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Media Release

May 18, 2005

Mawson Centre opens new chapter in community engagement

The new Mawson Centre will be opened on May 19 at 2pm and celebrated as a symbol of a new kind of community engagement in Adelaide’s north.

The landmark building located adjacent to the Mawson Lakes town centre, has the kind of unique backing that makes it a model for similar community development projects.

Driven by a partnership between UniSA, the City of Salisbury, the SA Department of Education and Children’s Services and the Mawson Lakes Joint Venture, comprising Delfin Lend Lease and the LMC, the Centre is a tangible representation of Mawson Lakes as a community for the future – environmentally efficient, socially integrated and one focussed on lifelong learning.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor Denise Bradley says the Centre signifies an important commitment to the local community.

“UniSA has engaged with the northern region for many years to improve the accessibility of tertiary education and to help break down the myriad social and economic barriers preventing people from considering this level of study,” Professor Bradley said.

“In 2002 we adopted a more strategic, University-wide approach to these activities through the establishment of UNAP – the UniSA Northern Adelaide Partnerships program and we have dedicated significant resources to this initiative in the past few years because we believe it is important that those who live in Northern Adelaide are able to enjoy a future where they participate fully in our society and share in its economic success.

“With opening of the Mawson Centre we are celebrating a partnership that in many ways is a physical reflection of this momentum for change, a celebration of the faith and hope we all have in the power of education and community to transform our world.”

Architects Guida Moseley Brown and Russell and Yelland in association have developed a building that is environmentally and operationally efficient, has a civic presence and at the same time, is open, inviting and vibrant.

The Mawson Centre features university teaching spaces side by side with spaces designed for the community. It includes a state of the art SA Water 255-seat theatre that at the touch of some very high tech equipment can be transformed for small community theatrical performances. Computer technology in the facility is highly sophisticated with information access tailored to meet the needs of students, residents, staff or researchers. And for students the facilities are available around the clock.

The Centre also features tutorial, case study presentation and group discussion rooms, the Microarts computer lab, the headquarters for UniSA’s Division of Information Technology Engineering and the Environment and is home to the administrative and information centre for the Mawson Lakes School and Education Service, and the Salisbury Council’s branch library.

Other features that encourage public use of the Centre include a café, exhibition space and an attractive courtyard.

In keeping with the environmental goals of the wider Mawson Lakes community the building has been designed to make use of grey water and to monitor heating and cooling through a high tech building management system which maximizes energy efficiency.

Bounded by the UniSA campus, local schools, research facilities, shops and suburban streetscapes, the Mawson Centre is likely to become the hub of the progressive Mawson Lakes community.

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