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Home About Curtin Learning and teaching Humanities Our facilities

Our facilities

The Faculty of Humanities is the home to a range of modern, enviable facilities that provide authentic educational and learning environments for students.

School of Design and the Built Environment facilities

The School of Design and the Built Environment prides itself on its extensive facilities ensuring students receive a modern and well-equipped educational experience. Our facilities include the Curtin Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch (HIVE), 3D printers, an etching press, photographic darkrooms, a wood and metal workshop, and a large variety of industry-standard software.

 Female education student teaching primary school students

School of Education

Curtin Perth’s education building underwent a $20 million refurbishment in 2015 and now features industry-standard classrooms that replicate authentic school environments.

School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry

This vibrant school houses a variety of industry standard equipment and software which enable our students to gain skills and experience to graduate industry-ready. It also runs a large number of on-campus organisations including a theatre company and online publications and broadcasts a popular community radio station.

Curtin HIVE

Group of students interacting with the HIVE facilities - play video

The Curtin HIVE (Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch) is an advanced facility established by Curtin University to serve the growing demands of researchers and industry for visualisation, virtualisation and simulation capabilities in Western Australia.

3D printers

Two Makerbot 3D printing machines are located at the Resource Centre (Building 201, Level 3). Students are encouraged to print projects where the focus is towards explorative modelling where more precise cuts and measurements, like building facades, skins and components (gears, joints, etc.) are required. The machines are operated under the supervision of our technical staff to assist as needed.

Digital labs

A lab of high-end computers is equipped with virtual reality headsets and the latest game development software packages to enable students to develop skills in using current software and industry practices. These labs can be used by students of our Digital Design and Animation and Game Design majors as a production environment for digital technologies, including websites and interactive and experience design projects. Software is available to develop virtual environments, animations, games and visual effects and motion capture software includes Maya; ZBrush; Unreal Engine and Unity.

Fashion studios

Large studio facilities are used by our Fashion students for creative exploration of textile manipulation, garment design and construction. The studios are fully equipped with industrial machines for construction and equipment to support specialist investigation into areas such as digital machine embroidery and digital pattern making and grading. Technical staff are available to provide additional support in the use of equipment and facilities.

Illustration computer lab

A dedicated computer lab in the Photography/Illustration wing in Building 201 is fitted with Wacom Cintiqs which utilise the Adobe Suite and the facility provides technical support for students.

Professional photographic studios

Two photographic studios are fully equipped with portable lighting systems, digital single-lens reflex cameras, digital medium format cameras, specialist lenses, analogue darkroom facilities and digital printers.

Software

Fort computers within the School of Design and the Built Environment Building on the Perth campus are equipped with industry-standard software to help you with your studies and graduate ready for the workforce. The software available of these computers are:

Wood and metal workshop

These spacious workshops are well-equipped with with extensive woodworking and metal fabrication machinery and tools to provide a wide range of technical possibilities in the production of student projects. Technical support staff are available for advice and help.

Arts/Literacy room

The Arts/Literacy room has a basic presentation monitor and is furnished with a reading chair to emulate ‘mat time’ in an early learning centre. It has ottomans and an upright and grand piano. Storage is provided below the monitor to store resources. Concertina doors open up on to the piazza.

Art/Science room

As science and art education both engage in ‘messy learning’ experiences and as such share a number of the same required physical features (e.g. Hard floor, wet space, flexibility, access to computers in class) therefore these functions are co‐located. This room accommodates 42 students at 900h work benches. This allows students to undertake art/science activities whilst standing or seated on a drafting stool. 6 PCs are provided around the perimeter of the room away from the wet areas.

The room also includes two domestic size sinks with large drying boards. The wall above the perimeter bench is pin‐able and lockable storage is provided below bench. Floors are polished concrete.

This room has presentation AV functionality and is designed to have the ability to display any content via wired or wireless technology. iLectures and software based capture/conferencing functionality is also provided. Room also has Smart board and traditional whiteboard.

