Abstract: The Forest is a Hobart university campus interior transforming heritage warehouses and a glass dome atrium into a biophilic learning environment. Retaining 60% of existing structures achieved 40% upfront carbon reduction. The project features Australia’s largest commercial hempcrete application and integrates extensive planting throughout. This civic interior demonstrates how adaptive reuse and natural materials create inspiring, low-carbon educational spaces.
First image from left: The Forest’s central learning landscape beneath the restored glass dome atrium, where an indoor forest creates a biophilic civic interior connecting education, nature and climate-responsive design. Source:
Woods Bagot — First Look: Inside “The Forest”
Second image from left: Curved hempcrete walls introduce a tactile natural material language, representing one of the largest commercial hempcrete applications in Australasia. Source:
Woods Bagot — First Look: Inside “The Forest”
World-Class Sustainable Interior Design
The Forest, designed by Woods Bagot as the University of Tasmania’s flagship Hobart campus, received the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design in 2026. The jury described it as “exemplary interior design that is world-class, using sustainability principles that are unparalleled”. This project demonstrates how interior architecture can balance civic scale with human warmth while delivering exceptional environmental performance.
The university markets itself as the top-ranked institution globally for climate action, certified carbon neutral since 2016. The Forest embodies this commitment through rigorous adaptive reuse and low-carbon construction.
Adaptive Reuse: Build Nothing as Design Strategy
Retaining Existing Structures
The design team’s biggest decision was to avoid building at all where possible. The project retains 60 percent of the existing structures on the site, achieving a 40 percent reduction in upfront embodied carbon against a reference-scenario new-build.
The site was assembled from five separate structures dating back over a century:
— Heritage-listed brick warehouses fronting Melville Street, built in 1923 as a dry timber store and sawmill outlet
— A 22-metre glass conservatory dome designed by Tasmanian architect Robert Morris-Nunn in 1997
— A tilt-up concrete showroom and warehouse
Rather than demolishing these disparate elements, the design team knitted them together to create a coherent campus. The restoration and revival of these heritage structures gives the project its distinctive character.
The Four Guiding Principles
The project was organised around four principles: build nothing, build for long-term value, build efficiently, and build with the right materials. Design director Bruno Mendes explained: “It wasn’t about creating an ego building—less is more on this project. Our role was to curate what was already there. Working with found conditions, we have strived to emphasise the existing and let that drive the conceptual direction of the new“.
Biophilic Interior Design
The Forested Atrium as Civic Heart
The reinstated forested atrium provides the civic heart of the campus, celebrating history, biophilia, and climate-responsive design. The jury noted that “the garden has been extended throughout” the interior. This integration of landscape and interior space creates a warm and adaptable environment for students
Entry through the iconic glass dome atrium has been reactivated as a welcoming, landscaped anteroom. The indoor forest, which had been removed when Forestry Tasmania vacated the building, has been restored and extended throughout the campus.
Materiality Reflecting Place
The interior features materials reflective of the Tasmanian environment. The jury praised the “incredibly rich, layered environment that is uplifting and to which anyone would want to return”. Key material innovations include:
Hempcrete at Scale – The largest commercial application of hempcrete in Australia demonstrates the project’s innovative approach to sustainable materials. Additional testing was pursued to scale the credentials and usability of hempcrete in commercial applications.
Natural Materials – Timber, bricks, and hempcrete provide warmth and tactility throughout the interior. The spatial richness and innovative material use balances civic scale with tactile human-level detailing
Mass Timber Construction – The project serves as an example of mass timber construction combined with adaptive reuse
Carbon Reduction and Circular Economy
Lifecycle Assessment and Low-Carbon Decision Making
A rigorous lifecycle assessment informed key decisions throughout the design and delivery process. The project demonstrates a deeply embedded commitment to sustainability, showing meaningful effort in incorporating low-carbon decision making at every stage.
These outcomes are not merely technical achievements but are expressed in the character of the building itself through the warmth and tactility of natural materials.
Circular Economy Principles
The project embraces circular economy principles with integrity and visual legibility. Materials are used thoughtfully rather than decoratively, with many elements designed for disassembly and future reuse. The demountable design enables the university to adapt the interior environment as pedagogical needs change.
Operational Performance
The adaptive reuse strategy significantly reduces the need for new construction while extending the life of significant buildings. The project serves as an inspiring demonstration of how interior architecture can respond to the urgency of climate action, balancing performance, adaptability, and felt experience.
Student Engagement and Social Impact
The jury observed that students have embraced the space fully. Hundreds were observed working, collaborating, and socialising in an environment that feels genuinely theirs. Acoustic comfort and amenity were clearly successful, supporting a wide range of learning modes from quiet focus to collaboration.
The project was inspired by a mission to create greater access to transformative education. In Hobart, life expectancy drops by approximately one year for every kilometre travelled from the city centre, with outer suburbs experiencing life expectancies up to 20 years shorter. By relocating the campus to the CBD, the university reduces commuting times for students from Hobart’s northern and eastern suburbs and positions them closer to part-time jobs. This social dimension reinforces the sustainability agenda.
Conclusion
The Forest sets a confident benchmark for a new generation of low-carbon, resource-conscious buildings. It demonstrates how interior architecture can balance innovation and adaptive reuse with beautiful natural materials and engaging spaces. The project proves that sustainability, heritage, and beauty can coexist in civic-scale interior architecture.
As the jury concluded, The Forest possesses narrative rarely seen nationally or internationally in a civic building. It offers a compelling model for sustainable interior design that responds to climate urgency while creating spaces people genuinely love.
Photograph: Peter Bennetts Photography