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KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing Render

JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan

Urban Design, Education, Performance Based Design, University, Masterplanning

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing

JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan

Urban Design, Education, Performance Based Design, University, Masterplanning

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - CFD Analysis

JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan

Urban Design, Education, Performance Based Design, University, Masterplanning

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Render

JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan

Urban Design, Education, Performance Based Design, University, Masterplanning

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Render

JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan

Urban Design, Education, Performance Based Design, University, Masterplanning

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Site Plan

JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan

Urban Design, Education, Performance Based Design, University, Masterplanning

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing

JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan

Urban Design, Education, Performance Based Design, University, Masterplanning

JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan

Cairns, Queensland The JCU Cairns Campus Master Plan 2019 establishes a decision-making tool for the evolution of the campus. The Master Plan was developed through careful site analysis by a multidisciplinary team, comprehensive stakeholder and user engagement, and the use of advanced urban climate analysis to address the unique environmental challenges of the wet tropics.

Client
James Cook University

Status
Complete

Traditional Custodians of the land
The Gimuy-walubarra yidi

Program
6 months

Vision

The vision for the Cairns Campus Master Plan 2019 is to enhance the student experience on campus through consolidating and densifying the campus core to create an active campus heart and hub of excitement, learning and vibrancy for all campus users.

The Master Plan aspires to enable an enriched engagement with the significant tropical landscape setting through extending the successful covered walkway network and creating comfortable outdoor learning and social spaces to foster curiosity and promote cross-pollination of ideas between campus users.

The Master Plan strives to strengthen campus identity through enhancing the arrival experience and to create a world-class, sustainable and uniquely tropical campus experience for all users.

To achieve the vision, eight guiding principles were identified:

  • Walkable compact campus - an infill and upgrade approach
  • Optimise land utilisation - conserve for the future
  • Logic of campus life to be vibrant and enriching
  • Align sustainability program with the University Plan
  • Place-making identity - character informed by wet tropical landscape
  • Memorable social-spatial framework - primacy of the public realm
  • Develop built form typology that responds to the tropical climate
  • Interdisciplinary/Multi-disciplinary pedagogy
The JCU Cairns Master Plan 2019 strives to achieve an engagement plan that is respectful of Indigenous people and their understandings of place, and to be inspired into a design process that delivers a campus environment for all campus users to find their special place at JCU

Martin Nakata
Pro Vice Chancellor, Indigenous Education & Strategy

Microclimate + Campus Physics Analysis - KIRK Advanced Buildings & Cities (ABC)

Integrating the natural conditions of place is a core component of the design process within KIRK research group - Advanced Buildings & Cities. By using analytical tools with aggregated climate data collected across 40 years, the climatic conditions can be accurately modelled. Strategic organisation of landscape and open space together with optimisation of built form, orientation & positioning to utilise prevailing breezes whilst minimising solar heat gain and the heat island effect, ensures a campus fit to tackle climate change conditions.

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Cairns Solar Radiation - Dry Season
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Cairns Solar Radiation - Wet Season
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Cairns Wind Data - Dry Season
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Cairns Wind Data - Wet Season
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - JCU user group workshop led by KIRK and design team
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Student workshop led by the design team
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Presentation from Sasaki - Student Urban Design Studio
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Richard Kirk & Charles Wright with Cairns Mayor Cr Bob Manning OAM
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Richard with Cr Jesse Richardson
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - User group workshop
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Community presentation by Sasaki

Stakeholder Engagement & Consultation

The Master Plan involved intensive stakeholder and user engagement over a period of six months. KIRK and the Master Plan team led a series of interviews with key community members identified, workshops with user groups and urban design students at JCU, presentations to the broader community and surveys.

The engagement process highlighted significant opportunities and challenges for the campus that were categorised into stakeholder feedback themes and represented within the Master Plan. The process also highlighted a desire for enhanced engagement between the community, industry partners and the University.

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing

Organising Principles

To achieve the Master Plan vision, four organising principles were identified that align with the existing campus conditions and reinforce the campus structure. The four organising principles form the basis of the Master Plan implementation roadmap - the Frameworks, Initiatives, Campus urban design guidelines and Development controls.

KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland -  Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Master Plan - Educational Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing
KIRK JCU James Cook University - Masterplan - Educational Architectural Building - Cairns Queensland - Drawing

Campus Urban Design Guidelines

The Master Plan includes a variety of land and building uses whose organisation and function create a sense of collegiality, enhance the academic atmosphere, and promote rich learning environments. The Campus Urban Design Guidelines provide detailed guidance on a few key development parcels along with streetscape sections that demonstrate how a tropical landscape campus identity can be achieved and integrated with underground services.

Development Controls

The development lot configuration provides direction and guidance for building placement, site organisation, and placemaking decisions and expresses the campus's overall character.

Development parcels have built-in setbacks to adjacent lots; therefore, no additional setback guidelines have been assigned. As a general campus rule, all built form on development parcels should occupy a maximum of 40% of the ground floor plane to encourage air movement and promote visual transparency through the campus.

Significantly, landscape zones have been identified to promote air movement across campus and enable JCU to confidently implement a tropical landscape character.

Team
Lead Architect KIRK
Architect in Association Charles Wright Architects
Architect & Campus Planner in Association Sasaki
Landscape Architect RPS
Services Engineer RPS
Town Planner Cardno
Microclimate Analysis KIRK Advanced Buildings & Cities with Neapoli

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