The Art/Science room also has a wide lens camera above the lectern to capture and display tactile experiments and complex processes involved in art/science. The Maths and Art/Science room shares concertina doors so the spaces can be timetabled as one large class or two smaller classes of discrete disciplines.

Maths room

The maths room is a generic teaching space that has dedicated storage to mathematics education resources. This room accommodates 30 students at 900h work benches. This allows students to undertake activities whilst standing or whilst seated on a drafting stool.

The workbenches are on castors (for flexibility) and have a shelf underneath for students to store their bags. The Maths and Art/Science room shares concertina doors so the spaces can be timetabled as one large class or two smaller classes of discrete disciplines. This room has presentation AV functionality, and is designed to have the ability to display any content via wired or wireless technology. iLectures and software-based capture/conferencing functionality is also provided. The room also has Smart board and traditional whiteboard. Floors are polished concrete.

Outdoor teaching spaces

Three decked areas have been provided in the landscape surrounding building 501 to serve as informal learning spaces but also to be timetabled as formal learning spaces when appropriate. These decks have designated ‘bench’ areas for seating and informal casual furniture such as café style chairs and bean bags. Wireless coverage is provided on these decks and power outlets are also supplied to facilitate learning activities.

Reflective practice rooms

The reflective practice and observation rooms are integral to the School of Education’s programs. These reflective practice and observation rooms allow students the opportunity to practice teaching and School based scenarios before they go out to a School/Early Childhood Centre.

These rooms exemplify the coaching and partnership philosophy that has been implemented into the School of Education’s practicum with great success.

School allocated teaching spaces

In an effort to align the experience our Education graduates have at University with industry expectation and standards the cluster of rooms within building 501 (rooms 203, 204, 205 and 206) were designed to replicate a real school/industry environment. The design of these flexible spaces facilitates connection where concertina doors can be opened and closed to enable group teaching and co-facilitation.

The piazza

The ‘Piazza’ is a central, communal, interdisciplinary breakout space that three of the School of Education’s teaching spaces open onto. This is based on the Reggio Emilia concept of the environment as the third teacher. This room contains two sinks with large drying boards, large central communal tables that are highly flexible and have storage for resources underneath them. Lines on the concertina doors surrounding the space are for students to practise writing on.

Audio-visual equipment loans facilities

The School of Media Creative Arts and Social Inquiry offers audio-visual equipment loan facilities for students.

Curtin FM

With more than 200,000 listeners every week Curtin FM, located on-campus, is the ideal training ground for you to experience broadcasting radio news bulletins in a functioning industry environment.

Drawing and painting studio

This large 250+ square metre open studio is equipped for an entire range of drawing and painting workshops. An industrial fume extraction system enables students to use all kinds of mediums and processes. The studio includes spotlights and architecturally designed natural lighting to control atmosphere, shadows, colour and light. Students have access to professional standard easels and a storeroom that includes a comprehensive range of drawing and painting materials.

The Art facilities are currently being upgraded as part of the Design and Art Relife project.

Hayman Theatre

The new Hayman Theatre is a flexible, boutique venue that will allow you to experience all aspects of professional, public theatre production. The home of theatre arts at Curtin’s Hayman Theatre Company, the venue hosts 20 to 25 productions per year, directed by staff, professional artists-in-residence and students. It houses the latest in industry standard technical equipment.

Each year ends with a major production of a new play by a Western Australian playwright that provides students with the opportunity to work with three professional artists-in-residence (a director, a playwright and a designer) on the production in a professional venue. In addition to these major productions students also present and manage weekly lunchtime and Sunday night theatre programs.

Journalism industry standard software and facilities

Journalism students will use industry-standard equipment and software in their classes. Students will have the opportunity to use digital editing systems such as Adobe Premiere Pro, NewsBoss digital editing systems and Adobe’s InDesign publishing software.

