The West Gippsland Arts Centre redevelopment has renewed the fine 1980s sculptural building with expanded foyer areas, functional and infrastructure improvements and a substantial new civic forecourt.
The project has increased the theatre capacity to 750 seats by installing balcony seating, upgraded theatrical infrastructure and internal finishes, and greatly improved accessibility. A new landscaped forecourt provides a significant public space for an important regional facility.
Demolition of a disused building enabled the foyer facade to be made transparent to the new forecourt, improving address and entry opportunities. The new café and bar embrace the edge of the forecourt, providing much needed social space to animate the centre during the day.
A new three storey foyer with stair provides access to the theatre upper entries, celebrating audience movement with views of the delightful parkland. Additions are expressed as formal, crisp, neutral boxes, contrasting the original sweeping sculptural and monolithic brick theatre.
Public Building Award 2007, Australian Institute of Architects, Victorian Chapter (and three other awards).
A new 525-seat proscenium theatre with full fly tower was built behind the historic Mechanics Hall, which was refurbished as entry, foyer, bar, functions and administration facilities. A glazed internal atrium forms an eccentric foyer celebrating the junction of old and new buildings. A dramatic, modern “drum” envelopes the theatre in a single, strongly coloured form. Seen in the round, backstage facilities address adjacent city streets with façades that abstractly refer to the heritage building.
Public Architecture Award 2010, National Heritage Award 2011, New Zealand Institute of Architects
Undertaken in partnership with Cheshire Architects, Q Theatre is an important new professional theatre in Auckland providing exceptional variable format opportunities to emerging and smaller productions. The 350-450 seat Rangatira Theatre, with two audience galleries, enables end stage, long and short traverse, corner, promenade and other formats. An elegant new six storey structure houses the theatre, backstage, administration and Town Hall orchestra room behind historic Q Street terrace buildings containing the foyer, café, bar, 100 seat studio, rehearsal room and functions facilities.
Located adjacent to the Auckland Town Hall and Concert Chamber, the project involved major acoustic isolation, complex circulation issues and numerous sustainable design features.
Public Architecture Award 2010, National Heritage Award 2011, New Zealand Institute of Architects
Excellence in the Restoration, Conservation and Continued Use of Historic Buildings and Structures Award, 2009, Historic Places Trust, NZ (and other awards).
This 100-year-old Edwardian lyric theatre was almost derelict until restored and upgraded to a contemporary standard proscenium theatre. Sensitive earthquake structuring, façade stonework and interior restoration of heritage areas were combined with forming a new 110 seat studio theatre and enlarged foyer facilities in the former Council office frontage. New engineering and theatrical services were installed throughout and a new backstage wing provides dressing room and support facilities. Innovative design enabled the original stagehouse to be retained, to the delight of Historic Places Trust.
The project brings together three streams of the community’s cultural facilities including an upgrade to the existing art deco highly successful art gallery (galleries and BOH facilities), restoration of the existing Town Hall auditorium, stage-house and foyer spaces as well as the construction of a new proscenium theatre. The new complex provides a cultural precinct with the visual and performing arts facilities linked by a linear foyer from street to street.
Facilities include: new 500 seat proscenium theatre, fly tower, backstage facilities and technical installations, foyer, bar, box office and street cafe, existing galleries, exhibition space and environmental controls upgrade and new community access gallery, new dedicated and secure gallery receiving room, collection store and workshop, new gallery reception, shop and offices, flat floor Town Hall auditorium (restored) including stage house and balcony seating for 224, administration and support amenities.
Environmentally sustainable design features include a highly insulated building envelope, specific energy efficient plant systems, low carbon footprint and low embodied energy material selection.
Photography: Provided by Kane
The new 400 seat Cube Theatre provides a variable format contemporary theatre that can be converted into two function rooms. The facility also includes a café, functions kitchen, community meeting room, administration and backstage amenities. It has been master planned to allow for a functions centre to be added.
Located in the heart of Wodonga, the new centre addresses a key park and civic courtyard. The stage rear wall opens to the courtyard so that the centre can host outdoor performances, cinema and so on using the stage facilities.
