Head of fjmtplace Annie Hensley writes on Bringing Back the Town Square in Indesign Issue 79.

UTS Central has officially opened its doors to students, staff and the community, the final building to be delivered as part of a 10-year campus redevelopment program.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Attila Brungs in his opening speech:

Forty years ago this year, the iconic (and some unkindly say ‘ugly’) brutalist Tower next door to us was officially opened to the public as the centrepiece of the then-NSW Institute of Technology. Despite the love/hate relationship the Sydney community has with the Tower, it was a building of its time and has an enduring legacy. 

Forty years later, and we are here to open UTS Central – the neighbour to the Tower – and an embodiment of the evolution of education. As we celebrate the opening of this new building, we come to the end of our decade-long campus redevelopment … and we embark on our next wave of re-imagining education for the future as part of our next ten-year strategy.

The twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issue of our time. Globally, buildings and construction play a major part, accounting for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions whilst also having a significant impact on our natural habitats. Meeting the needs of our communities and staying within our ecological limits will require a shift in our behaviour as well as the design, delivery and performance of our buildings. Together with our clients, we will need to commission and design buildings, cities and infrastructures as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system.

The research and technology exist for us to begin that transformation now, but what has been lacking is collective will. Recognising this, we are committing to strengthen our working practices to create architecture and urbanism that has a more positive impact on the world around us.

This critical day-long forum, which celebrates Australia’s world-class architects, is curated by Wendy Lewin and Angelo Candalepas and includes presentations by New York-based writer, critic and former Pritzker Prize juror Karen Stein. The event focuses on outstanding examples of contemporary Australian architecture, with a series of talks by leading practitioners from around the country exploring recently completed and upcoming projects.

Richard Francis-Jones, Design Director, will present Frank Bartlett Library and Community Centre.

‘We want to maintain and increase our diversity, and it’s really important to nurture new staff and make sure there’s a really strong career progression for them. We need to continue to embrace new technologies… every project we do, we always try and investigate how we can stretch a bit more.’

Madeleine Swain speaks with Elizabeth Carpenter about business, design and diversity.

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