A 395-square-metre learning facility at Western Sydney University is transforming how students interact with advanced manufacturing. The Factory of the Future, created by HDR, occupies an irregular ground-floor area on the university’s Bankstown City Campus, converting an awkward section of the building into a live showcase of Industry 5.0 applications.
The ground-floor Discovery Space faces the street, letting pedestrians watch robotic arms operate, CNC machines shape materials, and students work late. Above it, the Immersive Training Hub combines robotics, virtual reality, and simulation tools in one open workspace. Unlike conventional labs with locked equipment, this area deliberately exposes all operations to view.
Graeme Spencer, HDR’s Education and Science Principal, explains that from Rickard Road, passers-by can see the robots and CNC machine arms moving continuously while students work. “It’s not hidden anywhere,” he says. The design avoids traditional isolation of activities by arranging the space so students observe interconnected processes—CNC machines working alongside 3D printers, with virtual reality stations nearby. The focus extends beyond skill instruction to demonstrating how different technologies function together in real production environments.
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Interactive design meets kinetic art
Flexibility drives the interior layout. Modular furniture, exposed services, and adjustable zones allow the space to adapt quickly to new equipment, workshops, or industry partnerships. Since opening, the configuration has changed repeatedly to support diverse activities, from robotics demonstrations to school outreach. “Every time we go back, it’s arranged in a different way,” Spencer says. “There are different classes happening, robotic dogs walking around—it’s very cool.” The unusual floorplate could easily have produced a fragmented series of technical rooms.
The Innovation Engine, an 8.6-metre kinetic installation suspended over Discovery Space, stands out as the facility’s most prominent feature. Collaborating with STAKK Studio, the team designed it with 24 motorised cowlings and 96 LED-lit blades that respond to light, movement, and sound. Beyond its artistic appeal, the Engine was fabricated using the same digital fabrication, laser cutting, and CNC machining techniques taught in the Factory. Its visible mechanisms provide students with a practical example of the processes they study.
“It takes the classroom and turns it into a learning experience,” says Spencer. “It’s not about going in, absorbing the material and then going home. It’s much more interactive.”
Local industry powers real-world problem-solving
The project highlights local industry involvement. Over 80% of its components were manufactured in Sydney, with 55% sourced within five kilometres of the campus. This approach went beyond sustainability, proving Western Sydney’s existing technical capabilities. The same regional focus applies to the Factory’s industry collaborations, where businesses bring real-world challenges to the university for joint development, whether creating biomedical devices, aerospace components, or localised replacement parts.
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“You can use hand scanners to capture a part and manufacture the replacement within Western Sydney, instead of waiting ten weeks,” says Spencer. The space also engages secondary school students through outreach programs, introducing younger visitors to high-tech fields early.
No longer do students have to travel an hour and a half to get this level of education. Now, world-class manufacturing education is available in Bankstown, where over 120 languages are spoken. The Factory serves students while positioning the university as an industry partner and community hub.
“It gives students hands-on experience for the industries they will go on to work in,” he says.
