Industry partnership with Dulux Australia

Render of the Dulux Gallery in ABP’s new building.

In the largest sponsorship of a university in the company’s history, Dulux Australia will sponsor the main gallery space in our future building. The soaring, white space, located on the ground floor, will be known as the Dulux Gallery and will showcase a rich program of outstanding design, as well as project-specific and survey exhibitions.

“This partnership with the University of Melbourne builds on Dulux’s commitment to fostering the next generation of built environment professionals. We are proud to partner with such a prestigious institution,” says Phil White, General Manager, Trade Division, Dulux Australia.

Dulux is committed to enhancing learning opportunities for students in the areas of paints, colour and coating. Research collaboration with the leading paint company is already under way with Architecture, Building & Planning’s (ABP) Chris Jensen working on a project evaluating the effectiveness of Dulux cool roof coatings to reflect heat.

“There is a lot of interest in this area, to make buildings work harder and smarter to reduce cooling energy. Preventing the heat entering a building just makes the most sense,” Chris says.

“Regardless of location, commercial buildings typically need year-round cooling so high-performance heatreflective coatings can provide major energy and CO2 savings for the construction and commercial industries.”

It is the only Australian research group working to calibrate a model for future predictions of building coating performance. “Building energy modelling is the way of the future. It has been great to put this work into action through our relationship with Dulux to test their products,” Jensen says.

Dulux Australia will also work with the Faculty to enhance student learning on current industry practice in paints, colour and coatings, which may include the introduction of a subject on colour theory and design.

ABP Dean, Professor Tom Kvan, whose vision for the Faculty played a key role in the design of the new building, said: “The exhibition culture of our Faculty is strong and the communication of research and learning is central to our purpose. By naming the primary gallery of our new building the Dulux Gallery, and creating learning opportunities with our students, we are demonstrating the importance and value of industry partnerships in the field of design.”