The masterplan for the wider RRSIC precinct is designed to promote the university’s commitment to collaboration, to encourage connections between research disciplines within science departments, and to generate potential for cross-pollination. The precinct consists of two buildings connected by link bridges, the Ernest Rutherford Building which contains science laboratories and teaching spaces, and the Beatrice Tinsley building which houses academic and support staff offices.

Jasmax research has demonstrated that the Beatrice Tinsley building will emit only 395kgCO2e/m² embodied carbon over its sixty-year lifetime, outperforming the Jasmax 2030 target of 500kgCO2e/m² by over 20%. This ambitious target is itself a small fraction of the carbon emitted by a standard comparable development. This success is in part due to the large amount of timber used in the building, which sequesters 100 metric tonnes of carbon. The use of a lightweight timber structure also enables the retention of the foundations, basement and ground floor slab of the Von Haast building over which the Beatrice Tinsley building is built. Due to the reuse of these existing elements, the building was able to be delivered in a more cost-effective manner than a traditional concrete or steel equivalent and also contributed to the building’s minimal embodied carbon footprint.