AGWA Design Store and Foyer Refurbishment

The Design Store and Foyer refurbishment reorganises and re-imagines the entry to Western Australia’s preeminent arts institution. The client emphasised the need to simplify and rationalise the entry space, reacquainting it with the brutalist countenance of the gallery. The previous space had worn many years of piecemeal accretion. The Design Store acts as the first Gallery space. Stunning in its subtlety, the brushed aluminium shelving unit frames objects perched on its surfaces. The hexagonal pedestals act as mechanisms for display, shaped to allow for flexible spatial arrangement. The desks are as much an operational exercise as a physical apparatus. These single sheeted steel monoliths are wholly set at universally accessible height. In doing this, we have allowed the full desk to be wheelchair accessible, forcing the able-bodied elements to be moments which must rise to adjust, a flip on the paradigm of how these spaces usually work. Although there is a continued lack of disability attention and agency in architecture, this refurbishment highlights the importance of being mindful of access needs. Like pieces of art, each stone plinth is held and displayed in ways that best showcase their use and function, never allowed to touch the desk without their unique base structure. All are accompanied by an operations manual outlining clear rules for usage and presentation. Treated as precious objects, the desks befit the state’s art collection. The materiality resides within a simple palette, informed by the existing building and chosen for their longevity; concrete, metal, and travertine. Concrete has been applied to the rear entry wall, settling the space on arrival. Brushed metal appears in the desk monoliths and shelving unit, while polished metal is expressed on the columns behind the entry desk leading to the staff area. Staff functions were compartmentalised and then celebrated with a series of travertine objects, conceived as pieces of sculpture. The deceivingly minimal forms have as many features embedded as possible, rejecting the need for tacked-on after-thoughts to fill holes in functionality. Sleek, minimal and with no need to be continually updated, the interior aims to be as timeless as the building. The Design Store and Foyer refurbishment has peeled back years of disjointed occupation, and revealed the intended usage of the entry space. The result is a timeless monument to greet visitors on entry, nimble, tolerant and reflective to ongoing changes such as surging visitor numbers, changing exhibitions, and out-of-season events. Since the refurbishment, AGWA has recorded its highest annual visitorship in its history. Breathing fresh life into a state icon, the entire refurbishment aims to honour the original Architectural intention of the gallery building, a state icon. Works here must be respectful, deferential, yet carry the same strength and resonance as the original building. Straight forward, functional and enduring, the new entrance reverberates throughout the entire refurbishment, editing and resetting the public presentation of the Gallery proper.