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Australian offsite manufacturer Interpod has been appointed by Built to supply prefabricated bathrooms for Scape’s 58-storey State Library Exchange development, with deliveries scheduled to begin in early 2027.
Australian bathroom pod manufacturer Interpod has secured a contract to manufacture and deliver 1,373 prefabricated bathroom pods for the State Library Exchange development in Melbourne’s CBD, extending its involvement in large-scale student accommodation projects.
Recently announced, the contract will see Interpod work with head contractor Built to supply bathrooms across two standardised pod types for the 58-storey development above the new State Library Station at the corner of Swanston and La Trobe streets.
The project is being developed by Scape, part of The Living Company, in partnership with RMIT University. The two organisations have committed more than $270 million combined to the development, which will accommodate approximately 1,400 students alongside education, commercial and retail facilities.
RMIT will occupy the first nine levels for teaching, research and industry engagement, with student accommodation occupying the upper floors.
Manufacturing 1,373 bathrooms offsite
Interpod will manufacture the bathrooms in a controlled factory environment, completing waterproofing, tiling, plumbing, fixtures and finishes before the units are transported to Melbourne.
Each pod will arrive tested and ready for installation, reducing the number of wet-area trades required onsite.
The use of just two bathroom configurations across 1,373 units provides a substantial degree of design repetition, allowing manufacturing processes and installation requirements to be standardised.
For Built, the approach is particularly relevant given the constraints of the development site.
The tower is being constructed above State Library Station, approximately 42 metres below Swanston Street, and alongside one of Melbourne’s busiest tram corridors.
Limited space for deliveries, storage and construction activities places additional demands on logistics and trade coordination.
Interpod said manufacturing the bathrooms offsite would reduce material movements and the number of trades required to complete bathrooms within the tower.
Design and coordination work with Built is underway, with the first pods scheduled for delivery in early 2027.
The contract value and anticipated manufacturing programme have not been disclosed.
Building on an established relationship
The appointment continues Interpod’s involvement in purpose-built student accommodation, a sector where repeated room layouts provide opportunities for prefabricated building components.
The NSW-based manufacturer has previously supplied bathroom pods for Scape Franklin in Melbourne, also constructed by Built, as well as student accommodation developments in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland.
According to its company profile, Interpod has delivered more than 45,000 bathroom pods across Australia and New Zealand.
Built has also incorporated prefabricated bathroom systems into earlier Scape developments, alongside offsite-manufactured joinery and digitally coordinated construction processes.
The State Library Exchange contract extends that approach to a project involving more than 1,300 repeated bathroom installations within a single high-rise development.
Construction of the broader development is scheduled for completion in mid-2029.
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