A look at the newly-transformed Australian Museum – Neeson Murcutt + Neille
After 15 months of significant transformation, Australia’s oldest museum and Sydney’s heritage landmark, the Australian Museum, has reopened its doors to the public last November 2020.
The first phase of renovation – dubbed as Project Discover – was driven by the design thinking of COX Architecture and Neeson Murcutt + Neille, the firm behind the award-winning Brian Sherman Crystal Hall. The top-to-bottom makeover includes over 3,000 square metres of new public spaces.
The project has added NOMI’s Time Table and Jasny Chair to one of the civic spaces of the museum. The refined modesty of the Time Table along with the comfort and flexibility of the Jasny Chair help create an open, social space while preserving a contemporary aesthetic. These original designs made using only sustainably harvested FSC timber, find a new home at one of Australia’s most iconic locales.
We spoke to Nicholas Gonsalves and Rachel Neeson of Neeson Murcutt + Neille to find out more about this historic project.
What is your design philosophy?
Project Discover is architecture as archaeology! The Australian Museum required 1500 sqm of new exhibition spaces to host ‘blockbuster’ touring exhibitions, and facilities to accommodate the anticipated increased volume of visitors. We found these spaces by strategically removing parts of the existing building, making it more open, more accessible, and more legible while revealing the Museum’s rich historic layering. We uncovered a new civic heart for the Museum – the Hintze Hall – that people can arrive to and orientate themselves within. It is a wonderful new public space for Sydney, and an event space for the Museum.
