Global Change Institute Part 1 Project 2012 Andrew Campbell University of Queensland | Australia The Global Change Institute (GCI) is a scheme proposed for the St Lucia Campus of the University of Queensland. The scheme seeks to provide the university with a post-graduate research facility for the primary study of matters relating to global change, particularly sustainability. The project requires a building which is in keeping with these principles of sustainability in building and conforms and contributes to the distinctive master plan for the established campus. The scheme in the context of the UQ master plan seeks to become a new gateway building to the fringe of the campus, acting as a conduit between the university and the public realm, in this case at the location of a new river crossing, which has become the primary means for student access to the campus. The scheme also deals with matters of scale and circulation in topographically challenging, previously back-of-house area of the campus. The principles inherent the proposed GCI master plan inform the mass and scale of the built form. The design idea for the GCI is based on the context of the unique topographical arrangement of the radial campus, which steps down a hill, largely obscured by buildings. This result in the incidental concealing and revealing of surprising voids and hidden spaces within the landscape which is inherent to the spatial character of the campus and contributes to a feeling of endless discovery for its inhabitants. The GCI draws the external quality of the spatial arrangement of the campus into the fabric of the building to engineer an experiential arrangement of volumes internally that also enables functional solutions to circulation of the campus, circulation of the building and arrangement of planning. Sustainability principles within the GCI are based on an effort to exploit the temperate climate of Southeast Queensland with two large north-facing atrium spaces and strategically placed concrete thermal masses, located behind an automated façade, controlling the lighting and thermal conditions with the building. The stacked floor plates of the structure wrap around the courtyards allowing the internal spaces to benefit from the controlled condition of the natural environment. Tutor(s) Tim O'Rourke