NMIT took over the former Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital site for a new campus. While most of the site had been re-developed, a central Heritage Listed former infectious diseases isolation ward building had been left derelict for more than a decade, as the configuration of small rooms had made conversion extremely complex. Our proposal was to open up the building for use as a Resource and Information Centre as the central ‘flagship’ building for the whole campus.

The major intervention was to insert a new steel structure within three storeys of existing brick building, then demolish internal loadbearing walls to create new spaces. Because of its Heritage Listing, further challenges included preserving the existing modernist facade while dealing with the massive East / West heat loads and complying with current energy efficiency regulations.

The design successfully dealt with all these challenges. Energy efficient lighting and airconditioning was installed, along with rainwater harvesting to service the amenities areas of the building. New entrance pathways and ramp allows disabled access at the newly created front entrance. Both staff and members of the public are delighted with the result. The project of approx $8M was completed in May 2010