A dazzling display of LED lighting is set to light up Perth’s skyline after the media architecture for the city’s first CBD university campus was revealed.

And a four-storey screen will form one of the largest indoor LED displays across Australia.

The media architecture for Edith Cowan University’s new $853 million city campus has been unveiled.

Set to open in first semester next year, the campus is the centrepiece of the $1.75 billion Perth City Deal that was struck between the Commonwealth Government, the Western Australian Government and the City of Perth in 2021.

Set to be known as ECU City, the new campus will cater for more than 10,000 students and staff.

It will bring together creative industries, business and law and emerging technologies onto the new campus in the CBD.

It will be home to ECU’s renowned Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), School of Business and Law, School of Arts and Humanities with the WA Screen Academy and Broadcasting, and emerging technology programs from the School of Science and Kurongkurl Katitjin – the university’s Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research.

In terms of the media architecture, features include:

  • An external feature which boasts more than 2,800 custom LED lattice fixtures which are integrated into a distinctive fin façade. If placed end to end, these would stretch for almost five kilometres. This system allows video integration across two sides of the campus’ exterior and thus creates a dynamic public experience for visitors moving through Perth’s city centre.
  • An impressive four storey screen inside within the building’s main foyer. At 407 square meters and wrapping across multiple surfaces, the screen forms an immersive canvas which is designed for public engagement, creative expression and storytelling. It will showcase an evolving and curated content program that will feature the creative works of artists and students.

(ECU City Main Foyer Screen)

The campus’ advanced digital infrastructure is built on similar technology to that which is used in global film and gaming production.

Similar technology has been used at destinations such as Outernet London, Sphere Las Vegas and the AT&T Discovery District in Dallas.

The campus was designed by a consortium consisting of Australian architectural firm Lyons, Perth-based Silver Thomas Hanley and international architects Haworth Tomkins.

It is being delivered by head contractor Multiplex.

Western Australian Premier Roger Cook welcomed the release of the designs.

“Part of what makes the ECU City project truly extraordinary is the media architecture that powers it,” Cook said.

“We are talking about the same cutting-edge digital infrastructure that sits behind the LED volume stages used in blockbuster global productions. That means Western Australian students, researchers and creatives will have access to the same tools as the world’s leading film, gaming and broadcast industries.

“ECU City puts Perth among world-leading destinations. It says to the world that Western Australia is not just participating in the conversation about how technology, culture and education come together, we are leading it.

“This is a project that gives Western Australia’s young people the chance to learn and work at the cutting edge. It creates opportunities for industry to partner with education in new and exciting ways. And it cements Perth’s reputation as a city of imagination, ambition and possibility.”

 

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