ECU City

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ECU City is a university campus of Edith Cowan University located in Perth, Australia. The inner city campus is situated immediately west of Yagan Square, above the Perth Busport and near Perth railway station. The campus will accommodate more than 10,000 staff and students. [1] It will open its doors to students in February 2026. [2]

Contents

Design and facilities

ECU City campus from William Street Edith Cowan City Campus.jpg
ECU City campus from William Street

The 11-storey 6-hectare (15-acre) campus was built on 0.8 hectares (1.98 acres) of land. [3] The campus features extensive media training and performing arts facilities, public galleries and event spaces, a cyber-security centre, and a moot court to stage mock legal trials with an audience gallery. [2]

The campus serves as the home to Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, one of Australia's major arts training institutions, along with the School of Business and Law, the School of Arts and Humanities and the WA Screen and Media Academy. [4] [1]

The campus features an internal staircase inspired by brass wind and timber string instruments. [2] The exterior of the building features a network of 2,800 custom LED fixtures, which illuminates Yagan Square with video displays. [5]

History

The city campus project was first suggested at a Perth city summit in 2017. [2]

The campus was announced as a part of the AUD$1.5 billion "Perth City Deal" in 2020. [6] [7] [8] In August 2021, the city campus design was unveiled, [7] designed by architecture firms Lyons, Silver Thomas Hanley, and Haworth Tompkins. [9] [10] The project was approved by DevelopmentWA in December 2021. [11] It was initially expected to open in 2025 at a cost of $695 million, [6] but ultimately a total budget of $853 million was devoted for the entire development of the city campus project, [2] with the Australian Federal Government committing $294 million, the Western Australian State Government investing $199 million and ECU contributing $360 million. [12]

Construction of ECU City was delivered by Multiplex. [1] It was expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022; [11] [13] however construction ultimately kicked off in February 2023 and ended in late 2025 for an intended 2026 commencement of classes. [14] [2]

As a consequence of the opening of ECU City, the university's existing campus at Mount Lawley ceased classes in late 2025. [15]

Reception

The reception to ECU City has been generally positive.

A number of government ministers expressed a positive attitude towards the city campus project, citing economic benefits to the city. [12] [16]

In 2021, Patrick Gorman suggested that offering degrees at the campus might be too expensive for some prospective students. However, he described the campus as a "world class campus" and “nation-building project” in 2025. [2]

Controversies

In December 2025, it was reported that asbestos was found in 14 fire doors at the city campus. ECU will not replace the affected doors until breaks in teaching during 2026, after given approval by WorkSafe. [17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The first comprehensive university to be situated within the Perth CBD". Multiplex. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Edith Cowan University: An exclusive sneak peek inside the new Perth City campus that will open in February". Perthnow. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  3. ↑ Warriner, Jessica (2020-09-20). "WA's Edith Cowan University to relocate Mount Lawley campus into Perth CBD". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  4. ↑ "Transitioning campuses in 2026". Edith Cowan University. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  5. ↑ "Yagan Square illuminated by ECU City campus' new glittering digital display". PerthisOK. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  6. 1 2 Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, Australian Government (October 2020). Perth City Deal (PDF) (Report). Foreword by Scott Morrison, Mark McGowan and Andrew Hammond. Commonwealth of Australia. ISBN   978-1-925843-69-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-11-23. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  7. 1 2 "Joint media statement - ECU City campus designs unveiled". WA Government. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  8. ↑ "Perth City Deal". City of Perth Government. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  9. ↑ "Construction begins on ECU City campus | ArchitectureAu".
  10. ↑ "ECU City Campus". https://www.lyonsarch.com.au/project/ecu-city-campus/
  11. 1 2 "ECU City campus given green light by DevelopmentWA". January 2022. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Joint media statement - ECU City campus reaches new heights" . Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  13. ↑ "The university of the future is coming in 2025". Edith Cowan University. 2022. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  14. ↑ "Joint media statement – Groundbreaking moment for landmark ECU city campus". 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  15. ↑ "Thank you Mount Lawley - for the memories, the milestones and the magic". Edith Cowan University. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  16. ↑ "Fears new ECU city campus will end up a 'trophy university', not Yagan Square's saviour". WAToday. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  17. ↑ "Asbestos found in new Edith Cowan University campus in Perth CBD". ABC. Retrieved 2026-01-22.

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