I guess the context for the University of South Australia’s expansion to the West End of the CBD is Richard Florida in his The Rise of the Creative Class: and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life celebrates the economic significance of creativity, generated by a growing “class” of professionals such as scientists, engineers, writers, artists and even architects. He argues that the creative class is attracted to regional centres by a combination of economic and lifestyle opportunities; good companies, yes, but also good education and entertainment through access to creative arts. One of the main ingredients in any such centre is the intellectual and cultural diversity that only universities can provide.
Is the architecture at University of South Australia’s City West campus having this effect? There’s not much life on the Hindley Street itself. Little has change, despite the influx of a student population. They don’t seem to spill out into the streets. They remain within the boundaries of the City West campus.