RMIT Building 11, also informally known as RMIT Spiritual Centre, is a building located at the City campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (

RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city ...

), and is part of the

Old Melbourne Gaol The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and current museum on Russell Street, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It consists of a bluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildin ...

. The centre is a place for students to practise mindful

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

, which is an activity organised by the RMIT Chaplaincy Service.

History

The building was built in 1860 as the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

of the

. It was part of the "North Wing" of the gaol, and today is one of the few remaining facilities of the complex. It became part of RMIT after the gaol's decommissioning in 1929.Old Melbourne Gaol - Background and History
The other remaining facilities include: the main entrance gates, the governor's residence, female hospital, a service wing and a bathhouse (collectively known today, along with the chapel, as "RMIT Building 11"), and the "East Block" (currently utilised as a museum). The "West Block" of the gaol was demolished to make way for an RMIT expansion, circa 1910, and the large circular

panopticon The panopticon is a type of institutional building and a system of control designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. The concept of the design is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be o ...

watchtower and male exercise yard were demolished in 1927 for the construction of the

Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy The Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy was an Australian domestic science college for women, in Melbourne, Victoria. It was officially opened on 27 April 1927 by The Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.) On 30 Jun ...

(now also part of RMIT). The building is designated a "notable building" by the

Melbourne City Council The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The ci ...

, and is classified by the

National Trust of Australia (Victoria) The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) is a community-based, non-government organisation committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage places of cultural significance in Victoria. It was founded in ...

and the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

Gallery

File:RMITSpiritualCentreCityCampus.jpg, Main chapel of the RMIT Spiritual Centre File:RMITSpiritualCentreTree.jpg,

Banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

tree growing over a wall in a courtyard of the centre

References

External links

RMIT Building 11Old Melbourne Gaol website
{{DEFAULTSORT:RMIT Spiritual Centre Spiritual Centre Spiritual Centre Religious buildings and structures in Melbourne Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Buildings and structures in Melbourne City Centre Buildings and structures completed in 1861 1861 establishments in Australia

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links