Koorie Heritage Trust

• Sector

  Cultural

• Key Lyons contacts

  Carey Lyon
  Fiona Lew

• Collaborators

  Architecture Associates
  Greenaway Architects

• Client

  Koorie Heritage Trust

• Location

  Birrarung Building, Federation Square
  Melbourne

• Traditional land

  Located on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people

• Size

  Stage 1: 950m2
  Stage 2: 1089m2

• Project status

  Complete
  Stage 1: 2015
  Stage 2: 2023

Connecting design to Country

The new design of the Koorie Heritage Trust makes available a wide range of public spaces for the community, allowing them to access First Nations knowledge and creative enterprises. At the heart of the design is reconnecting the building, via the interiors, to Birrarung – reversing the previous design paradigm in which Fed Square was the ‘front’ and the Yarra/Birrarung the ‘back’. This public route enables flexible exhibition spaces to unfold along the journey. A series of sinuous curved walls, built out of local spotted gum timber, creates both a public wayfinding device and a narrative recalling the edge of the wetlands and ponds that previously occupied the site. A series of shimmering reflective ceiling elements, set on a deep blue, are located along this public route and further recall the significance of water to this Country. Episodic arrangements of vibrantly coloured carpet and furniture also reflect the deep colours of Country and its forms. Each of these elements are interspersed with exhibition areas to showcase the Trust’s valuable cultural collection.

A new hub for Koorie culture and community

A core part of the design brief was for the Trust to fully occupy all three levels of the Birrarung Building, so that takes its place as a major new public institution within Federation Square – creating a tripartite public architecture with the Australian Centre of Moving Image (ACMI) and NGV Australia. The result is civic architecture that invites repeat visitation. This was achieved through a range of design strategies, including the use of a locally sourced timber (from Koorie country) as a wayfinding device. Similarly, new community meeting rooms exceed the brief by making these spaces highly accessible (and therefore highly utilised) to the community and corporate hires. An overall contribution and success of the project was also the renaming of the Yarra Building to the Birrarung Building – reflecting the critical relationship between the Koorie community and the river.

The ground level now is comprised of major meeting rooms and spaces for Koorie community events, and for use by other community and corporate users. The first level is a series of public galleries and exhibition spaces for contemporary Koorie and First Nations artists and designers, and for the Trusts permanent collection. The upper level is retained as per the 2016 project, primarily to accommodate the Trust’s administrative areas, together with meeting and education spaces.

A design that celebrates Country and community

A key aspiration of the project was to make the spaces as accessible as possible to visitors – inviting the public in to participate in Koorie knowledge and community, and through this to provide a deeply educational experience. This has been achieved through the development of informal communal lounge spaces, two major gallery spaces for curated exhibitions, and a series of interlinked display spaces. At the topmost level is a major ‘education table’, in the shape of a traditional Koorie canoe, around which groups of visitors, including school students, can interact directly with artefacts.

The project not only brings a key First Nations cultural organisation directly into the cultural heart of the city, but it also brings this knowledge directly into design. The design of the project ‘tells the story’ of Koorie occupation on the banks of the Birrarung, referencing all that was part of this original Country, with the overall design foregrounding the idea of Country within a modern metropolis.