The Shed — Willis Street is the new home for health, medicine and science education and research for the University of Tasmania. The building forms a new interface between the city of Launceston and the Inveresk Precinct that is currently being realised as part of the Northern Transformation Program.

The design reflects the principles of the development of Inveresk as a shared precinct, accessible and open for all. Located at the precinct’s southern edge, it acts as a navigational marker - establishing a strong sense of arrival and inviting clear passage. The building’s form draws its program into two elongated sheds that recall the proportions of the Inveresk’s many 19th century railway buildings. Sitting between these sheds is a courtyard-like atrium, while a vividly rendered pathway supports wayfinding and binds both sheds and occupants together to create a lively interior. 

An all-encompassing roof is drawn down to the façade, departing from the uniform envelopes of its industrial neighbours by strategically opening to reveal engaging and inclusive interiors. These apertures present innovative demonstrations of contemporary learning and research environments to the wider urban environment.

Robust and enduring materials reference the site’s industrial past, while pointing it toward a low carbon future. A careful assembly of materials have been subject to rigorous and ongoing life-cycle assessments that target embodied carbon reductions in structure, envelope, services, internal linings and furniture.

The Shed is a building that consciously celebrates the endeavour of its inhabitants while establishing continuity with its context. It does this by foregrounding environmental responsibility and expanding the repertoire of industrial building types to promote the growth of a place-based university that is committed to forging deep and interdependent relationships between region, city, precinct, and campus.