Curtin has introduced the latest digital still and video cameras into our photojournalism and television units. With this equipment, students are able to participate in the production of TV program Noongar Dandjoo, a magazine style episodic series about the issues affecting the Noongar people of Western Australia, created by Curtin students and now in its eighth season.

Media production studio

The media production studio enables hands-on learning in a full HD, 4K-ready, digital environment. The newly refurbished control room has been outfitted with state-of-the-art technology and provides you with a true industry learning experience, including live-streaming capabilities.

You’ll have access to digital cameras, industry-standard digital systems for post-production in video and audio editing, and sound mixing, editing software with 3D capabilities, and interactive media facilities with virtual reality technology.

We regularly upgrade our fleet of high definition (HD) broadcast quality equipment, including new HD cameras and associated accessories. All the video cameras within Screen Arts are the latest generation of professional broadcast and production cameras, and all post-production (both video and audio) is done on industry standard computer-based non-linear editing system the Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) package. The Adobe CC package is available to all students on-campus throughout all stages of the course. This means that workflow is 100% digital end-to-end, modelled on industry standards. The school also has a visualisation studio, 3D capabilities (camera and editing), and interactive media facilities incorporating virtual reality.

Painting area

The painting area is best thought of as the area where staff and students work, rather than as an area where any specific media must be used. Each of the professional artists teaching and working here also has experience and proficiencies in additional fields.

The area actively promotes the growth of individual initiative and the development of inventive strategies through appropriate technical skills across a broad range of related disciplines. Students in the workshops frequently combine their material technologies with those taught elsewhere in the Art discipline and the University at large. Interpretation and choice of media are open to the inventive strategies of the student. The widest possible range of options for experiment and discovery is encouraged.

Weekly workshops studios are held to cover the various technical and strategic skills most central to painting and printmaking. For example, materials and methods in painting, mark making exercises, observational skills, and colour theory.

The Art facilities are currently being upgraded as part of the Design and Art Relife project.

Print media studios

Print media occupies several studio bases. Each of these is well ventilated, lit and maintained with basic equipment and studio furniture. The larger studios are located adjacent to the central print/photo facilities and the main teaching space respectively. The latter also contains an area designed for the preparation of painting supports, spray painting and the environmentally safe disposal of waste materials. Processes which require additional ventilation or may involve potentially toxic materials are separated from others. Accessible close by are the wood and metal workshops and the skilled technicians associated with them.

Print media studios at Curtin are equipped to deal with traditional printmaking processes including; intaglio (etching, engraving, dry point and collograph). We have the largest etching press in an institution in the southern hemisphere, relief (wood and lino block), planographic (lithography and Mono print) and silk-screen printing. All print processes can be explored using both manual and photographic techniques.

There are also black and white photographic darkrooms and a computer laboratory equipped with the latest technology including a large format 1200cm x 1800cm colour printer.

The Art facilities are currently being upgraded as part of the Design and Art Relife project.

Online publications

The Western Independent is a news website produced by Curtin students. All our journalism students have the opportunity to publish news articles, audio, video and photos on the site as part of their studies. The website allows students to experience all aspects of reporting and to showcase their journalism in a public arena.

During third year, students write, produce and edit multimedia news stories to tight deadlines on assigned ‘news days’ in the Western Independent newsroom.

A number of students have won state and national awards for stories that have been published on the Western Independent.

Screen Arts 23-hour Mac labs

In addition to the dedicated editing and sound suites, students will have 23-hour access to high-speed Mac laboratories with script and special effect software.

Sculpture studios and workshops

The sculpture studios and workshops enable a contemporary approach to object making, spatial practices and industrial production. The studios are designed for hands on learning and provides construction space for large-scale works and installation space for exhibition.

The workshops allow students to engage with an extensive range of materials that includes but is not limited to wood, metal, plastic, plaster and clay. The workshop facilities provide support for the making of all aspects of sculpture that include: