The University of Notre Dame Australia’s landmark Fremantle Student Hub project has won a major design award recognising excellence in learning environments across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
The project won the Modernisation award for large projects at the 2026 Learning Environments Australasia Design (LEAD) Awards, which celebrate outstanding educational spaces.
Notre Dame’s heritage-listed Fremantle Campus library and four adjoining buildings were transformed into a modern contemporary student hub in 2024-25 as one of the key initiatives envisaged in the Fremantle Campus Masterplan.
The facilities upgrade is the single largest infrastructure investment in the University’s history.
The LEAD Awards judging panel praised the “exemplary” planning process and commended the University’s extensive consultation and evidence-led approach to design.
“Stakeholder consultation extended beyond the expected – drawing in Indigenous representatives, faith communities, and student associations in ways that speak to genuine engagement rather than procedural obligation,” they said.
“The University of Notre Dame Australia Fremantle Campus Library and Student Hub is a rigorous, considered and quietly exceptional project.
“It demonstrates that the most meaningful transformations are often achieved not through grand gestures, but through the patient, evidence-led work of understanding a place, people, and potential.”
Now the heart of the Fremantle Campus, the hub includes the new Michael J M Wright Library, Peter Prendiville Study Centre, Celia Hammond Student Support Centre and Justice Neville Owen Moot Court.
The new library provides students access to casual learning areas, shared spaces, quiet areas, teaching spaces, breakout areas and bookable meeting rooms, shifting the focus towards collaboration and social interaction.
Notre Dame’s Chief Property Officer, Steven Dickson, said the award was a significant endorsement of the University’s commitment to creating spaces that enhance student learning and community connection.
“This recognition reflects the University’s dedication to delivering learning environments that are innovative, inclusive and genuinely shaped by the needs of our students and community,” he said.
“We have delivered a truly transformative project that redefined the student learning experience and reframed Notre Dame as a significant cultural centre within Fremantle’s historic West End.”