As Queensland University of Technology (QUT) sought to redevelop a key location on its Kelvin Grove campus, the aim was to create more than just additional teaching space.

The new facility needed to serve as a social and academic hub that could adapt to evolving learning needs, reduce environmental impact, and connect more seamlessly with its natural surroundings and campus circulation.

With increasing demands for sustainable design, flexible learning environments, and improved energy performance in Australia’s higher education sector, the university needed a building that could meet multiple objectives at once.

Designed by Henning Larsen in collaboration with Wilson Architects, the Peter Coaldrake Education Precinct is a six-level, 11,000 m² facility that integrates learning, research, and administrative functions with open public space. Located between the university library and a main pedestrian route, the building features a large, terraced atrium at its core that connects indoor and outdoor spaces and provides a central point for orientation and gathering.

Biophilic design plays a central role in the precinct’s layout. Working with local landscape architects Taylor Cullity Lethlean, the design team incorporated native Australian vegetation into the building’s stepped landscape. Plantings flow from the adjacent hillside into the building via green terraces, a broad outdoor staircase, and hanging gardens within the glass-enclosed atrium. These elements support passive cooling, improve the indoor climate, and reinforce the connection to local ecosystems.

To meet the needs of modern education, the building offers a variety of flexible learning environments and smart infrastructure. LED screens, digital displays, and a suspended five-metre digital sphere provide real-time information and foster a sense of identity and creativity within the faculty. Climate-responsive design elements, including overlapping volumes and angled exterior louvers, reduce solar gain by up to 40%, helping limit the use of mechanical cooling systems in Brisbane’s warm climate.

The Peter Coaldrake Education Precinct functions as both a learning centre and a social crossroads for QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus. The terraced atrium improves campus wayfinding and creates an accessible, shaded environment for study, collaboration, and transit. Integration of native planting into the building fabric blurs the line between nature and structure, while also supporting biodiversity and thermal comfort.

With its layered massing and passive design features, the building is expected to reduce reliance on energy-intensive cooling and is targeting a Green Star Level 5 sustainability rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. By combining biophilic principles, responsive building systems, and flexible learning environments, the precinct supports QUT’s long-term goals for sustainability, digital integration, and future-focused education.