Forrest Hall comes to fruition

New accommodation designed for the brightest minds from Western Australia and beyond has been built on the river bank outside the University of Western Australia thanks to a $27.5 million donation from Andrew and Nicola Forrest.

The residential college, Forrest Hall, was opened today by Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, and is intended for scholars and significant researchers attending Western Australian universities on Forrest Research Foundation Scholarships.

The four-storey development, built by Jaxon, includes 45 self-catered one- and two-bedroom apartments, an outdoor terrace, a multi-purpose room for seminars and functions, and undercroft car parking facilities.

It is intended to attract talent from across the globe.

Funds for the hall were set aside in 2013 when the Forrest Research Foundation was established, following a $65 million donation by the Forrest’s to provide scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships across all five WA universities.

University of Western Australia vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater said Forrest Hall was different to existing student accommodation at UWA and was designed with young families in mind.

“In a first for the state we are catering for the specific needs of postgraduate research students,” Professor Freshwater said.

“New co-working spaces, such as Forrest Hall, will bring together the best minds from WA and around the world to share their knowledge in the pursuit of innovation.”

Inaugural Forrest Scholar Timothy Hammer, from the US, is the first resident to move into the hall.

Mr Hammer is studying how plants adapt to the unique environmental conditions in Australia.

Forrest Hall