Professor Brian Lewis from the University of Melbourne was appointed consultant architect for ANU and was tasked with designing a site plan and building program for the new university, including a design for University House. The central concept was for a residential and social centre for the new university.
University House was designed to provide accommodation for approximately 120 unmarried students and staff members and a small number of apartments for distinguished visitors. In addition, it would be used as a faculty club by non-resident members and a venue for University functions.
Lewis travelled to Europe to visit universities there for inspiration and his final design was likely inspired by his visit to the University of Aarhus in Denmark. His original plan, produced in April 1948, included a symmetrical group of buildings facing the proposed Lake Burley Griffin. This explains why the entry to University House faces away from the centre of the campus. The original plan was scaled back and altered, largely due to shortages of materials and costs. In February 1949 the building contract was awarded to Howie Moffatt (Moffatt & Co) in Sydney, and work got underway, albeit slowly.
The foundation stone for University House was laid by the Honourable John Dedman, Minister for Post-War Reconstruction, on 24 October 1949, on the same day the foundation stones were laid for the John Curtin School of Medical Research and the main building of the Research School of Physical Sciences. On the occasion, Dedman remarked…
“In University House, community life will be made possible… The halls and the common rooms will in effect prove to be a great catalyst for a fusion of ideas in interrelated fields of research.”
Lewis’ original design featured eight wings. The three wings located to the east, north, and west sides of the quadrangle contained single, two-, and five-bedroom apartments and were three-storeys high. Within the curved, single-storey wing on the south side of the quadrangle, was a common room, rooms for social purposes such as a library, and administrative offices. This wing was kept to one-storey to preserve a sense of openness. Smaller apartments were located in the wing to the east of the tower. The south-west wing contained a refectory, private dining rooms, kitchen, stores, and domestic staff quarters. Some of the most stunning features of University House were found in the exterior, being the large, grassed quadrangle and the curved terrace and ornamental pool which were overlooked by common areas featuring large windows.
The original budget for University House was £310,500 plus 7.2% of the completed cost to be paid to the builder. This budget was quickly surpassed. Former Registrar of Canberra University College, Town Owen, believed the final cost when it was completed in 1954 was over £1,000,000.
