ECU City: A city-defining educational precinct. Courtesy of Stephen Heath
Edith Cowan University's (ECU's) City Campus has taken out the 2026 Australian Construction Achievement Award (ACAA), the construction industry's highest honour.
Multiplex was awarded for its construction and delivery, with ECU City recognised as a city-defining education precinct.
ECU City was selected from seven outstanding finalists spanning a remarkable field of projects including nation-building transport links, world-class health infrastructure, marine and aviation gateways, and rapid disaster-recovery works.
ECU City lights up at night. Courtesy of Stephen Heath
The win recognises the exceptional achievement behind the delivery of ECU City, one of Perth's most significant recent projects and a landmark addition to the city's skyline.
The $853 million dollar campus, which spans 11 super-levels and 65,000-square-metres, was jointly funded by the Australian Government, the Western Australian Government, and ECU.
It is Perth's first comprehensive university in the CBD with a community of thousands of students and staff.
The campus was a complex construction challenge with its unique location above live underground transport infrastructure alongside a dynamic mix of teaching, performance and technology spaces, including vertically stacked performance venues, a four-storey LED screen, next-generation screen production and media facilities, and galleries and studios.
Externally, ECU City boasts more than 2,800 custom LED lattice fixtures integrated into its distinctive fin façade.
ECU's Vice-President (Corporate Services) Scott Henderson said ECU City is a transformational project for Perth and the university.
"Our strategic plan was to become the university of the future to help students achieve their potential," he said.
"To be that university that has transformed the city of Perth is quite extraordinary."
Inside ECU City. Courtesy of Stephen Heath
Australian Constructors Association CEO Peter Colacino said the project demonstrated what can be achieved when innovation, collaboration and capability come together.
"ECU City Campus represents Australian construction at its best," Mr Colacino said.
"This was an immensely complex project delivered in one of Australia's most challenging urban environments. The team overcame extraordinary engineering constraints while maintaining critical transport infrastructure and keeping their focus firmly on the end outcome.
"What set this project apart was that it delivered outstanding results well beyond the physical asset. It supported 122 apprentices and trainees, directed more than 95 per cent of project expenditure to Western Australian businesses, and awarded $32 million in work to Indigenous enterprises.
"The project shows what is possible when clients, contractors and the supply chain work together to solve problems and create lasting value for the community.
Chair of the ACAA Judging Panel Tanya Cox said ECU City Campus distinguished itself through its consistent performance across all assessment criteria.
"What impressed the judging panel was not one standout feature, but the project's ability to achieve exceptional outcomes across every category," Ms Cox said.
"The project successfully combined engineering excellence, workforce development, sustainability, innovation and stakeholder collaboration while delivering a highly complex development above critical transport infrastructure.
"The team continually challenged conventional thinking. Through innovative redesign, they reduced structural steel requirements from approximately 6,000 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes while maintaining performance outcomes and creating substantial cost and sustainability benefits.
"Ultimately, this project demonstrates how Australia's most successful projects create value not only through the assets they deliver, but through the legacy they leave behind."
The City Campus was delivered as the centrepiece of the Perth City Deal and redefines the state's education and cultural landscape.
The ACAA win comes shortly after ECU City took top honours at the 2026 West Australian Architecture Awards, earlier this year.
