RMIT University has unveiled its Living Places Plan, an ever-evolving framework which will guide how the University makes decisions about property and place.
The Living Places Plan (the Plan) elevates the University’s ambition for its future places by recognising its ongoing evolution, intrinsic relationship to place, and laying out the foundational vision and goals that seek to benefit the RMIT community and wider Melbourne, as well as RMIT’s broader global context.
Grounded in RMIT’s Knowledge with Action strategy, the Plan guides how RMIT responds to changes in learning, work and technology, shaping how the University invests in, activates and evolves its campuses to support learning, teaching, research and partnerships.
The Plan’s vision is to inspire an inclusive, innovative and regeneratively sustainable future from the heart of Melbourne, where RMIT recognises it has a deep connection and a responsibility to serve its community.
RMIT’s estate holds more than 67 hectares of land and close to 500,000 square metres of university owned space across its City, Bundoora and Brunswick campuses, which underscores its scale and presence across Melbourne. Its 110 buildings across multiple campuses and specialist sites support a significant daily population of students, staff and community members.
This extensive built environment is supported by RMIT’s Property Services Group, which is responsible for a $3.3 billion property portfolio, an operating budget of more than $80 million, and prospective capital projects exceeding $100 million per annum over the coming years across Melbourne and Vietnam.
The scale of the University’s estate highlights both the complexity and strategic importance of stewarding places that support learning, research, work and community engagement.
The Living Places Plan has been shaped by contributions from experts across the University and will guide how the RMIT makes decisions about property and place.
RMIT Executive Director Property Services Group, Seamus McCartney, arrived at RMIT recently with extensive experience in leading large scale urban renewal and placemaking projects, including Sydney’s Darling Square, the London 2012 Olympic Village, and the Brisbane Showgrounds.
He says the Plan reflects a distinct way of thinking about city building, learning and place, and the ‘living’ approach is about preparing RMIT’s campuses for ongoing change rather than planning for a certain future.
“This is unlike anything that we would see for a traditional university master plan. It is not a fixed blueprint for a single future – it’s a living framework for the future we know we’ll need to adapt to,” McCartney said.
“Universities – and the communities we serve – are operating in a period of unprecedented transformation within the tertiary sector, the city and the world.
“From sector uncertainty and affordability pressures to rapid advances in digital and AI technologies, climate imperatives and changing expectations for in person experiences, the way our campuses are used and experienced is evolving at speed.
“What we need now aren’t rigid plans that assume a single outcome, but a flexible, principles led approach that allow us to respond, invest wisely and bring our strategy to life through place.”
The Living Places Plan is supported by four goals that guide decisions and investments across RMIT’s City, Brunswick and Bundoora campuses; Country, Place and Identity, Community, Connection and Experience, Applied Innovation and Knowledge, and Sustainability and Regenerative Futures.
RMIT has also launched the Living Places Exchange in Building 42, a physical space which brings the Plan to life, showcasing a rotating program of RMIT learning, teaching and research that demonstrates how the Plan’s goals are being explored and applied in practice.
Read more about RMIT’s Living Places Plan at: https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/our-strategy/living-places-plan