For law students, the moot court is where theory meets practice. It's a rehearsal space for the real courtroom experiences they'll face after graduation. When QUT set out to reimagine its Moot Court at Garden Point Campus, RAL Architects took on the job of designing an environment that felt authentically court-like, while still being flexible enough to double as everyday teaching space.
What QUT told us they wanted
The brief centred on flexibility. QUT needed a space that could function as two separate moot courts, two independent learning spaces, or one combined larger space, all within a 240-square-metre footprint on the fifth level of a dated 1980s building. The existing fit-out was rigid and underused, offering neither the gravity of a real courtroom nor the adaptability of a modern teaching environment. The floorplate needed a complete gutting to start fresh.
How we acted on what we heard
RAL Architects reworked the space from the ground up. The previous blank, impermeable corridor wall was replaced with a more transparent design. Perforated metal and translucent glass create a "veil" that still offers glimpses into the courts, while eastern light filters through.
A central operable panelled door splits the floorplan into two independent moot courts when needed. At each end, stone-clad judge's benches anchor the room with a sense of solemnity, supported by desks for stenographers and student barristers. Timber walls bearing the university's coat of arms face each courtroom, and curvaceous ceiling lighting adds dramatic effect to the scene. Large media screens on each court wall allow witnesses to be called in remotely, and acoustic ceiling panels combined with carpet tiles keep the space quiet enough for testimony to be heard clearly.
When the courts aren't in session, loose furniture is stored away in two cavity-wall cupboards, so the space can be reconfigured quickly for general teaching use. Castledex supplied the loose furniture for the project, including executive and general seating and foldable, stackable tables. Stacking and trolley-based storage solutions make it easy to swap furniture between moot court and teaching configurations, and move it into storage when not in use.
Inspired results
The finished space carries the formality and hierarchy of a real courtroom, a sense of weight and occasion whether set up as one court or two, while still functioning as an informal, flexible learning environment for students day to day. RAL Architects balanced two competing needs well: the theatre of the courtroom, and the practicality of a teaching space that earns its keep every day it isn't in session.
