative groups of people so the university made a decision to why not combine these two groups of creative people and put them inside a single space," he said.
Development application documents state the proposal will increase the Architecture building's gross floor area by 1055 metres for staff areas and teaching spaces.
It includes alterations to the diesel locomotive shop at the rear of the building and will remove some walls and other partitions to create new teaching spaces and tutorial rooms.
Professor Geraghty said the new spaces would be shared studio spaces, which would encourage collaboration between students of all design disciplines.
"The studio way of learning by making, where students have a space on the benches and they learn how to make things, but they will be a mixture of creative arts, media-specific and architecture specific students," he said.
The Stone Building, which houses some TasTAFE students and the Academy Gallery, among other UTAS student spaces, will also be redeveloped under a separate application.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Alterations include external modifications and the relocation of the entryway to the north-west facade of the building.
It's understood the Academy Gallery will remain in that space.
However, UTAS will repurpose the other spaces in the building for staff once students have moved.
Professor Geraghty said the next 12 months would see some significant milestones hit for the Inveresk campus, now all the design development applications have been lodged.
The library and student experience building is under construction, but there will be other significant milestones for the different facilities throughout the next 12 months and beyond.
"Pole driving starts for the River's Edge building, that is due for completion at the end of 2022, with occupation early 2023," he said.
"That will be the first big movement of staff, so that will put the humanities, arts and various other groups, such as the academic divisional staff down here."
That will be the first significant relocation of staff from the Newnham campus to the Inveresk campus.
The first cohort to move will be once the refurbishments are complete on the Architecture building to create the Creative Precinct.
"Small numbers of staff and students, like a couple of thousand, will move at the end of 2022, early 2023 into here," he said.
"And then pile driving will start on the Willis Street building in the middle of this year. It will be finished by the end of 2023 for occupation early 2024."
That will mark the completion of the campus's physical transformation.
However, Professor Geraghty said there was still ongoing work on the education transformation, which will change the way UTAS delivers its courses at Inveresk.
Plans for the Newnham campus have not been released.
Caitlin Jarvis
I have worked in the Tasmanian digital/print media for 11 years, spanning two newsrooms. I have developed a keen interest in agricultural, development and education news, as well as issues-based long-form journalism. Contact me at caitlin.jarvis@examiner.com.au
I have worked in the Tasmanian digital/print media for 11 years, spanning two newsrooms. I have developed a keen interest in agricultural, development and education news, as well as issues-based long-form journalism. Contact me at caitlin.jarvis@examiner.com.au
