24/7 Latelab

LateLab is an adaptive re-use project at Swinburne University’s Hawthorn campus, transforming an underutilised 1980s building into a vibrant, low-carbon student hub. Grounded in circular economy principles, the project retains over 90% of the original structure, demonstrating how architectural renewal can deliver both environmental and spatial generosity.

Conceived through an intensive co-design process with students and staff, LateLab repositions the learning environment as inclusive, flexible, and responsive to the rhythms of contemporary campus life. Over four levels and 2,500sqm, it offers a series of interconnected spaces for study, collaboration, and social connection: functioning as a ‘living room’ from day to night.

As a prototype for carbon-conscious campus transformation, LateLab reveals the latent potential of existing assets, not simply to serve current needs, but to shape a broader institutional shift towards sustainability, belonging and design-led change.