Designing education on a grand scale

Monash University Malaysia has announced its partnership with TRX City Sdn Bhd, the master developer of Tun Razak Exchange, to establish a campus for the university in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Designed by Grimshaw and GDP, the new campus will be one of the university’s largest international education commitments and forms a key part of Malaysia’s International Financial Centre.

Located in the TRX Urban Quarter, the vertical campus concept for the 139355-square-metre development is shaped by its dense city context and the university’s ambition to create a world class sustainable, interactive eco-system for education.

When the campus opens in 2032, it will accommodate 22,000 students and the design, which works in direct relationship with the evolved pedagogy of the university, will support learning that is active and collaborative, enabling exchange between departments and disciplines and the advancement of knowledge.

The campus is conceived as a series of stacked blocks rotated over a common podium, each capped with landscaped terraces and student amenities. This 22-storey development forms itself around a quadrant, with vertical circulation zones rising from the ground level.

Teaching and learning spaces sit at the lower levels, with the upper levels programmed for more complex research and workplace accommodation. The connection and access between the blocks, across the quadrant and within the terraces, connects students within the university, mirroring the 24/7 city life beyond.

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The quadrant will become the hub of student life – an open space for informal and formal gatherings, outdoor learning, graduations, events and conventions. A student accommodation tower to the south-eastern corner of the site will complete the campus masterplan.

“Monash University Malaysia will not only transform the university’s offer in the city but also sets learning and research distinctly within the city: connecting education with economy and knowledge with urban regeneration, for a more dynamic and cognisant university life,” says Keith Brewis, Partner at Grimshaw.

With an ambition to deliver a highly sustainable campus, connected to its climate and landscape, almost every space will offer students and staff visual or physical access to indigenous greenery, improved air quality and views across the city and to the mountains.

Passive environmental design strategies will ensure cool and naturally ventilated spaces between air-conditioned rooms to minimise energy consumption and the project is targeting LEED Gold and GBI Platinum certification, supporting the university’s net zero targets.

This new campus will complement the wider Tun Razak Exchange masterplan and further support the Lifestyle Quarter which was master planned by Grimshaw for the Lendlease and TRX City Joint Venture in 2015.

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Photography
Renders, courtesy of Grimshaw