Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation
Western Australia
The 1964 RIBA Bronze medal winning Reid Library is the social and physical heart of UWA. A powerful, modernist icon outside, but dark, cramped and cold inside. Located, by the Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River), this place has been a centre of learning and knowledge for thousands of years. Respected Noongar elder Dr Richard Walley worked alongside the architect to develop “pathways and connections”, weaving together people, activities and narratives.
The Level One new interior is now light and warm and provides diverse spaces for students, with sensory rooms, all-gender toilets, support spaces and areas for collaboration and contemplation. Complex works to Level Four replaced engineering services for the entire building.
Design “moments” reflect the wide range of landscape experiences across the campus, from grand to the intimate, and from the obvious to the secret. Views to adjoining landscape and natural light are key wayfinding techniques.
The design honours the Reid Library’s heritage while providing contemporary, inclusive, and technologically advanced spaces to support the UWA community. A key goal was to create a welcoming, inclusive space where students feel comfortable and respected. This was achieved with the inclusion of sensory rooms, parent room, wellbeing lounge, and the first nations inspired design and narrative, established early in the project with Dr Richard Walley. It’s great to see the student community already using the variety of spaces. Areas such as the reading wall are already proving to be popular- attracting a few selfies at the last graduation ceremony.
David Gulland, Project Director
Briallen Roberts, Project Lead
Matthias Widjaja, Graduate of Architecture
Mark Keltie, Project Team Member
Rachel Tanner, Project Team Member
Polly Gee, Interior Designer
Savannah Touihri, Interior Designer
Gabriels Hearne Farrell, Acoustic Consultant
Rider Levett Bucknall, Cost Consultant
LCI Consultants, Electrical Consultant
Full Circle Design Services, ESD Consultant
LCI Consultants, Hydraulic Consultant
Steens Gray & Kelly, Mechanical Engineer
Turner & Townsend, Project Manager
Publik Group, Signage and Wayfinding
BPA Engineering, Structural Engineer