The RMIT Justice Centre is a 10-storey educational facility situated on the corner of Queensberry and Bouverie Streets, Carlton. The building houses the RMIT Law School, and offers flexible teaching spaces, informal study spaces, two lecture theaters, break out spaces, and a library.
The building is designed to be broken into three components to reduce the visual bulk from the street, with the podium referencing the heights of the heritage buildings on Queensberry Street. The northern facade is composed of a prefabricated GRC facade, designed to block out the sun in summer, and allow light in winter.
Several large openings and balconies cut into the building to express the idea of the transparency of the Justice system, with the structural mass of the concrete representing stability and authority. The idea of transparency is also reflected in function, with the ground floor tenancy space available for public use, and a large, open, informal lecture space opening onto Bouverie Street.
The precast concrete panels of the podium are dyed and have a brick pattern imprinted, referencing the brick buildings of Carlton. Further references are made the other law institutions, including the High Court of Australia and Melbourne County Court.
(2020)
