CULLEN FENG
STATE LIBRARY OF NSW-NEW AUDITORIUM & PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY
Sydney CBD
This project involved the creation of a new 350 seat tiered auditorium housed in the original bookstacks below the iconic Mitchell Reading Room; the revitalisation of a large atrium space in the Macquarie Budling to serve as foyer/breakout space for the auditorium; the creation of two new gallery/circulation spaces-the larger one as a dedicated photography gallery allowing parts of the Library’s extraordinary collection of two million images to be displayed for the very first time-and the upgrading of the public entrance of both buildings to provide complying equitable access.
The shear heads of the concrete columns removed from the original structure are retained and visible within the auditorium space suspended below four new large steel trusses. The perimeter of the room has been designed with timber cladding metaphorically surrounding the visitor with a memory of the bookstacks from which the space was carved.
Photography: Eric Sierins, Judith Russo
QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM & ART GALLERY
Inveresk, Tasmania
An adaptive reuse of an existing disused railway workshop. The gallery includes permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, auditorium, cafe and retail facilities. The contrast between the old and the new is dramatised by the juxtaposition of the patina of grey and rust with the brightly coloured new construction.
The QVMAG won the 2002 RAIA Tasmanian Chapter Awards for both Public and Heritage, and more recently the Tasmanian Chapter Triennial Award for Heritage Buildings. Jon Cullen was the design architect for QVMAG while at PTW Architects, and continued his involvement in association while at Cullen Feng.
Photography: John Gollings
MCA STORAGE FACILITY
Sydney
The project involved the conversion of a floor of warehouse in Sydney to house the MCA permanent Collection Storage and associated conservation and art installation workshop. Temperature and humidity stability were largely achieved with compartmentation and insulation. Only one room insulated by surrounding storage areas and containing very sensitive items was air-conditioned.