Case study: Furnishing WSU’s revolutionary “omniverse” campus

Western Sydney University’s new Bankstown City Campus reimagines the future of tertiary education environments. Koskela was proud to play a part in the project, supplying sustainable, collaborative and flexible furniture that supports diverse learning modes.

When you think of a university campus, sprawling lawns and heritage-listed buildings may be the first things that spring to mind. But as the future of education changes, so do the environments that facilitate learning. 

Enter: Western Sydney University’s new Bankstown City Campus, located on the traditional lands of the Dharug people. The learning facility is indeed sprawling – with a 26,500 sqm footprint – but instead of reaching outwards, it reaches skywards. 

Featuring nine levels for education and nine levels for industry collaborators, the campus employs an innovative “omniverse” model that values flexibility and collaboration, enmeshing the campus’s 10,000 students and 1,000 staff with industry, community and culture. It’s tech-forward, accessible and student-centred, with a mix of scalable research studios, personalised spaces and formal and informal learning environments.

Think of it as a vertical realm of enlightenment.

The building design is the brainchild of architects HDR (in collaboration with Walker Corporation and Lyons), who see the campus as a jewel in the crown of Bankstown’s emerging major business and administrative district. 

“Moving forward, the Bankstown City Campus is destined to become a world-class learning, education, and research facility, setting a high standard for the local Canterbury-Bankstown community,” says Graeme Spencer, Principal of Education & Science at HDR. “We are confident that it will elevate the civic pride of Western Sydney for years to come.”

Koskela was a proud partner of the project, supplying a large volume of Learn and Work furnishings for various areas of the campus.

The brief was:

• to supply adaptable furniture solutions that allow students and staff to switch seamlessly between learning styles;
• to celebrate the rich diversity and multiculturalism of the student population;
• to connect the campus to Country and community;
• all while meeting WSU’s ambitious sustainability and environmental goals. (The building itself carries a remarkable 6 star Green Star rating.)

For seating, we supplied the flexible, comfortable and contemporary Millie Chair, the sleek and adaptable Kaaria Chair, the classic Jake Chair (inspired by old-school cafeteria seating), single units of the highly flexible Quadrant Soft Modular Sofa and units of our eye-catching, angular Nurkka Sofa. Supplied tables included the all-occasion PBS Rectangular table with power capabilities, the round-edged Anssi Table, the social touchstone PBS Ping Pong table and collaborative tables from our Y Series.

We also supplied manoeuvrable Juha Whiteboards and hundreds of our hand-woven light pendants, created in collaboration with Indigenous artists through our social impact model.

“We were delighted to be tapped by HDR to collaborate on this special project for Western Sydney University,” says Koskela co-founder Sasha Titchkosky. “It’s always exciting to work on groundbreaking new educational ideas. And as we work to close the loop on our waste stream and become Australia’s first circular furniture company by 2027, we really appreciate working with other organisations that take sustainability seriously.”Architects: HDR, in collaboration with Walker Corporation and Lyons

Construction: Built

Explore our Learn and Work ranges of furniture.