ECU City
ECU City is a university campus of Edith Cowan University located in Perth, Australia. Designed by Lyons, the inner city campus is situated immediately west of Yagan Square, above the Perth Busport and near Perth railway station. The campus will accommodate more than 10,000 staff and students. It will open its doors to students in February 2026.
Design and facilities
The 11-storey campus was built on of land. The campus features extensive media training and performing arts facilities, public galleries and event spaces, and a moot court to stage mock legal trials with an audience gallery.The campus serves as the home to Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, one of Australia's major arts training institutions, along with the School of Business and Law, the School of Arts and Humanities and the WA Screen and Media Academy.
The exterior of the building features a network of 2,800 custom LED fixtures, which illuminates Yagan Square with video displays.
History
The city campus project was first suggested at a Perth city summit in 2017.The campus was announced as a part of the AUD$1.5 billion "Perth City Deal" in 2020. In August 2021, the city campus design was unveiled, designed by architecture firm Lyons. The project was approved by DevelopmentWA in December 2021. It was initially expected to open in 2025 at a cost of $695 million, but ultimately a total budget of $853 million was devoted for the entire development of the city campus project, with the Australian Federal Government committing $294 million, the Western Australian State Government investing $199 million and ECU contributing $360 million.
Construction of ECU City was expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022; construction ultimately kicked off in February 2023 and ended in late 2025 for an intended 2026 commencement of classes.
As a consequence of the opening of ECU City, the university's existing campus at Mount Lawley ceased classes in late 2025.
Reception
The reception to ECU City has been generally positive.A number of government ministers expressed a positive attitude towards the city campus project, citing economic benefits to the city.
In 2021, Patrick Gorman suggested that offering degrees at the campus might be too expensive for some prospective students. However, he described the campus as a "world class campus" and “nation-building project” in 2025.