THE PUBLIC-

CORPORATE:
THE REVAMP OF
ROBB COLLEGE

HM-Queen-Elizabeth-II-at-
Robb-College-April-1970

Robb College’s Block 3 Roof plan from 1961. University of New England. Armidale.
N.S.W. Robb College. Michael Dysart for the N.S.W. Public Works Dept. 1964

THE CONTEMPORARY III

 THE PUBLIC-CORPORATE:THE REVAMP OF ROBB COLLEGE

Robb’s College south court

1. Synopsis The third iteration of The Contemporary attempts to recover the

heroic period of public-corporate architecture, again. The studio
explores preservation as architecture’s saving retreat. Preserva-
tion is architecture at its most culturally significant and politically
relevant. The partially demolished Robb College at the University
of New England in Armidale is the chosen location for the first of
a series of ambitious regional offices for the GAO.

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 THE PUBLIC-CORPORATE:THE REVAMP OF ROBB COLLEGE
2. Detailed
Description
Note I:
Architecture cannot
be reduced to a purely
narrative, or a strictly
figurative, act. Architecture,
at least in this studio, is
about doing discursive
things. Every proposal is
meant, sooner or later,
to be built. This does not
prevent the possibility
of radical propositions.
Neither does this studio
aim to propose a strictly
functional or technocratic
architecture. Yet, we believe
it is important that a project,
even in its very naive or
initial state, is always
understood as a cultural
artifact that is meant to be
realized. At least, that’s my
take.
Robb College, 1964 Robb College , 2020
The third iteration of The Contemporary attempts to recover
the heroic period of public-corporate architecture, again. The
studio explores preservation as architecture’s saving retreat.
Preservation is architecture at its most culturally significant and
politically relevant.
Last year the studio copied several emerging practices
to revamp the Bidura Children’s Court and host the new
headquarters for the Government Architect’s Office of NSW.
Now, having practiced in an urban scenario, we turn our
attention to the highly neglected areas of rural NSW. This is
the next logical step needed to question where architecture
should focus today. The partially demolished Robb College at the
University of New England in Armidale is the chosen location for
the first of a series of ambitious regional offices for the GAO.
Prior to tackling the redesign of Robb College, we will
meticulously survey the complex by sifting through archival
records and material evidence. We will once more use references
as a design strategy. We will analyse recent and old architectural
examples as we believe that public-corporate practices must
pay equal attention to the contemporary scene and the historical
models of corporate architecture. We will dissect recent
renovations and workspace projects with intellectual precision,
and we will replicate them on site with rigour to prove that we
do not fear contemporary precedents. We will carefully examine
the heroic period of both public-corporate and corporate
architecture from across the globe to, again, revamp the GAO.
Rob College was partially demolished in 2019. Our exquisite
proposals will by no means rejuvenate the building – rather, they
will open discussions about land rights, the countryside, modern
heritage, public enterprises, working environments, civic
architecture and what it means to be a public-corporate architect
in the twenty-first century.
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Selected contemporary projects from 51N4E, Bast, OFFICE KGDVS, Harquitectes,

Bruther and Baukunst are assigned to each design group. The longlist of
precedents included works by Rotor, 6a, architecten jan de vylder inge vinck,
assemble and Brandlhuber+ which the students randomly rejected as intellectual
companion for this weird semester.

3. Current The studio addresses a single quadrangle building in Australia:

status
Note II:
Extensive research on
Robb College, preservation,
the corporate, the public-
corporate, the Government
Architect of NSW and its
regional production is
carried out collectively in
parallel to the design of the
Regional GAO itself.
Robb College, Armidale designed by the Government Architect
of NSW with the juvenile Michael Dysart as project architect.
The brief is apparently straightforward. Students are in design
teams, are assigned a contemporary precedent, and have been
asked to revamp Robb College so it can host the first 1000
employee Regional Office of the Government Architects. Should
students endorse the quadrangle? Or do they observe, refine,
and correct the current partially demolished complex? Do they
argue against it, or monumentalize it? The aim is to design in
conversation with a building and its ruins to take a position on
the arguments it began more than half a century ago. Students
must tackle these longstanding questions in the field, and of
course, discuss new and important themes around preservation.
It goes without saying that the students need to figure out what
it means to be a public-corporate architect in regional Australia
today.

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Previous work from The Contemporary studio

We acknowledge the Anaiwan people of Armidale upon whose

4. Colophon ancestral lands this project is proposed. We also acknowledge
the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, upon whose ancestral
lands this project will be developed. We pay our respects to
Elders past, present and emerging, acknowledging them as the
traditional custodians of knowledge for this land.

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THE PUBLIC-CORPORATE:THE REVAMP OF ROBB COLLEGE

Queen Elizabeth II at Robb College in April 1970

Guillermo Fernández-Abascal (GFA2 & GFA)