RMIT design hub sports an operable glass and steel facade

sean godsell’s RMIT design hub sports an operable glass and steel facade
image © earl carter

sean godsell architects have created a consolidated ‘design hub’ on the RMIT campus aimed at fostering interdisciplinary interaction and encouraging hybridity in research. while the RMIT campus is a leading institution that specializes in design investigation, the architecture was such that post graduates were strewn across various campuses and facilities. the new hub is planned around the open-plan premise of warehouses and fitted with optimal spaces for group work and collaborations. the program is structured like a residency wherein teams may stay anywhere from six months to three years; a function balanced in the progression of highly productive spaces and designed places of incidence. while the program requires a high level of adaptability, the building’s paths of circulation, exhibition space and design archive allow opportunities for the exchange of ideas between researchers, the public and industry.   

the skin of the structure seamlessly integrates sustainable technology into the facade with evaporative cooling and fresh air intakes that improve the internal air quality and reduce operations costs. tectonically, the hub is an envelope of energy efficient design strategies, sporting a novel exterior comprised of operable cylindrical shading devices and a double glazed inner skin. the high functioning envelope is a fabric of shading devices of sandblasted glass discs surrounds the entire building, a galvanized steel ring of slightly greater diameter defines each glass roundel. a composition of 21 glass and steel modules is arranged into a panel and affixed to the architecture’s outer planes. the accretion of these layered shading device is a high-performing cladding that additionally responds to the rich collaborations housed within.

view of the offset skin of discs in the building as a whole
image © earl carter

each steel ring has a rotating sandblasted glass disc in it
image © earl carter

passive design strategies, in particular methods that diffuse light, were of central importance
image © earl carter

facade view
image © earl carter

(left): the modular skin is offset from the building mass
(right): spaces are designed for incidental meetings and collaboration
image © earl carter

interior view of one of the research labs
image © earl carter

circulation views
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passive systems, usually with a glazed inner skin were used
image © earl carter

image © earl carter

the ring-filled panels envelope the whole structure
image © earl carter

exterior skins is fully operable
image © earl carter

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