UTS to open new state-of-the-art engineering and IT building

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) will unveil its new Faculty of Engineering and IT (FEIT) building tomorrow (12 June). The building is the largest of three state-of-the-art buildings to be constructed as part of the university’s billion-dollar City Campus Master Plan.

Representing a multimillion-dollar investment in the future of learning and research, the FEIT classrooms, public spaces and research spaces will accommodate up to 5000 students and staff.

Located on the corner of Broadway and Wattle Street, Ultimo, the 44,000 m² FEIT building is clad in an aluminium ‘binary code screen’ patterned with 1s and 0s that define the facade. The building also features a light-filled atrium and the latest in cutting-edge technology, including robotics, computer and human-centred design labs, and a 3D data visualisation facility - the Data Arena - which will be the most advanced research facility of its type in Australia.

Designed to nurture graduates and researchers to drive technology innovation, traditional, large lecture theatres will be replaced by smaller, collaborative classrooms and theatres.

The building itself will operate as a ‘living lab’ that embodies leading-edge sustainable technology features such as a wind turbine, water recycling and solar panel technology. These elements will be captured and displayed in real time on wireless sensors installed throughout the entire building, with data also used for teaching and research purposes.

The building will open for teaching in late July 2014, at the start of Semester 2.

The total construction cost of the FEIT Building was $190 million. UTS received both state and federal government support for the project, through $50 million in funding from the Australian Government and $1.2 million from the NSW Government Department of Trade and Industry’s Science Leverage Funding Program.