By Sarah McCrea
Disclaimer: This article has been updated to include photography of University House, by Jamie Kidston/Australian National University (2026).
Opened in 1954 and placed at the heart of the ANU, University House has been closed for the past six years following a devastating 2020 hailstorm. Now, it is re-opening to the public, restored and renewed.
Originally built as accommodation for research students and academics, the restored University House has remained true to its roots, now with 60 rooms for post-graduate students.
Beyond purely post-grad accommodation, University House is a unique part of the ANU. With room for academics, visitors who want to stay at hotel accommodation, people who want a coffee, people who want to see the greenery, people who want to see the art, and more, University House is a place that cannot be pushed into having a single purpose.
As students, we may be used to our campus being filled with places with plain purposes. Lecture theatres are for lectures, the cafes are for coffee and catching up with friends, Chifley is for wishing you weren’t in Chifley.
University House does not hold a distinctive single purpose.
Inside the Great Hall of University House, Leonard French’s mural “Regeneration” stretches across the far wall.
Director of the ANU Art Collection Tony Oates described to Observer the extensive water damage the piece suffered following the 2020 hailstorm. However, he noted the careful restoration of “Regeneration” has left it in better condition than it was before.
It is representative of the place itself. University House has become a site of regeneration.
Although these restorations are impressive, they were also expensive. Observer was told the reconstruction work cost upwards of $100 million, although a high proportion of the cost was covered by insurance due to the hailstorm being the cause of the damage. Changes made to upgrade the heritage-listed building include “operational enhancements” such as making the building fully electric, aligning with the University’s Net Zero targets.
“University House is ready to resume its place in the life of the ANU and the broader Canberra community,” stated the Master of University House, Professor Peter Kanowski.
As Master of University House since 2014, part of Professor Kanowski’s role is to be the “public face” of University House, as well as manage its strategy and evolution. During the uncertainty of the past six years, this role has taken on a new form.
Evolution can also mean stepping back into the past.
The historical rooms in the hotel accommodation offer a peek into the history of the university. Furniture by designer Fred Ward, remnants of the original University House, are scattered throughout these rooms, meticulously restored.
Fellows Bar, Cafe, and Garden is a social hub for visitors, academics or students to grab a bite to eat, sit on the grass and make the most of Canberra’s beautiful weather.
More than beautiful buildings and historical furniture, University House holds a capacity to bring people together in a space for everyone.
David Lewis, son of University House architect Professor Brian Lewis and frequent visitor to the site before its 2020 temporary closure, spoke about memories and people. In its upcoming re-opening, he mentioned he was looking forward to seeing University House become a space to be filled with people once more.
University House offers a mix of community and academia, history and memory.
Students are questioning what our university means to us. The meaning of university can be shaped by what is around us. For current students, many of whom would have never stepped foot inside University House, there is the opportunity to engage with a place which provides something old and new simultaneously.
For students who want to see the building and grounds for themselves, the official re-opening will occur on Friday 14 August, the day before the ANU’s 80th birthday celebrations.
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