University College is located on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nations

The extension and refurbishment project for University College was completed in 2019. Comprising a comprehensive programme of renewal and enlargement the works included a new dining hall and kitchen, 190 rooms, conference centre, offices and student common rooms.

University College is a group of collegiate-style 20th century buildings on an island site north of the University of Melbourne, surrounded by tree-lined avenues. The master planning aspects of the project were focused on providing the college with a traditional courtyard ‘core’, using a new student accommodation building to complete the enclosure. This was based on an understanding of the original 1930s master plan for the site which had over subsequent building programmes been diluted and lost. The increasingly aggressive external environment of busy arterial roads made the reintroduction of the quadrangle core an essential design intervention, but also drew on the gardenesque landscape that had become such an essential part of the College identify and experience over time.

The 400-seat dining hall occupies a second landscaped area to the east. Like a conservatory, the hall is arcaded, with a clerestory skylight over the central aisle. All the new build including dining hall and student accommodation are designed to Passive House standards, understanding that there is an imperative to reduce the energy usage of such an institution to maintain economic viability into the future.