Wollongong: from bunker to beauty

A transformation is taking place at the University of Wollongong Library. An extension to the building is adding 2,000 square metres of space across three floors and visually changing the façade from a heavy bunker to a light-filled, transparent space. As the extension project progresses, the impact on both the exterior and interior are increasingly evident. The pebblecrete slabs that were suspended over the top floor and appeared to press the brick walls into the ground have been removed. A number of small shrubs and trees obscuring the building have gone. A soaring portico roof now provides shade for the upper floors. The building itself is no longer nondescript; it now dominates its space at the heart of the campus