The Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) has officially opened their Woden campus, approximately 10 kilometers south of Canberra's CBD.
Designed by architecture practice Gray Puksand in collaboration with Infrastructure Canberra, CIT and Lendlease, the 22,500-square-metre facility will accommodate up to 6,500 students a year. Concept designs for the project were released in August 2022, three months after the architects were appointed.
A press release from the architects notes that "the campus is designed to embed education within the public life of the local community." At ground floor, activated street frontages, publicly accessible spaces and direct links to transport - including a public transport interchange currently in construction - are designed to dissolve "the boundaries between learning and civic participation."
Partner at Gray Puksand Barry Hackett commented, "CIT Woden speaks to a broader evolution in institutional interiors, where civic buildings are designed not only for access, but also for comfort, dignity, and engagement. It is a campus designed not just to serve a curriculum, but to support how people live, learn and gather.
"In doing so, it reflects the evolving role of vocational education in Australian cities, where institutions are increasingly seen as a driver of community connection, urban renewal and economic opportunity," said Hackett.
According to their communique, Gray Puksand's design for CIT Woden responds also to the identity of the campus's setting on Ngunnawal Country. The architectural form draws from the surrounding landscape, with facade geometries referencing the Brindabella Ranges. At roof level, a circular oculus featuring a wedge-tailed eagle, or Mulleun, is intended to represent a totem of the Ngunnawal people.
The design process included consultation with Yerrabingin on the integration and expression of Country throughout the campus. The collaboration informed spatial strategies, cultural references and materials used across the public realm and interior design.
CEO and co-founder of Yerrabingin Christian Hampson said, "We applied our designing with Country practice Wanganni Dhayar, that brings together First Nations communities and built environment professionals to guide a Country centred approach to CIT Woden. This approach informed spatial planning to the expression of landscape and light."
Each floor of the five-level building is distinguished by colour, with muted earth tones at ground level and lighter sky tones above encouraging clear wayfinding.
Smart classrooms, specialist labs and open collaboration areas are distributed throughout to support various work, training and study modes in industries such as business and management, creative industries, cyber and IT, hair and beauty, and hospitality, culinary and tourism.
The campus design integrates sustainability as a core framework, with CIT Woden being declared by Gray Puksand as one of the first institutions of its kind to combine mass timber construction with fully electric systems.
The 6-Star Green Star campus incorporates approximately 1,200 cubic metres of engineered timber across both the exterior and interior, and is supported by 100 percent renewable energy from the ACT grid, rooftop planting, water harvesting and solar photovoltaic infrastructure.
Reflecting on Gray Puksand's approach, Hackett noted, "Designing an educational precinct of this scale without fossil fuels pushed us to rethink every system and assumption. CIT Woden demonstrates that large, high-performance education buildings can meet ambitious sustainability targets without compromising functionality or long-term public value."
The architecture firm claims that the major investment into the campus and surrounding infrastructure will deliver broad and long-term civic and economic value, improving "pathways into training and employment across critical industries to support the territory's future."
Former acting CEO of CIT Christine Robertson added that the campus "gives our students a place they can feel proud of, one that reflects the quality of training provided and the vital role vocational education plays in the community. The campus will strengthen our ability to attract and retain learners, foster meaningful educational outcomes, and build workforce capability across the region."
