ECU City will be the link between people, learning and work; performance space and entertainment place; a rich history and an exciting future.
ECU City is unique among Australian university campuses in its multi-level integration into the urban fabric.
Located at the pivot point between Perth’s business, entertainment and cultural precincts, connected by rail and bus across the city and beyond, ECU City will be an inviting and magnetic campus, open to the community in a way that defies traditional expectations.
It will draw on the best ideas and opportunities from its cultural and commercial surrounds. Projecting influence, innovation and imagination. ECU City will inspire.
Introducing ECU City
Immersive digital architecture to excite the senses.
The ambition is to incorporate digital media within ECU City, visible from Yagan Square, reaching out to Perth’s culture and entertainment precincts day and night. It will bring the inside out, with performances and talent showcased, and possibilities expressed.
Entering ECU City will be immersive, with captivating spaces and technology that enthralls.
Light and sound will play, surprise, and delight.
“ECU City is set to be a game changer for Perth, with the influx of life and the vitality it will bring. It will attract students from across the globe, reinvigorate the CBD, and make its mark on the world stage. The innovation and collaboration required is exciting - and speaks to the core of our business."
Chris Palandri – Regional Managing Director, Multiplex
Performance will spill on to the streets, giving life to the night and atmosphere to the day.
Perth will come to life, with over 300 WAAPA performances a year, in cleverly stacked, state-of-the art performance spaces. Vast windows and galleries will offer a strong visual connection with ECU City’s surrounds, drawing visitors in to connect with what is occurring within.
ECU City’s immersive entrance, enveloping Perth Busport, will be an exciting hub of connection like nowhere else in Perth.
Three leading local, national and international architectural practices have combined to create the design, and turn the ambition for ECU City into a world-class reality.
National architectural firm, Lyons, international architects Haworth Tompkins and Perth-based Silver Thomas Hanley have collaborated on the design for a campus that will be unique in both Australia and the world.
The architects are excited by the unique urban context and see this project as an iconic opportunity to shape Perth’s CBD.
“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to participate in a project which will transform the city of Perth – contributing to the built form for the ECU vision that will be the home base to thousands of students for years to come, impacting the culture and experience of our city for visitors, residents, and businesses alike."
Tony Di Leo – Director, Silver Thomas Hanley
The university business can do business with.
ECU City will interface, integrate and engage with industry to deliver innovation outcomes that solve problems and build competitive advantage.
Students will be connected to industry and business leaders like never before, cultivating employability and capability.
Dynamic function, engagement and collaboration spaces will place ECU City students at the heart of projects, decisions, start-ups, and big ideas.
Award-winning architectural studio Haworth Tompkins will take ECU City to the world stage.
Haworth Tompkins has created iconic and intimate performance spaces around the globe, including the UK’s National Theatre, Sweden’s Malmö City Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic, one of the world’s oldest working theatres.
This body of work in theatre design has inspired ECU City’s unique and cleverly stacked world-class performance venues, studios and rehearsal spaces.
Six public performance venues, including a recital hall, playhouse theatre, flex theatre, a jazz and contemporary music venue, and dance spaces.
Audiences will feel a sense of the creative energy that goes into producing a show from the moment they enter.
The experience will start on approach to ECU City and continue through the entrance, into the foyers, including surprise glimpses into workshops and rehearsal spaces.
“A state-of-the-art WAAPA in the Perth CBD will attract, develop and deliver local, national and international talent on a world-class stage.”
Hugh Jackman – Actor and WAAPA Alumnus