Kangan Institute Health and Community Centre of Excellence

A highly visible position in the precinct

The new centre is the vital first stage of a larger transformation of Kangan Institute’s campus in Broadmeadows, a densely populated suburb where nearly 60% of residents were born overseas.

Our architectural solution takes advantage of the centre’s prime site facing parkland between the campus and the suburb’s commercial and civic centre.

Featuring beautiful hand-laid brickwork on its façade, the building’s skin peels away at ground level with large shop-front windows. These give people passing by – including a steady stream of culturally and linguistically diverse students – views into the innovative, tech-enabled learning happening within.

A building made for blended learning

Inside, a stimulating and interactive environment allows students and teachers to put theory into practice across a range of fields including nursing, pathology, and disability support.

The new physical settings reflect Kangan Institute’s blended learning model, which draws on the experience of the pandemic and changed patterns in how we live, learn and work. Kangan’s approach places greater emphasis on hands-on learning and collaboration.

Simulation labs, formal learning, and informal study areas are spread over the building’s three levels, connected by light-filled atria.

Students will also have greater autonomy than ever before to access learning resources online whenever and wherever they choose, including in the learning commons throughout the building.

Virtual and augmented reality in action

The Health and Community Centre of Excellence cleverly embraces the virtual world to elevate the learning experience.

Various spaces and their integrated technologies are designed to simulate difficult or potentially dangerous situations virtually or by augmenting student tasks with the aid of digital technologies.

One of the building’s standout features is an immersive and adaptable theatre where students, teachers, and industry visitors can be fully encircled by screens for instructional purposes.

Alternatively, the curtains can be drawn back to create a more open theatre setting, complete with tiered seating and high observation windows.

Interior choices and artwork to uplift

The centre’s interiors are designed to uplift, inspire and connect users while also providing calm, well-ordered spaces for purposeful learning.

In the building’s triple-height foyer, visitors are greeted by the ‘Three Bilangs’ sculpture by First Nations artists Aunty Kim Wandin and Christine Joy, suspended over the entry atrium.

Inside, a sense of calm comes through the minimal material palette of timber, concrete, glass, and views to Country beyond, complemented by clear sightlines and acoustics tailored to learning.

The masonry façade is a tribute to the evolving civic, institutional, and residential nature of Broadmeadows.

The curvature and articulation of the brickwork impart fluidity, warmth, and softness. Inspired by the topography of the Yuroke and Moonee Ponds Creeks, the brickwork was developed as an artwork about the flow of life, with cellular patterns reminiscent of an ultrasound image.

A new era for the community – and for expanding fields

The building is integrated into the adjacent Broadmeadows Town Park to connect the campus to its community.

Heralding a new era for the precinct – the centre will deliver the training needed to support the growing northern corridor, providing the diverse community with access to high-quality vocational health and community education with pathways to employment.

The Health and Community Centre of Excellence is more than a training hub: it’s a vital piece of Broadmeadows’ revitalisation story as a thriving, connected suburb.