Client: Australian National University
Size: 5,030m² (refurbishment), 2,130m² (fitout)
Cost: $11m
Date: 2015
AMC was engaged by the Australian National University (ANU) in 2011, to undertake a feasibility study for the fitout and refurbishment of the WK Hancock Building to provide consolidated accommodation for the Division of Information (DOI). In 2013, the fitout and refurbishment proposal was reviewed and updated, as an internal ANU restructure had seen DOI replaced with the Information Technology Services Division (ITS), and there were changes to the roles, responsibility and organisational structure of the new division. In October 2013, the project was approved to proceed and AMC, together with our sub-consultant team, was engaged to undertake the detailed design of the project. The project included a complete refurbishment of the building, including significant fitout works on Levels 1, 4, 5 & 6 for ITS, as well as recladding the building with a new modern façade. Replacing the façade of the WK Hancock Building presented an exciting opportunity to fundamentally change the character of the building – a building that while it had a tired, dated and bland appearance, remained one of the tallest buildings (if not the tallest) on campus and was viewed from many areas around the campus, and indeed from further afield.
To this end AMC developed a façade replacement strategy which employed the following design principles:
The whole project, including the new façade, was completed with only a marginal increase to original project program and project budget, and provides the ITS with a fitting workplace within a modern office building.