AJ Sadauskas
Many years ago now, I worked for an organisation based out of UTS (University of Technology Sydney).

And its collection of buildings is… Not universally beloved.

#architecture #building #buildings #Sydney #UTS
Feb 6 at 9:56amWeb
Show threadKaty SwainFeb 7

@ajsadauskas In my youth I spent a lot of time in the shredded wheat building. It was where the Sydney Linux Users' Group used to meet (maybe they still do). In my capacity as Australia's least active activist I did a lot of envelope-stuffing in the student union office. And my former spouse used to work there.

Over that decade or so, I never thought of UTS as a real university, purely because of the architecture. (She says, now as technically a student at Torrens.) Not a gothic arch anywhere.

Show threadAJ SadauskasFeb 10
@ajsadauskas @katyswain The Sydney Linux Group is still around: https://www.slug.org.au/

They meet on the last Friday of each month, although they've moved from UTS to Google Australia's head offices in Pyrmont: https://www.meetup.com/Sydney-Linux-User-Group

As a university, I tend to think of UTS and RMIT basically being the same uni in different cities.

The big difference is RMIT's campus does a reasonable job of interacting with the surrounding streets and the State Library.

Whereas UTS goes more for big monumental office towers that face inward and make anyone walking past basically feel like a termite.
SLUG | Sydney Linux User Group

Show threadJulien GoodwinFeb 10
@ajsadauskas @katyswain @aj I guess I've never quite thought it through despite living a few blocks away for 15 years now, but yes. I go through UTS (& Sydney TAFE for that matter) multiple times per week whenever I'm out to Redfern/Newtown/Chippendale etc (also I assume you've aware of Pixel Perfect now based out of the TAFE, good print shop)
Show threadAJ SadauskasFeb 10
@ajsadauskas @katyswain @LapTop006 It's not so bad if you're going past it in a bus.

But it's a lot worse as a pedestrian.

But I was walking along on the opposite side of Broadway, and the newer metal building in particular (I think it's IT and engineering) is just a giant metal sheet. Just towering over the street lights.

And it just felt inhuman in its scale.

If there were something denoting where the floors are, it would at least break up the façade and make it feel more at human scale. If there were cafés or shopfronts at the ground floor, it would interact with the street. Likewise for visible windows.

Western Sydney Uni's Parramatta CBD campus is also in an office building. But it has cafés and sushi bars on the ground floor, and it's a glass façade, and you can see where the floors are.
Show threadJulien GoodwinFeb 10
@ajsadauskas @katyswain @aj the new buildings are better than the old, but I agree it's not saying much