ANU Pop-Up Village

ANU Pop-Up Village

Winner of the Australian Institute of Architects Awards (ACT Chapter) 2018 – Urban Design Category

Winner of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Awards 2018 – Urban Design Category

Working in close collaboration with Oculus Landscape Architecture, we were commissioned by the Australian National University, Canberra (ANU) to create an $8 m temporary village student hub. This would become the beating heart of the ANU campus for 18 months during the construction of the new Union Court Development.
The ANU Pop-Up Village was designed as the temporary heart of the ANU campus for 18 months during the redevelopment of the new Union Court development. Conceived as a connective day and night environment for the students, the village accommodates the temporary relocation of ANU’s retail core, which includes student services, student organisations, common spaces, and food and beverage.

Located adjacent to the tree lined University Avenue to attract an audience from the University and Canberra city, the village consists of 2400sqm of enclosed space and 1600sqm of decking space, and is envisioned as a bridge between ANU and the city. The village is composed around four interrelated sections. For economy, these comprise a mixture of new-build, fitout, and site shed accommodations.

Utilising humble timber and truss technology, the village offers a myriad of atmospheres to encourage interaction and social activation. The skillful interplay of proximity and scale across the village demonstrates a holistic interpretation of place that interweaves in-between spaces to encourage social connectivity for the University and the greater Canberra populace. At the end of its tenure, the village will be dismantled and re-used in other guises, and the existing landscape reinstated.

Photography by Jaime Diaz-Berrio