Project overview
This project will see all three levels of the J Robin Warren Library stripped back and completely refurbished. With the nature of student study and learning changing, there is greater focus on collaborative study supported with extensive e-learning components.
Libraries are evolving to support these opportunities and the refurbishment will help achieve this goal. The new design will introduce:
- Library for all users - future, current and past students, researchers, academics, alumni and the community
- High quality education and learning environment, including:
- 70 seats of quiet study areas on the upper study level
- 120 seat e-learning suite and a 20 station computer laboratory
- bookable meeting spaces
- collection of high use print books and journals.
- Extensive wi-fi coverage
Location
This project will see all three levels of the J Robin Warren Library stripped back and completely refurbished. With the nature of student study and learning changing, there is greater focus on collaborative study supported with extensive e-learning components.
Libraries are evolving to support these opportunities and the refurbishment will help achieve this goal. The new design will introduce:
- Library for all users - future, current and past students, researchers, academics, alumni and the community
- High quality education and learning environment, including:
- 70 seats of quiet study areas on the upper study level
- 120 seat e-learning suite and a 20 station computer laboratory
- bookable meeting spaces
- collection of high use print books and journals.
- Extensive wi-fi coverage
Design
This project will see all three levels of the J Robin Warren Library stripped back and completely refurbished. With the nature of student study and learning changing, there is greater focus on collaborative study supported with extensive e-learning components.
Libraries are evolving to support these opportunities and the refurbishment will help achieve this goal. The new design will introduce:
- Library for all users - future, current and past students, researchers, academics, alumni and the community
- High quality education and learning environment, including:
- 70 seats of quiet study areas on the upper study level
- 120 seat e-learning suite and a 20 station computer laboratory
- bookable meeting spaces
- collection of high use print books and journals.
- Extensive wi-fi coverage
Timeline
This project will see all three levels of the J Robin Warren Library stripped back and completely refurbished. With the nature of student study and learning changing, there is greater focus on collaborative study supported with extensive e-learning components.
Libraries are evolving to support these opportunities and the refurbishment will help achieve this goal. The new design will introduce:
- Library for all users - future, current and past students, researchers, academics, alumni and the community
- High quality education and learning environment, including:
- 70 seats of quiet study areas on the upper study level
- 120 seat e-learning suite and a 20 station computer laboratory
- bookable meeting spaces
- collection of high use print books and journals.
- Extensive wi-fi coverage
FAQs
The University is progressing with the planning and approvals of a new chilled water tank on its Perth campus to ensure chilled water demand (air-conditioning) is available for current buildings and future developments. We appreciate that it’s important for our staff. students and the community to be fully informed about major projects at UWA. These frequently asked questions are designed to provide further information about the project.
Why is the University proposing to build this facility on its Perth campus?
The UWA Perth campus utilises a central chilled water system to provide comfort air-conditioning, environment control of laboratories and other critical facilities and equipment cooling. This system has expanded over the years to cover almost all buildings on the campus. It has many benefits of energy efficiency, water efficiency, reliability and maintainability.
The chilled water system has reached full cooling capacity (during peak load periods) and areas of the University will be at risk of inadequate cooling. To alleviate this problem, it has been identified that urgent infrastructure investment is required to ensure chilled water demand is available, now and into the future.
Why is the University proposing to build this facility in this location?
The location of the proposed facility has been selected for numerous reasons. Firstly, a location to the north of campus was required to complement the existing Central Chilled Water Plant (mid campus) and 2 megalitre storage tank (south campus) and allow the efficient distribution of chilled water throughout the campus.
Locating the tank near current and future cooling demand with separation from the existing chilled water supply provides significant benefit to the operation of the infrastructure. Visual impact studies were then undertaken of tank locations to the north of campus to narrow the available locations down to a precinct that would have a lower impact. Options within this precinct were then investigated and assessed against a criteria to find the most suitable location.
These criteria included:
- Supports pedestrian wayfinding
- Support future place making
- Integrates with future development
- Impact on existing trees
- Impact on existing buildings/car parks
- Visual impact
- Infrastructure efficiency
- Impact on neighboring activities
- Buildability
What does the facility do?
The chilled water facility allows the utilisation period of off-peak electrical demand/usage (night time) to produce chilled water. The chilled water is stored and then withdrawn and distributed throughout the campus to supply the air conditioning units to allow cooling of buildings during periods of peak electrical demand/usage. Chilled water storage directly addresses the single biggest contributor to electric utility grid stress, air-conditioning loads, by generating the cool water during times of low demand.
How many car bays will be unavailable during the construction of the CWT?
Up to 68 car bays and 8 motorcycle bays may be unavailable during the construction stage. (65 red bays, 1 mobility bay, 1 reserve bay and 1 service bay).
How will I be impacted by the construction of the CWT?
When construction begins on the new CWT, access arrangements to car park 18 and 20 may be altered. Access to car park 18 (between Robert Street Building and the Child Study Centre) will be restricted.
Those who use this car park will need to consider using other parking areas on campus or alternative ways of travelling to campus. Those who traverse this area will need to walk around the area which will be delineated with hoarding. Construction activities will result in standard construction disruptions but these will be managed as part of the Construction Management Plan.
Will local residents be impacted by the development?
The University aims to ensure the level of disruption is minimised for everyone.
It is intended that road access will be open and if, for any reason, access is required to be restricted, the University will aim to provide advance notification and alternative access arrangements wherever possible.
Will the new facility be sustainable?
The University is acting in the best long-term interests of the campus. The chilled water tank has been deemed the most economical and sustainable design solution to address the increased demand for chilled water. Further sustainability initiatives are being considered as part of the design of the facility and the public realm.
Will any trees or vegetation be removed as part of the project?
As part of the project, an assessment will be undertaken to identify any trees that can be re-located elsewhere on the University campus. All trees in the precinct have been assessed by an arborist as Category A (high quality) and B (medium quality) and will be managed in line with UWA’s landscape strategy.