The Melbourne City campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) is located in the city centre of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is sometimes referred to as "RMIT City" and the "RMIT Quarter" of the city in the media.

Campus location

Origins

The City campus is RMIT's original campus and was founded in 1887 as the Working Men's College (now Building 1). The college was initially established as a night school for the instruction of "art, science and technology" – in the words of its founder Francis Ormond – "especially to working men".Ross, C. Stuart (1912). Francis Ormond - Pioneer, Patriot, Philanthropist. London: Melville and Mullen. pp76-84 Ormond believed that the college was of "great importance and value" to the fast-pace industrialisation of Melbourne during the late 19th century. Subsequently, he campaigned for it to be located in the city centre. His nominated site, on the corner of La Trobe Street and Bowen Street, was donated by the government from land reserved for the colonial Supreme Court. The site was chosen so that the college would benefit from a proximity to the Melbourne Public Library and Art Gallery (now the state State Library of Victoria) on the corner of Swanston Street and La Trobe Street.

Due to its location in Melbourne's former justice precinct, the college originally bordered the Melbourne Gaol, City Watch-House (now Building 19) and Supreme Court (later the Magistrates' Court and now Building 20). As the gaol was progressively decommissioned and demolished, the college expanded over the site – and also acquired many of the surrounding former judicial buildings.RMIT's historical buildings . RMIT University. Retrieved 17 October 2012 As a result, the campus occupies an historically (as well as archaeologically)"Dig frees jail ghosts ". Herald Sun (26 September 2008). News Limited. p37. Retrieved 7 October 2012 significant area of Melbourne's city centre. The unprecedented success of the college, and its eventual growth into what is today RMIT, was not considered in planning of the day. Subsequently, the campus developed in an unsystematic manner when land or buildings were able to be acquired – leading to the contiguity of the campus with the city during the 20th century.

City campus today Today the City campus is the largest of RMIT's five campuses – now located across the metropolitan area of Melbourne and in Vietnam. As of 2010, it has a gross floor area of 307,466 m2 over 68 buildings.2010 Pocket Statistics: Infrastructure - Property . RMIT Property Services. RMIT University. Retrieved 27 September 2012 It is situated over a six city block area of roughly 720,000 m2, to the north of the La Trobe Street-end of Melbourne's Hoddle Grid, and is a convergent part of the city centre's northern section. The scattered nature of the campus within the city has been likened to the campuses of New York University and the Sorbonne – as by Australian foreign minister Bob Carr for example.Carr, Bob (18 March 2011). Lecturing at RMIT , Thoughtlines with Bob Carr. Retrieved 5 October 2012

It is bounded by La Trobe Street to the south, Lygon Street and Russell Street to the east, Queensberry Street and Victoria Street to the north, Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street to the west. The densest area of the campus, around Swanston Street, is sometimes referred to as the "RMIT Quarter" of the city.Webb, Carolyn (14 July 2012). "RMIT's wave of progress ". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 27 September 2012O'Neill, Tamsin (ed.) (24 July 2008). "RMIT University's landmark building ". Green Magazine. retrieved 27 September 2012 It is surrounded by significant multicultural areas such as Melbourne's Chinatown, Greek Precinct and Little Italy, as well as cultural institutions such as the adjacent State Library of Victoria and nearby Queen Victoria Market. In the way of public transport; it is well served by trams travelling along Swanston Street and by the train station at the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre on the corner of La Trobe Street and Swanston Street.

The main thoroughfare of the campus is Bowen Street. The city blocks east of Bowen Street to Russell Street and west of Bowen Street to Swanston Street, between La Trobe Street to the south and Franklin Street to the north, are completely occupied by campus buildings. Bowen Street is closed to public traffic, and encompasses Ellis Court at its southern end and Bowen Terrace at its northern end. It was designed as a pedestrian spine by architect Peter Elliot in 2000.Urban Spaces Project - Stage 1 . RMIT Architecture. RMIT University. Retrieved 4 October 2012 There are no large open spaces on the dense urban campus. However, some pockets of open space exist around Bowen Street, which include Alumni Courtyard, The Belvedere, Bowen Terrace, Casey Plaza, Ellis Court and University Lawn. The lawns of the State Library (adjacent to the southern end of the campus) are also popular with students.

Written works about the campus A skilled hand and cultivated mind: a guide to the architecture and art of RMIT University records the importance of art and architecture in the university's history, as well as charting some of the changes in Australian art and architecture over the last 125 years. Starting with the Francis Ormond Building, the university's first home, this book takes the reader around RMIT University's campuses, and gives an overview of RMIT University's architecture and art.

