The ceremonial heart of ANU: A first look inside our newly restored University House

If you’ve walked, cycled or driven down Balmain Crescent or Garran Road recently, you may have noticed something remarkable. For the first time in five years, the steel scaffolding and protective mesh that wrapped University House like a cocoon are gone.

After half a decade hidden from view, one of the most significant buildings on The Australian National University (ANU) Acton campus is visible once again.

This reveal marks a major milestone in a long and complex restoration journey, one that began unexpectedly with the severe January 2020 hailstorm that shattered its terracotta tiles, pierced copper roofing, and left the building vulnerable.

A torrential rainstorm followed shortly after, soaking the interior through every newly formed gap. What began as emergency repairs quickly became an opportunity – and a necessity – for full restoration.

Over the past five years, heritage architects, specialist builders and a dedicated University project team have worked painstakingly to restore the mid-century building, one of the oldest on campus. The entire roof has been rebuilt. Every room has been stripped back to its bones. The House’s iconic collection of bespoke Fred Ward furniture – custom designed for the building when it opened – has been carefully stored in a warehouse in Mitchell, ready to return once the interiors are complete.

With construction now finished, the builder, Hindmarsh, and Project Manager, Alex Morgan, have formally handed the keys back to the University.

“This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding projects I’ve worked on in my career”, Morgan says.

“The variety of work involved, from the restoration of the original walnut flooring to the koi pond that former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke famously jumped into when he was younger, as well as retrofitting modern building services and carrying out major structural modifications, has made it a real privilege to be a part of”. 

University House is ‘breathing again’, and the fit-out of the public rooms, 97 bookable hotel rooms and 60 postgraduate rooms, is the next step towards reopening. For the first time in six years, planning can begin in earnest to restore University House to its role as the ceremonial heart of ANU.

“In design terms, University House was always the most elegant place on campus,” says Professor Peter Kanowski, University House Master since 2014.

“It was where you could invite and accommodate distinguished guests, from Prime Ministers to ambassadors to visiting professors, and have the confidence to know that they’d be comfortable.”

Inside the building, the Great Hall and public rooms have been returned to their original detailed elegance, complete with repolished parquetry floors. Downstairs, Fellows Bar has been upgraded with timber panelling to mirror the upstairs spaces. Polished terrazzo floors, reinstated copper details and revitalised courtyard areas echo the refinement of the House’s earliest years. 

This careful work respects the deep affection many in the University and wider community hold for the building. One measure of that sentiment has been the generous philanthropic contributions from donors and alumni towards the costs of restoration and refurbishment.

The Great Hall has held countless formal dinners and will do so again. But it is not only visiting dignitaries, international speakers or the installation of a Chancellor that gives University House its significance. Staff, students and visitors have their treasured places here too.

For some members of the community, University House is where they toasted a scholarship win. For others, it is where they attended their first ANU formal dinner, or where they sat under the trees in the beer garden after submitting their thesis.

One moment often recalled is the 1996 reception held for ANU Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty – a celebration that filled the Great Hall with students, staff and alumni. It is just one example of the many milestone events woven into the history of the House.

And, it remains, of course, a hotel. For the many students, alumni and visiting researchers who come to ANU from around Australia and overseas, University House offers visiting family and friends a place to stay that reflects the character of the campus itself. That dual purpose was built into the design of the House from the outset, when it was officially opened by His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.

But not everyone was won over immediately. At its 1954 opening, Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies famously said that University House looked “like an … orphanage from some angles, and a seaside block of flats from the other”.

It was a characteristically dry assessment – but one that history has warmly disproved. Over time, University House has become an emblematic icon of Mid-Century Modern design, confirming the early judgement of the Institute of Architects, which awarded it the 1953 Sulman Medal.

Over the decades, University House has come to represent both an intellectual and a social home for many.

Its continuing value to the University community is reflected in recent ANU research by Professor Kylie Message-Jones: “University House is a treasured symbol of collegiality and intellectual community for the ANU and for many visitors, friends and families. It is a living history site and the place where people across generations, disciplines and continents gathered to connect.”

Professor Kanowski agrees: “University House was conceived as a place where everyone – from the newest student to the most senior professor – could interact and connect. The reopening of University House brings that original vision back to life.”

University House is planned to officially reopen as part of the University’s 80th Anniversary celebrations in August – another ceremonial occasion to add to the roll call. It’s a fitting moment to welcome back the building that has played such a defining role in campus life.

After years behind scaffolding, the House is ready to return to the ANU community – restored, renewed and ready for its next chapter.

For a preview of University House (now lovingly referred to as v 2.0), staff, students and alumniare invited to join a one-hour guided tour with Professor Kanowski, running in May.