Sunshine Coast University College

A Campus for the 21st Century

The Sunshine Coast University College (SCUC) is located on 100 hectares on Mountain Creek Road at Sippy Downs. It is the last public university to be built in Australia this century and has been developed with a significant level of masterplanning. Strong 'green' objectives have permeated the whole psyche of theUniversity, and will continue to guide the growth of the campus to accommodate over 15,000 people.

The creation of a university is the building of a cultural foundation within a region. The Sunshine Coast has grown like a wobbly adolescent in the last ten years and the Sunshine Coast University College is part of the 'growing up' of a community.

With a very small budget, a difficult site and a deluge of local participation, the University opened in May 1995, less than two years from commencement of masterplanning.

The cost of Stage One Landscape Works was $470,000 and siteworks for Stage Two is $115,000, forming part of a $17 million building package.

Sustainable Landscape Design

John Mongard Landscape Architects facilitated the creation of a 'green' vision for the College, working with local people and using local plants to re-establish an ecological matrix inspired and dictated by the neighbouring Mooloolah River National Park.

With less than 5% of the Stage One budget available for a huge area of shared open space, the design focuses on laying a clear structure of useable spaces.

A Legible Structure

Using a minimal palette of materials and elements, the spaces will aim for a low maintenance, long term life, hopefully avoiding the tyranny of small decisions that turn most campuses into cocktails of mixed up style and plantings. The trees will grow to bring the scale of the structures back to earth, dappling grassy meadows where students can wrestle with books and ideas.

The linear growth pattern along the central spine allows for a sustainable campus which addresses rapid growth in a cohesive manner. The University is riding the wave of energy associated with its inception, and this will be its' strongest catalyst in the years to come.

The "central spine" runs NW to SE across the site from the University entrance to the proposed lake. Development will occur in stages along the central spine with the first pod (Administration Building, Academic Building and two Lecture Theatres) completed in 1995 and work commencing on the second pod (Library and Science Block) in 1996-1997. The period between the beginning of the masterplan and the completion of Stage One Works occurred in less two years.

The location of the University in the upper catchment of the Mooloolah River National Park has had a great impact on the proposed developments. This has lead to various environmentally sensitive approaches being undertaken. An intrinsic part of the landscape is the drainage, filtration and recycling systems. Permeable surfacing allow groundwater recharge and prevents undue runoff. Runoff from unkerbed roads and carparks drains into a series of nearby swales, through a system of weirs into thickly vegetated detention and retention ponds. The water finally reaches the lake and then slowly percolates into the National Park in a more purified state. The water from the upper detention pond is used for the irrigation of the central University.

An Ecological Strategy

The site for the College is a sponge, and water is the primary ecological determinant for the college structure and plantings. A hydrological strategy was nurtured and built, focusing on planted swales, dams and filter lakes. In June 1996, about 30 centimetres of rain occurred over a short period and the campus remained unflooded. The struggle to establish plants on the marshy savanna with wind, rain and sun impacts is being abetted by the on site designed nursery, which will provide a sustainable solution for the revegetation program over the next 20 years.

Indigenous species have been used throughout the landscape with some more culturally appropriate plants (both exotic and native) planted in the central University area. Some fruit bearing trees have been planted in the campus in order to promote the ideas of permaculture. The specifically designed on-site nursery is the backbone of the planting strategy and will allow the University to propagate and grow on plants and ensure that the existing gene pool is preserved.

A low maintenance strategy based on sustainable materials and plants has been implemented. Furniture has been specifically designed for the University with robust bins and comfortable seats. Inbuilt seating and shady terraces allow for extensive gathering near lecture theatres. New paving materials have been integrated.

The use of platonic shapes in the landscape has been promoted as symbols for the sciences. Landforming using the sphere and surface treatments focusing on cubic and grid patterns have been created.

A Campus for the 21st Century

The creation of a university is the building of a cultural foundation within a region. The Sunshine Coast has grown like a wobbly adolescent in the last ten years and the Sunshine Coast University College is part of the 'growing up' of a community.

With a very small budget, a difficult site and a deluge of local participation, the University opened in May 1995, less than two years from commencement of masterplanning.

The Sunshine Coast University College (SCUC) is located on 100 hectares on Mountain Creek Road at Sippy Downs. It is the last public university to be built in Australia this century and has been developed with a significant level of masterplanning. Strong 'green' objectives have permeated the whole psyche of the University, and will continue to guide the growth of the campus to accommodate over 15,000 people.

A Plan for Twenty Years of Co-ordinated Growth

The linear growth pattern along the central spine allows for a sustainable campus which addresses rapid growth in a cohesive manner. The University is riding the wave of energy associated with its inception, and this will be its' strongest catalyst in the years to come.

The "central spine" runs NW to SE across the site from the University entrance to the proposed lake. Development will occur in stages along the central spine with the first pod (Administration Building, Academic Building and two Lecture Theatres) completed in 1995 and work commencing on the second pod (Library and Science Block) in 1996-1997.

Sustainable Landscape Design

John Mongard Landscape Architects facilitated the creation of a 'green' vision for the College, working with local people and using local plants to re-establish an ecological matrix inspired and dictated by the neighbouring Mooloolah River National Park.

With less than 5% of the Stage One budget available for a huge area of shared landscape and open space, the design focuses on laying a clear structure of useable spaces.

The trees will grow to bring the scale of the structures back to earth, dappling grassy meadows where students can wrestle with books and ideas.

A Legible Structure

Using a minimal palette of materials and elements, the spaces will aim for a low maintenance, long term life - hopefully avoiding the tyranny of small decisions that turn most campuses into cocktails of mixed up style and plantings.

A low maintenance strategy based on sustainable materials and plants has been implemented. Furniture has been specifically designed for the University with robust bins and comfortable seats. Inbuilt seating and shady terraces allow for extensive gathering near lecture theatres. New paving materials have been integrated.

An Ecological Strategy

The site for the College is a sponge, and water is the primary ecological determinant for the college structure and plantings. A hydrological strategy was nurtured and built, focusing on planted swales, dams and filter lakes. In June 1996, about 30 centimetres of rain occurred over a short period and the campus remained unflooded.

The struggle to establish plants on the marshy savanna with wind, rain and sun impacts is being abetted by the on site designed nursery, which will provide a sustainable solution for the revegetation program over the next 20 years.