Gillies Hall Campus Building, Australia Housing Building, Melbourne Student Homes, Architecture Images
Gillies Hall Student Accommodation in Frankston
12 Mar 2020
Gillies Hall
Design: JCB Architects
Location: Frankston, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Gillies Hall is a 150-room student accommodation building that targets Monash University?s net-zero 2030 agenda. It is currently the largest Passive House Certified (PHC) building in the southern hemisphere, and is Australia?s first student accommodation combining PHC and cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction.

As the University?s first completed major project following the adoption of their Peninsula Campus Masterplan, Gillies Hall also provides support accommodation and communal spaces for all 250 on-campus residents.
The floor planning reinforces the University?s strong pastoral care philosophy. While all students are provided with self-contained studio apartments, they are encouraged to join their residential cohort for cooking, study and socialising.

Each level has two 15-room wings that cluster around a central gathering space with communal kitchen, lounge and study area. CLT stairs connect the wings and communal spaces, with glazed views between levels to reinforce the overall sense of connection.

The students? rooms themselves are finished with a palette of natural tones that complement with the warmth of exposed CLT panels. Half of the internal walls throughout the building are exposed CLT, including a parti...