RMIT University
RMIT Super Labs
BKK is fitting out forward-thinking IT Super Labs for RMIT.
They will be large spaces for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) formal and informal learning including bootcamp courses. They will be used mainly by the College of STEM, including the Schools of Engineering and Computing Technologies.
They are in Buildings 12 and 14, both on Swanston Street in the Melbourne CBD.
The labs will essentially be contemporary learning spaces that can be rearranged for different teaching modes and choices. They will be customised to different class sizes, and be technologically and acoustically equipped for several classes to share them simultaneously. They will set the scene for cross-collaboration between schools, and for new forms of digital interaction.
By reconfiguring the interiors, we will maximise opportunities for enjoyable and useful breakout zones in the spaces surrounding the labs.
Because it’s a busy university building constantly in use, we began with investigations to understand compliance issues and determine what to repurpose and what to replace.
Indigenous graphic art
The glazed divider wall features a new commission from Melbourne artist ENOKi (aka Darcy McConnell), a proud Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta Non-Binary Blak Fulla multimedia artist who focuses on digital media.
ENOKi created a work with multiple visual elements inspired by First Nations craftsmanship and science, both historic and recent. They include trees used to make wooden tools, eel traps (literal and abstract), native grasses used in weaving, and an abstract depiction of sheep shears developed by Indigenous inventor David Unaipon and patented in 1909.
The project is on Wurundjeri Country so we also discussed it with two Wurundjeri Elders.