JOHN VERGE AWARD FOR INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM PROJECT DISCOVER COX ARCHITECTURE WITH NEESON MURCUTT + NEILLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BRETT BOARDMAN
100
The Australian Museum has evolved over the decades through successive expansion projects that in turn constrained the visitor experience and inhibited the museum’s capacity to accommodate contemporary blockbuster exhibitions. The approach of the architects is one of restraint and confidence that successfully delivers a 1500sqm exhibition hall and new patron, member and education facilities within the existing building footprint. The result is achieved through a clever rationalisation of circulation and floor levels enhancing the visitor experience. At the heart is a revitalised central courtyard and a new civic space that unifies and enables future expansion.
The ability to create more with less is the epitome of a restrained approach that delivers the clarity required to rationalise an incredibly complex project. The concept of restraint is sophisticated and humble as it acknowledges that previous alterations and revisions needed to be stripped back to the essence of an earlier vision of the museum and not a new version of the same thinking. Project Discover introduces few new materials, instead drawing on the existing material palette and recycling old materials such as brass balustrades as wayfinding signage. The interior response celebrates the building’s historic fabric and injects a new life and energy.
