The Hedberg

Consolidating an important urban nexus of Hobart, Tasmania, The Hedberg vision presents a culturally significant performing and creative arts destination and education precinct to fuel Tasmania’s cultural offering in a contemporary global context. Co-located with the Theatre Royal, the oldest operating theatre in Australia, The Hedberg integrates a thriving music and performance hub fuelled by the provision of multiple bespoke performance venues, a cutting edge recording suite, cascading foyers and roof decks stimulating engagement and performance opportunities, front and back of house support spaces, creative workshop laboratories, rehearsal spaces, integration of the heritage-listed Hedberg Garage and universal access to all levels of the Theatre Royal for the first time. Digital and new media technologies facilitate local and global collaborations and exchange. Push and pull of form responds to rhythm and scale of the urban context and heritage precinct. The glazed main entry anchors the corner of the building, responding to the heritage buildings’ scale bookending the development. The cladding provides a neutral backdrop to the texture, colour and detail of the heritage buildings; reflectivity dematerialises the mass reflecting the surrounds and shifts with time of day and season. Scaling devices amplify the visual independence of the heritage buildings, creating a soft urban edge, humanising the building’s scale in the public realm. The design strategy evokes a sense of theatrical activities inside. The external expression is influenced by minimalist and dancing forms in contemporary music notation. The cladding suggests a shimmering theatrical curtain, pulled open to reveal the warmth within. The exterior sparkle takes its cue from the opalescence of abalone shells, traditionally used to carry fire, acknowledging the significance of fire in cultural exchange and the role it continues to play as the original natural ‘theatre’ for storytelling. Interpretive layers are interwoven into the built fabric as salvaged materials and archaeological fragments found onsite are exposed, reused, integrated into floor finishes, tracing footprints of the past or presented as sculptural forms in wall panels to reflect stories within stories. The Hedberg adds a contemporary layer to the site’s evolution, translating stories of the past overlayed with aspirations for the future, deepening an understanding of place. Its role is pivotal in galvanising the creative heart of Tasmania. For the first time a centre has surfaced that celebrates, supports and inspires creative practice, attracting professional artists to unique venues and the public to an immersive experience that speaks uniquely of place. The Hedberg delivers a cultural place of ceremony, merging ancient traditions with modern innovations. The Hedberg could not have happened anywhere else. A cultural model redefined to showcase the creative capacity of Tasmania to the world and co-locate a broad variety of education, production, presentation and public activities. The Hedberg reorients the purpose of a creative precinct from a series of isolated spaces towards an interconnected experience that facilitates formal and informal cultural activation. It presents, a festival in a building. A unique partnership between the University of Tasmania, the Theatre Royal and the Tasmanian and Australian governments enabled its delivery.