Work begins on $100m building

Facilities

December marks the end of an era - and the beginning of a new one - on the lower level of the University of Adelaide's North Terrace Campus.

The Mathematics Building, the first stand-alone building to be added to the lower level during the post-World War II reconstruction phase, will be demolished this month to make way for a new, state-of-the-art $100 million engineering, mathematics and computer science building.

The new eight-storey building will cater for the significant growth in students currently being experienced in the Faculty of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Sciences, and will provide more than 11,000 square metres of space for learning, teaching, research, and other student and staff facilities.

The new building is part of the University's most extensive building development program in its 133-year history, with $300 million being spent on state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities on the North Terrace, Waite and Roseworthy campuses over the next three years.

"This is a very exciting time in the University's history, and it will confirm our position as one of the great tertiary institutions in Australia and the world," said the Executive Dean of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Sciences, Professor Peter Dowd.

"The new engineering, mathematics and computer science building will become a jewel in the crown of the University's new teaching and research facilities. It will have numerous positive benefits for students, staff and visitors alike."

The Mathematics Building, designed by architect W H Bagot, was built after World War II with funds provided through the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme and the Universities Commission. The building was completed in 1947, but the red brick facing to the reinforced concrete structure was not added until 1957.

"Our University has a very strong and proud tradition of excellence in the disciplines of Applied and Pure Mathematics, and Statistics, and that tradition of excellence by and large has been built up within the walls of the Mathematics Building over the past 60 years," said Associate Professor Jim Denier, Head of the School of Mathematical Sciences.

"However, that tradition of excellence is greater than any one building, and ultimately it is the major names within mathematics at the University that will be remembered rather than the building itself.

"While most agree that the Mathematics Building has not been the prettiest structure over the years, and that due care was not given to ventilation, heating, and other issues taken for granted today, there's no denying that the building has had its place in the University's history. It is now making way for the next step in that history."

With demolition work beginning on the Mathematics Building this month, the School of Mathematical Sciences is temporarily moving to levels 3 and 4, 10 Pulteney Street, Adelaide, from 10 December.

Story by David Ellis