Campus development history

From the 1890s, RMIT's campus had developed in an ad hoc manner of purpose-built and acquired buildings. Subsequently, no master plan for the campus was implemented until 1930. In 1929, it was granted the eastern side of Bowen Street for development – over areas of the recently decommissioned Melbourne Gaol. The development of this area progressed slowly and was not fully completed until the mid-1950s. During this time, the campus was – as described by architect Peter Elliot – "just a cacophony of cluttered streets, laneways, dead-ends and hidden courts". In 1950, the Melbourne City Council granted the exclusive use of Bowen Street to RMIT for its campus. And, by the mid-1960s, the campus occupied all of the buildings fronting Bowen Street and a number of buildings fronting the eastern side of Swanston Street – between La Trobe Street and Franklin Street.

A comprehensive master plan for the campus was then developed by architect Osborn McCutcheon in 1965. The master plan included the controversial tower blocks – Building 10 (Casey Wing), Building 12 (Gillespie Wing) and Building 14 – which front the eastern side of Swanston Street. The buildings were constructed over the historic Ormond Mathematics School (where Building 14 stands), Automotive Engineering School and Foundry School (where Building 12 stands). They were intended to be part of the suite of five identical blocks which ran the length of Swanston Street from La Trobe Street to Franklin Street. However, after completion of the first three buildings, during the 1970s, public opinion swung against their design. Dubbed the "grey silos", the austere functionalist design of the towers was criticised for a lack of windows facing Swanston Street. As a result, the remaining two towers were never completed.

In 1975, architect John Andrews was engaged to design the first stage of new Building 8 (Union House) in place of the fourth tower block. The lower three levels of the building were constructed as the first stage over the Pharmacy School and McComas Wool School as well as Pharmacy Lane (which originally connected the middle of Bowen Street with Swanston Street) and the northern section of Bowen Lane (the remaining section renamed Rodda Lane). The second stage of Building 8 was constructed in 1993 to a postmodern design by architect Peter Corrigan.Building 8 . RMIT Architecture. RMIT University. Retrieved 12 October 2012 It was the last large-scale building constructed on the Bowen Street blocks of the campus. The proposed fifth tower block was never built, and subsequently the historic Building 16 (Storey Hall) and Building 22 (Singer Building) still stand on the site.

In the late 1990s, architect Peter Elliot was engaged to undertake the most significant redesign of the campus' urban landscape in its history. The first stage was completed in 2000, and included the redevelopment of Bowen Street into a pedestrian spine and creation of Ellis Court at its northern end and Bowen Terrace at its southern end as open spaces.RMIT Urban Spaces - Stage 1 . Peter Elliot Architecture + Urban Design. Retrieved 12 October 2012 It also included the creation of Rodda Lane and University Way as secondary pedestrian laneways. The second stage was completed in 2007, and included the redevelopment of the historic walled yard of the Old Melbourne Gaol as an open space (renamed Alumni Courtyard), as well as a large stairway linking it to University Way.RMIT Urban Spaces - Stage 2 . Peter Elliot Architecture + Urban Design. Retrieved 12 October 2012 The third stage was completed in conjunction with Elliot's refurbishment of Building 1 (Francis Ormond Building) in 2010, and included the creation of a lawned common area named University Lawn at the southern end of University Way.RMIT Urban Spaces - Stage 3 . Peter Elliot Architecture + Urban Design. Retrieved 12 October 2012

In 2007, to mark its 120th anniversary, RMIT instigated a A$600 million capital works program.About the Capital Works Program . RMIT University. Retrieved 13 October 2012 The program (which concludes in 2015) includes the refurbishment of a large number of existing buildings on the campus and the construction of major new buildings – notably Building 80 (Swanston Academic Building) and Building 100 (Design Hub).Infrastructure Plan 2008-2011 . RMIT Property Services. RMIT University. Retrieved 13 October 2012 It also plans the campus' expansion to the western side of Swanston Street, to occupy the majority of its frontage from La Trobe Street to Victoria Street. The program is designed to facilitate the consolidation of RMIT's colleges and schools into the main campus area from their locations in disparate buildings around the city centre.

Significant buildings

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Early RMIT Building 1 (Francis Ormond Building): Building 1 was constructed as the Working Men's College (antecedent of the present-day RMIT).RMIT Building 1 (Francis Ormond Building) . RMIT University. Retrieved 2 October 2012 Located on the corner of Bowen Street and La Trobe Street, it was RMIT's first building. The three-story Gothic Revival building is in the Scottish Baronial-style with Second Empire-inspired roof detailing.Jackson, Daryl (2008). Introduction. A Skilled Hand and Cultivated Mind: A Guide to the Architecture and Art of RMIT by Harriet Edquist & Elizabeth Grierson. Melbourne: RMIT UP. vii-viiiVictorian Heritage Database. "Francis Ormond Building" place details. Heritage Council of Victoria. Government of Victoria (Australia): Department of Planning and Community Development. Retrieved 2 October 2012 Its design was a result of an 1883 competition won by architects Leonard Terry, Percy Oakden and Nahum Barnet. It is constructed of brick and faced with a finely-worked Barrabool sandstone and Waurn Ponds stone dressings.