A new higher ed project in Australia from Koning Eizenberg for the University of Melbourne has opened, bringing together student input on diversity, inclusion, and gender equity with the need for communal space. The design reference points pay credence to the institution’s progressive culture both past and future.

The firm's 27,000-square-foot Student Pavilion was inaugurated this past academic year and is meant to serve as a hub for commuter students. It is set within a newly created student precinct whose aim is to reinstate a "pre-colonial landscape" with respect and reconciliation to the Indigenous culture of the land's traditional owners.

The building's main circulation route is placed prominently on the exterior, adding a sense of exuberance while allowing for better socializing use of its projecting balconies and a series of mixed-use "informal" interior spaces by students. 

From the outside, an exposed concrete skeleton is detailed with wood cladding and a wide expanse of glazing to make the composition more active. The final outdoor component is a landscaped outdoor rooftop space with sun-shading and photovoltaic panels. The interior is shaped by the presence of trapezoidal columns and includes the Rowden White Library (colloquially 'The Rowdy'), an alternative recreation library operated by the student union on levels level two and three.

Founders Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg met at the university while studying for their undergraduate degrees before emigrating to the United States to study at UCLA, adding a personal note to their contribution. The university is pursuing a GBC Australia "6-Star" rating on the project (equivalent to the U.S. LEED Platinum certification).

The New Student Precinct, to which it serves as a centerpiece, is bolstered by an adjacent Arts and Culture building from Lyons and won the Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design as part of the 2023 Australian National Architecture Awards last fall.