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New building designed for organised ‘chaos’
At times it will look like a disaster zone … with smashed concrete blocks, bent steel rods, damaged vehicles, and several seemingly injured people.
But everything is safe and under control at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s newest building – a
$5 million facility designed specifically for teaching and research in Civil Engineering and Paramedic Science.
The Commonwealth government-funded Engineering and Science Training Facility, which opened this semester, is providing students with a place to conduct experiments and train in ways that previously were not possible at USC.
Discipline leaders, Professor of 
Engineering Mark Porter and Paramedic Science Lecturer Jamie Peetz, are both thrilled about the 1050 square metre, semi-industrial building.
The facility has large, open spaces suitable for concrete stress tests, hydraulic engineering experiments, photovoltaic cell (solar cell) testing and emergency scene simulations. It also has several laboratories and tutorial rooms.
Professor Porter said the new building housed state-of-the-art engineering equipment and provided a great place for staff and students to conduct “messy” experiments.
“I’m very excited about this new building,” he said. “It provides for the training of professional civil engineers here on the Sunshine Coast and for the beginnings of research work.
“You need a practical side to things in an engineering degree so you can see how the real world works. You need to be able to see how different structures and materials behave when you start designing and building with them.”
Mr Peetz said Paramedic Science academics were now able to set up mock medical emergency scenes that could be left in place for classes held over several days.
“This building gives the Paramedic Science program exactly what it needs in specialised training facilities,” he said. “It provides greater opportunities for students to gain experience in simulated environments for training as paramedics.
“With a better interaction of practical teaching, the students will become more familiar with the equipment they will be using as paramedics.”
Mr Peetz said the facility also allowed for the easy reconfiguration of rooms to resemble household bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens, where many medical emergencies occur.
“The students are really excited and enthusiastic because they now have a more focussed environment to work in,” he said.
USC will soon begin construction of another building at its Sippy Downs campus to provide for more general purpose teaching areas and staff offices.
The $4.7 million multi-story building is planned to be built by December this year (weather permitting) and commissioned in January 2012.
— Terry Walsh