QUTIC P Block

PDT Architects were engaged to reconfigure and reimagine the existing spaces within the building to enhance the student experience through the provision of high-quality teaching spaces, increased access and connectivity between teaching and student spaces, and provision of greater staff amenity and efficiency through consolidation and redesign of staff office space.

As a result, PDT have come up with a design that has transformed the College into a renowned destination that facilitates diversity and a supportive platform into the greater university. The new design has further demonstrated the College’s mission to assist in the transformation of students, alongside a premium pathway equipped with quality services.

Based on a principle focused around student transformation and growth, inspiration was taken from nature and its undeniable ability to inspire & encourage serendipitous connections supported by an organic environment. Visually the space utilises the following design language elements to further capture this concept:Texture, Form, Natural & Artificial, Transparency & Opacity.

The main centre piece of the Foyer is a 6m high metal tree which resembles the form of a Queensland Bottle Tree. Whilst it celebrates the Queensland landscape that surrounds the College, it also symbolises the nurturing pathway that branches from the College into the broader University. The College is a centre for learning, growth, development and change for both students and staff and these ideas are translated through the physical form of the tree.

Fundamentally, the tree supports the collaborative, creative and supportive community that makes up the College and will forever represent the diverse student body that continues to grow and flourish there.

The base of the tree needed to be organic and represent the body and roots of the Bottle Tree whilst providing a functional computer desk for students and visitors to be able to work from. Corian^® was the perfect material for this formation and allowed for seamless integration of services creating a flawless end design result.

Corian^® was chosen for its organic and free-forming nature providing the best flexibility in a material to be able to achieve those unique forms. In such a high-traffic, public setting, hygiene was also a priority and Corian^® ticked all the boxes from a cleaning and maintenance point of view.

“I have been with PDT for over six years and in that time have worked across a variety of project types ranging across Health, Retail, Commercial, Education, Sporting, Aged Care and Retirement sectors. I absolutely love working on large commercial projects that require in-depth conceptualisation from the beginning and working alongside the client to help realise their visions in the built form. I thrive off the challenges that arise during the detailed design and construction phases of a project and feel they all add to a great sense of accomplishment at the end when it has all come together. This project in particular has been, by far, the highlight of my career to date.” Brooke Proctor.