Photo Credit: Western Sydney University
HDR has delivered Western Sydney University’s Factory of the Future, an experiential learning and innovation environment within the Bankstown City Campus that redefines how emerging technologies are explored, taught, and translated into real-world applications. Its fitout transforms a complex, technical brief into a coherent, intuitive, and inspiring learning space that empowers students as active participants in the discovery of emerging technologies and their applications.
“The Factory of the Future is an immersive platform for invention, creativity, and collaboration,” said Alex Wessling, Associate Principal at HDR. “We set out to design a space where innovation is visible and approachable – a place where students, researchers, and the community can see, touch, and engage with the ideas and processes shaping our future.”
The facility integrates advanced technology, applied research, and workforce development in a single, cohesive environment, with learners engaging directly with advanced manufacturing, robotics, and digital processes in spaces designed for experimentation, prototyping, research, and collaboration. “Central to the design is a pedagogical ambition to reveal rather than conceal emerging technologies, making them visible, approachable and inspiring for the next generation. You cannot be what you cannot see,” said Alex.
Structured across two interconnected levels, the design unfolds through a series of luminous thresholds that transition occupants from the everyday campus into a more immersive, future-focused setting. The Discovery Space on the lower level introduces foundational Industry 5.0 principles through hands-on workshops and collaborative zones. Above, the Immersive Training Hub accommodates advanced prototyping laboratories, virtual and augmented reality suites, and flexible research environments for deep skill development and industry engagement.
Working within the constraints of an irregular floor plate and a vertical campus, HDR developed a circular spatial logic inspired by Bankstown’s industrial and aeronautical heritage. This spatial strategy connects the two levels and choreographs a clear learner journey toward the project’s centrepiece: the Innovation Engine – an 8.6-metre kinetic, propeller-like installation prototyped and fabricated locally. Its rotating turbine reveals inner mechanisms that draw students into fabrication, engineering, and spatial learning.
“Acting as both a navigational cue and a didactic device, the Engine translates complex advanced manufacturing concepts into an approachable, dynamic, and immersive learning experience,” said Alex. “It functions not only as a sculptural statement but as a teaching device – a public expression of the region’s manufacturing history and capability that invites the community into the space.”
The project emerged through a deeply collaborative process with Western Sydney University, Built, STAKK Studio, and local fabricators. Over 80% of all components werefabricated in Sydney, including 55% sourced within a five-kilometre radius of the facility.
Since its opening, the Factory has extended its reach beyond tertiary education. Through Western Sydney University’s outreach programs, local secondary schools regularly access the space, strengthening STEM pathways and embedding the project as a community-connected, regionally significant learning hub.
“The Factory of the Future represents a new kind of technology-led campus environment – one that dissolves boundaries between education, research, and enterprise,” said Graeme Spencer, Education and Science Principal at HDR. “It demonstrates how thoughtful design can catalyse social and economic transformation, enabling institutions like Western Sydney University to become engines of innovation for their communities.”
The Factory builds on HDR’s 2023 completion of the broader Bankstown City Campus, a vertical learning ecosystem that brings together up to 10,000 students, 1,000 staff, and a wide network of industry partners. Together, the campus and Factory form a new beacon for innovation in the heart of Bankstown.
“The facility is a bold step forward for Western Sydney University and our partners. It will accelerate innovation, strengthen industry capability, and create new pathways for students to shape the future of advanced manufacturing. By uniting research expertise, cutting-edge technology, and real-world collaboration, this facility will empower Western Sydney to become a national powerhouse for resilient, sustainable, and future-focused industry,” said Don Wright, Executive Director, Innovation at Western Sydney University.
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