The key objective was to create a new space for the university which would be welcoming, feel comfortable, provide a pleasant environment for staff and students to spend time, and would capture the aspirations of the university as a first class environment to work and study. A fundamental aspect of the design was the need to improve access across the previously cluttered and complex site to provide legibility to the wider campus.

The landscape proposals utilized the level changes required to create a series of dramatic spaces, providing visual interest and planted areas with seasonal colour and scent.