Edith Cowan University’s ECU City
Supporting ECU City from business case to completion
At a glance
Edith Cowan University created ECU City as a new vertical university campus in the heart of Perth, bringing education, creativity, performance and technology together within the Perth City Link precinct.
The approximately 60,000 square metre campus brings together the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with programs from the School of Business and Law, School of Arts and Humanities and School of Science. It also incorporates Kurongkurl Katitjin, the university’s Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research.
DCWC, now part of RP Infrastructure, supported this landmark development from project inception through to completion, providing comprehensive cost management services across the project lifecycle.
Practical completion was achieved in late 2025, with the campus opening to students for the 2026 academic year and supporting a community of more than 10,000 staff and students.
The Challenge
ECU City brought together a diverse mix of teaching, performance, creative and technology spaces within a highly complex vertical campus in central Perth.
Built above active bus and rail infrastructure, the project required major structural solutions, while specialist performance venues required advanced acoustic design to isolate spaces from vibration and surrounding city noise.
The scale and diversity of the development also required cost management across a broad range of specialist requirements, from teaching and performance environments through to information and communications technology, furniture, fittings and equipment.
Our solution
DCWC, now part of RP Infrastructure, provided comprehensive cost management services from project inception through to completion.
Our involvement began with business case development and continued through cost planning and estimating, procurement, construction financial management and whole-of-life project management.
Maintaining this involvement across the project lifecycle enabled our team to support the integration of information and communications technology, furniture, fittings and equipment alongside the broader campus works.
This consistent cost management approach supported the delivery of a highly specialised, multidisciplinary campus that now brings together education, performance, creativity and technology in the heart of Perth.
“ECU City brought together education, performance and technology within one highly complex vertical campus. Our role was to provide consistent cost management from the business case through procurement and construction to completion.”
– Neil Dickson, Executive Director – Quantity Surveying
