Monash University Logan Hall

Monash University Logan Hall

Concept

The 6 level 250 tenant building located at the Monash University Clayton Campus for the purpose of Student Accommodation, incorporates both living and communal areas designed to increase communication and exchanges with other tenants. The large, spacious, and effectively designed communal areas particularly benefit students with the idea of working together.

The building is positioned to maximise its northern frontage. The building’s stepped form and colonnade define a landscaped foreground to the building that sits alongside the newly developed Sports Walk.

The Ground Floor of Logan will be occupied by a mix of retail tenants, with the back of the house and servicing from the rear of the L-shaped footprint. Building services, plant and equipment, the residents’ garden and BBQ facilities will be located in a landscaped courtyard to the south of the building.

The ground floor of Logan features a bicycle arrival station and storage center. This area provides a comprehensive end of journey bicycle facility comprising undercover secure parking for bicycles.

Logan features both vertical air circulation and common facilities in the corner where the two wings meet, on each level. These which include double height common and games rooms are places of increased activity where students meet and socialize while enjoying the eastern views to the Dandenong’s and beyond.

The passive design elements used in the design of the building help to minimise energy use requirements through the use of fixed-shading on windows, which controls overheating, daylight and views. The precast concrete cladding is sized to optimise glazing requirements and is insulated to minimise heat loss. The facade finishes feature integral materials for long-term durability and robustness.

To the north and east, the building has a generous colonnade which aligns with the natural pedestrian desire lines of the campus. The colonnade provides a sheltered space between the cafes and the northern landscaped forecourt. To the east, the split masses of Logan acts to reinforce the civic quality of Scenic Boulevard. To the north, the modularity of the student units has been utilized to provide an unlikely and expressive form the recalls the distinct modernist origins of the Monash Clayton Campus.

 

Completed
December 2015
Location
Scenic Blvd, Clayton
Awards

AIA National Awards 2016

Winner – National Award for Residential Architecture – Multiple-Housing 

AIA Victorian Chapter Awards 2016

Winner; Best Overend Award for Residential Architecture – Multiple-Housing

Dulux Colour Awards 2016

Multi-residential Exterior

Multi-residential Interior, Commendation

Publications

Arch20, 17 April 2017
Archello, 14 July 2017
ArchDaily, 5 April 2017

Sustainability

The finishes of the facade of Logan include materials for long-term durability, wear, the elements and robustness. Parts of the perimeter of the new buildings is primarily comprised of a maintenance-free glazed brick outer shell. The internal space is structured so as to allow long-term flexibility and adaptability.

Interior

Monash University, conceived in the modernist heyday, is the veritable inversion of the traditional sandstone campus. Buildings as objects and mini-megastructures, the exceptional and the ordinary, are dotted throughout a native landscape. It is these origins which give the campus its uniqueness and it is these origins that detract from its urbanity. The work by the Monash University Design Review Panel and Campus Master Planners (MGS Architects) seeks to bring more definition and legibility to the Clayton campus. Their work has included steering developments to enhance the environmental quality through more clearly defined precincts, to improve the clarity of the campus landscape walks, and to conceive of Monash University as a 24-7 University City. There is a tension between the origins and uniqueness of the campus and this desire for a new sense of urban legibility. The project for Logan Hall sought to respond to this tension and the MGS Architects masterplan.

While three of the facades represent an adherence to a rectangular street pattern and a traditional urbanism, to the north, the modularity of the student units has been exploited to provide an unlikely and expressive form that recalls the distinct modernist formalism so evident in this Campus. This formal act also enlivens the interior corridors of the building, improving the public space and relieving monotony throughout. The stepped motif is echoed throughout the building and utilized to provide rich colour and material expression throughout the public spaces of the building.