From the initial planning stages to turn Union House into a new ‘hub’, a contracted architecture firm has now presented a proposed student precinct area draft, which has designs that are currently being workshopped. The decision to abandon Union House was due to its outdated facilities and location, which limited student collaboration and interaction on campus.

The new precinct will aim to be more accessible to students by bringing student activities closer to those studying south of Grattan Street and will accommodate clubs, groups and collectives affiliated with both the University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA).

The Urban Design Framework Draft (UDFD) features suggested plans for the Precinct, with the proposal’s aim being to transform student services from a singular building to a village of buildings. The Proposed Student Precinct Area will consist of buildings within the space of Swanston Street, Grattan Street, Monash Road and Porters Lane. The buildings that will be affected are Sydney Myer Asia Center, John Smyth, 757 Swanston, Alice Hoy, Frank Tate, Lot 6, 1888, Doug McDonell, Building 138, Eastern Resource Centre, with the School of Engineering also a building of consideration.

Each building will house a number of different student services with the aim to create a new, vibrant student precinct. UMSU President Tyson Holloway-Clarke confirms that the Precinct will improve accessibility of student services to all and affirms that accommodation of all student services and facilities is a priority of UMSU and the Student Precinct project team.

“Services certainly will not be cut but with a new home and facilities, we have the opportunity to merge and improve current services. We want to make the student experience as straightforward as possible and that means potentially bringing together some of the front of house and reception functions.”

With earlier concerns regarding the new Precinct involving capacity and confidentiality issues, it appears that the project team has found solutions with the draft, showing no issue with being able to accommodate student services and facilities.

From student engagement activities conducted in May, the Project Team identified three major areas that students wanted from the Precinct.  

“Students want food and retail to be a big part of the Precinct; that there is more demand for informal study and social space than there is available; and that the Precinct should have a focus on events, activities and opportunities that enable all students to get involved,” said a member of the Project Team.

The UDFD demonstrates that these interests have been addressed with an increase in space allocated for food and retail, large areas and facilities being drafted for events and activities and 24-hour informal study and meeting hub areas being proposed.

The general response to the proposal from students around campus is enthusiasm. Second-year Science student, Sherry Du, told Farrago, “There’s definitely an air of excitement for newer facilities and expansion in retail and food as this has been long-awaited for. One thing I hope the Precinct aims to maintain is a unified central district, like Union House, where all students feel welcomed. Following this expansion, hopefully the line for Egg will be shorter during the lunchtime frenzy”. There is, however, still a long way to go.

Holloway-Clarke warns that at this stage, the proposals are all still hypothetical.

“Things are still very much up in the air concerning the precinct. We are currently going back and forth to figure out the best configuration… we are keen to keep our minds open to the possibilities. It has not been easy but I am more confident having been able to go back and forth with the project team.”

The next step for the project team is to continue their success with student engagement activities to ensure interest and needs are being met. With the launch of the Student Precinct Co-creation Community, the Project Team hopes to continue collaborating with students through Student Ambassadors, events and discussion forums, which will primarily take place online. Run by industry-leading co-creation experts, The Lab, the Community will be an avenue to further explore how the new student precinct design can better contribute towards creating a ‘vibrant centre’ for the on-campus and University of Melbourne student experience.

As the project team is collaborating with both the University community and industry professionals, it appears that the key ideas of what students want and need from the Precinct will continually be addressed and considered throughout the planning stages. From what has been proposed so far in the UDFD, the future of the Student Precinct and the ambitious move to change Union House into a series of buildings looks promising.