Ngunnawal and Ngambri
ACT
Yukeembruk is ANU’s newest student village, a collection of six buildings that sit respectfully in their bushland surrounds. It is a residential hub for 700 undergraduate and postgraduate students, connecting the southwest corner of ANU to Kambri, its campus heart.
Anchored by Black Mountain, Sullivans Creek and the mature Eucalypts, the architecture is composed of a restrained materiality; brick, concrete, glass and timber accents, to avoid competing with the landscape.
Two undergraduate halls and two smaller postgraduate halls are organised around a central pedestrian spine, complete with bike storage facilities, a basketball half court and a community green. Indoor and outdoor communal spaces are mostly located at ground; large common areas, masterchef style kitchens and dining areas, BBQ courtyards, study spaces and music/project rooms. At the sites centre is a one-story pavilion that functions as a community hall, with a long span dining room and flexible space for lectures and student gatherings.
Yukeembruk is a welcome addition to ANU’s Acton campus. Student community was at the core of all design decisions. Bates Smart worked to capture important elements from student consultation and feedback sessions. Big spaces, such as the village hall, and small spaces, such as the communal study rooms on residential floors, make sure community is woven across the village, inside and outside, and at different scales. For Yukeembruk residents, the result is a new place within the campus that makes ANU feel like home.
Client perspective
Guy Lake, Design Director
Roger To, Project Lead
Jonathan Claridge, Project Lead
Mark Ojascastro, Interior Design Lead
Robert Graham, Project Director
Charles Cayeux, Architecture Team
Allan Lamb, Architecture Team
Sun Mi Kang, Architecture Team
Trevor Mouncey, Architecture Team
Joshua Shin, Architecture Team
Emma Bell, Architecture Team
Catherine Bauer, Architecture Team
Livern Lim, Interior Design Team
Natasha Rennie, Interior Design Team
Karlo Romero, Interior Design Team
Olivia Yanni, Interior Design Team
Jet Chan, Architecture Team
Alana Lee, Architecture Team
Elena Navarro Senent, Architecture Team
Wil Meaden, Architecture Team
Matt van Geffen, Architecture Team
Zita Walker, Architecture Team
Kristy Whiting, Architecture Team
Angela Sampson, Briefing Lead
Olesia Elyard, BIM Team
Winston Wu, 3D Visualisation
Andrew McKie, Model Maker
ACES, Mechanical
Aplus, Hydraulic Consultant
Certified Building Solutions, BCA
Cundall, Wayfinding + Branding
Eric Martin and Associates, DDA
Harris Hobbs, Landscape Consultant
Network Electrical Solutions, Electrical Consultant
O’Neill & Brown Group, Fire
Rudds, ESD Consultant
SCP Consulting, Structure + Civil
Urbanite, Wayfinding + Branding
Warrington Fire, Fire Engineering
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.