The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) has taken another step to cementing its place in the annals of Australian design history with the unveiling of its dramatic new Great Hall.

An institution famed more for its brutalist and maligned 27 storey tower, UTS has of late embraced a forward thinking approach to campus expansion and facility development – arguably serving penance for its four decades unchanged behind imposing concrete slabs at number one Broadway.

With the Great Hall wanting a much needed refurbishment, the Sydney design firm DRAW (De Manincor Russell Architecture Workshop) proposed that beyond the Great Hall brief, a vast lobby be incorporated into the scope of works.

a soaring reception space annexed to the Hall that capitalises on a commanding view across the future Alumni Green. The Balcony Room adapts a previously underused terrace, enclosing it to provide a link between the main building foyer and the rich, warm interior.

The project, now completed, is part of a broader, ongoing multi-million dollar redevelopment of the UTS City campus.  Additional faculty buildings and facilities are being designed by PTW, Denton Corker Marshall and Durbach Block Jaggers.  Perhaps as controversial as the original UTS Tower proposal, the big unveiling will be Frank Gehry’s new business faculty building… a development that when finally complete we’re sure will initiate much debate and heated discussion.

[Photography © Brett Boardman, all rights reserved]