Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation
Western Australia
ECU City marks Edith Cowan University’s bold arrival in the Perth CBD, reimagining the contemporary university as a compact, civic-minded vertical campus. Bringing together Business and Law, Arts and Humanities, WAAPA and the West Australian Screen Academy within a single interconnected building, the project replaces the traditional horizontal campus with a porous, highly collaborative urban environment Â
Interior laneways, skylit atria and open staircases form the social and circulatory spine, supporting informal learning, chance encounters and intuitive wayfinding through spatial experience. Learning, creation and performance are displayed through glazed studios and rehearsal spaces, activating the campus and putting the university 'on show'.Â
Positioned midway up the building, the library acts as the intellectual and social heart of the vertical campus, uniting disciplines and extending learning onto outdoor terraces. Connection to Country is embedded through a co-designed wayfinding strategy, grounding the campus in a culturally legible spatial narrative.Â
The ECU City Campus Project reflects a design process grounded in collaboration, clarity of purpose and a strong sense of place. Â Architecturally led by Lyons, the project brought together a multidisciplinary team through an open and responsive approach that fostered trust and shared ownership across the university. Careful consideration of context, narrative and the public realm has resulted in a distinctive and coherent campus identity.
The campus meaningfully supports how students and staff work, learn and connect, encouraging collaboration, accessibility and belonging. The outcome is a campus that meets functional needs while positively shaping ECU’s learning environment and institutional culture.
Neil Appleton, Design Architect
Paul Dash, Project Architect
Diana Jones, Design Architect
Tess O’Meara, Design Architect
Daniel Zarko, Design Architect
Alex McCabe, BIM Documentation
Elliot Wong, BIM Documentation
Nina Wyatt, Design Architect
Carey Lyon, Design Architect
Juan Yang, Design Architect
ASPECT Studios, Landscape Consultant
CharcoalBlue, Theatre Consultant
Marshall Day Acoustics, Acoustic Consultant
Stantec, Structural, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Specialist Lighting, Hydraulic, Fire, VT, Traffic Services
JMO Facades, Facade Engineer
Aurecon, ESD Consultant
Milestone, Building Certifier
Xero Fire, Fire Engineer
O’Brien Harrop Access, Access Consultant
UTC, AV Consultant
Buro North, Signage and Wayfinding Consultant
Golders, Geotechnical Engineer
Altura, Facade Access