We undertook several previous studies for Wodonga of the civic precinct commencing with the 2004 civic master plan.
A complex two year construction period is needed to complete the staged decanting, decontamination, refurbishment, new storage fitout and re-occupation of fifteen individual stores throughout the Carlton Museum building, together with upgrades to laboratories and offices. Static shelving will be replaced by mobile (compactus) storage to achieve substantial increases in collections storage capacity. Working in the museum involves complex management of security for staff and collections, environmental management and several independently engaged subcontractors.
Stage 1 of the City of Stonnington’s office consolidation project is now open. Situated within the new Stonnington Civic Precinct, directly opposite the Malvern Town Hall, this project sees the major redevelopment of an existing 1980s three-storey office building to accommodate 250 of Councils staff team.
Extensive consultation with more than 25 staff departments defined the user brief, and helped engage support and promote organisational change, resulting in change to their work environment.
The innovative design now provides Council with open plan working spaces across three levels, together with a new publicly addressed custom service foyer, comfortable staff break out areas, and various formal and informal meeting zones.
A new central glass atrium void leading from the Foyer, extends above roof level and breaks open the deep building floor plate. Together with a living, breathing green wall traversing all floors, the void provides occupants with abundant natural daylight, as well as visual relief and improved air quality.
Each of the three floor levels has a distinct colour palette and styling theme to reflect the environment and its occupants. A cool blue and crisp white palette on the ground floor maximises connection with the blue glass atrium and lightens the darkest floor level. A fresh, vibrant yellow, together with black and cool greys on the mid-level reflects the young, urban vibe of the various departments occupying that level. The Councillors on the top level see the green wall in its entirety, and thus this level takes on warm green tones and light timbers for a mature and comfortable feel.
The Belconnen Community Arts Centre is located on the magnificent Lake Gininderra foreshore adjacent to the Belconnen central business district and is intended to revitalise inner Belconnen. Plazas and foreshore promenades will provide high quality outdoor recreation and lakeside performance spaces.
The centre includes both visual and performing arts facilities for both “making” and “presenting” the creative arts, administration, retail and cafes. Facilities include: a flexible format theatre and associated amenities for up to 280 seats, art gallery and sculpture court and service areas, dance / rehearsal studio, four ‘artists-in-residence’ offices and workshops, eighty-seat cafe / bar, one-hundred seat restaurant plus outdoor seating, two retail outlets, arts lounge for small events, administration office, board room, meeting rooms, patrons amenities.
In addition, the project involves upgrades to the existing 180 seat Belconnen Studio Theatre.
The project is to integrate the full range of environmentally sustainable design features.
This project brings a co-ordinated design approach to intertwine many benefits into the one design solution. The design also includes the emphasis on presentation of the theatre to the street, acoustic separation between performance and function areas and the functional flexibility of the studio space.
The project comprises significant upgrades including, new interior spaces, design to the auditorium and front of house, development of the ‘blackbox’ studio facility in the former Civic Hall, new foyers, bars and staff facilities and comprehensive stage and theatre systems upgrade.
Robert Blackwood Concert Hall Redevelopment, Monash University, 2014
Canberra Theatre Centre Business Case, 2008, 2012, 2015
Sacred Heart College Master Plan, 2012
See details of these projects here.
West Gippsland Arts Centre Redevelopment
The Drum Theatre, Dandenong
Q Theatre, Auckland NZ
Oamaru Opera House Restoration, Oamaru NZ
Horsham Town Hall and Regional Art Gallery Redevelopment
The Cube Theatre, Wodonga
Museum Victoria Interim Collections Store Upgrade
Stonnington Civic Precinct
Belconnen Arts and Culture Centre
Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool
Feasibility Studies
West Gippsland Arts Centre Redevelopment
The Drum Theatre, Dandenong
Q Theatre, Auckland NZ
Oamaru Opera House Restoration, Oamaru NZ
Horsham Town Hall and Regional Art Gallery Redevelopment
The Cube Theatre, Wodonga
Museum Victoria Interim Collections Store Upgrade
Stonnington Civic Precinct
Belconnen Arts and Culture Centre
Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool
Feasibility Studies