The Medical School in Grafton has occupied a set of sturdy Stephenson and Turner buildings that date from the late ’60s. Together with Daryl Jackson of Sydney, Jasmax worked on the masterplan of the area and won the commission to create a more student-centred space and reorganise the way the faculty operated, consistent with modern teaching methods and research needs. They have designed a new building (Boyle), which springs off one of the existing blocks; between this and another existing block, they have created a several-storeyed atrium space.

This is the heart of the redesign and it is a very generous space. The previous entry to the school was very direct: past security and into a lift lobby. There was no student social space and the buildings were very insular, organised as vertical silos. The new design has everything more horizontally organised with connections made between the buildings and flowing through the atrium space. The lower two floors are for the undergraduates and are more open; rising up the building, the security increases with the level of postgraduate research.

The naturally ventilated atrium is bordered on one side by a wide stair that leads right up through the building, faced with a lime-green chamfered handrail. It is designed to encourage students to take the stairs instead of using the lift. At ground level, there is a café and also an open student lounge and the student admin centre. Above it is the library and student commons with computers for students. Colourful furniture helps the stressed-out students relax and there are multiple places for them to sit and plug in their laptops.

The Boyle building has open-plan offices and internal meeting rooms, clinics and staff lounges. The research labs in the existing buildings have been completely rebuilt in line with the most modern overseas labs, including being as open as possible to facilitate more collaboration.

Contemporary teaching and learning demand more collaborative and connected space. Jasmax has met this need ably with the atrium that connects the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and allows it to breathe.