WSU Hawkesbury R3, R5, R7 Adaptive Reuse

Buildcorp was engaged by Western Sydney University to complete the heritage restoration and adaptive reuse of the R3, R5 and R7 buildings at its Hawkesbury campus.

Buildings R3 and R5 date back to the late 1800s when the campus was known as the ‘Hawkesbury Agricultural College’ – the first agricultural college in NSW. All three buildings were previously used for student accommodation up until 2014 when they were vacated in preparation for the refurbishment. The buildings comprise of some original finishes of architectural and historic importance to be restored as part of the works, including remnant timber boarded lathe and plaster ceilings, ripple iron ceilings, original timber joinery to the verandah, windows and stairs and coloured leadlight windows.

Once used for student accommodation, the newly refurbished spaces are now used for staff and administration offices.

The project included internal and external demolition works to the buildings, new openings built into walls, structural steel strengthening to the walls and roofs, construction of two new lift shafts and fire escape stairs, as well as significant services upgrades, including new central mechanical plant, substation and switchboard for the buildings.