With its inner-city campus at Gardens Point, stretched to accommodate an expanding roll, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is maximising outdoor areas to develop attractive student spaces.

R Block Courtyard, nestled amongst historic buildings in the Central Analytical Research Facilities precinct, has been given a new life by RAL Architects in conjunction with Fuse. A once barren unused area is now listed with QUT Student VIP as one of its ‘secret places’, ‘a great place to eat, catch up with others, or study, well away from the busier parts of campus’. It also hosts vertical gardens used by the progressive research faculty whilst providing a welcome shady retreat.