The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie Architecture Project Photos, News, Australia Design Images

The Glasshouse, Australia : Port Macquarie Building

NSW Architecture Development design by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects

5 Aug 2010

Glasshouse: Arts, Conference And Entertainment Centre in Mid North Coast of New South Wales

Design: Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects

Location: Port Macquarie, NSW 2002-09

images : Brett Boardman

The Glasshouse Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie Arts Conference & Entertainment Centre

The Glasshouse : Arts Conference and Entertainment Centre comprises a 600-seat performing arts theatre, a 600m² Regional Art Gallery, a studio theatre, conference facilities and a community workshop located in the centre of Port Macquarie, a rapidly-growing coastal city north of Sydney. The project brief was to establish the Cultural Centre as the pre-eminent performance and exhibition arts facility in the region.

images : Brett Boardman

The design takes advantage of a view of the Pacific Ocean and is based on ‘openness’ and accessibility. The gallery is located to share the foyer space of the theatre, allowing appropriate exhibitions to fill the public spaces of the building and, in low-visitation days, the centre to be operated with minimal staff.

images : Brett Boardman

Wrapped around the sculpted form of the tall auditorium, the foyers are open and glassy, and are naturally ventilated. The foyer and building expression is generated by the contrasting orders of the city grid and the voluminous form of the theatre shell, with it’s level 3 echo, the glass ‘skirt’ cantilevering over Clarence Street. Shaped voids and overhangs are created to facilitate street shade, airflow and an exciting architectural journey from street to auditorium.

The auditorium is a semi-traditional proscenium horseshoe, with a fully equipped lyric stage and fly tower. Operable sound-screens enable the space to be used for classical concert music. The orchestra pit is hydraulically raised and lowered to increase the flexibility of the space. All sightlines have been computer modelled, and the sound performance designed to exacting standards.

images : Brett Boardman

The design anticipated significant archaeological relics from the Governor Macquarie convict era, in the form of footings of a series of 1820’s cottages. They were not fully revealed until the existing site buildings were demolished, and once exposed the footings were preserved and revealed to the public in the basement and interpreted on the ground floor of the foyer.

photos : Rob Connell

The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie – Building Information

PROJECT
Location: Cnr Clarence and Hay Streets, Port Macquarie, NSW

Client: Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
Completed: 2009
Budget: $33m
Time to complete: 7 years (24 months construction)
Total floor area: 8,000m2 (Gross Floor Area)

AWARDS
2010 Australian Institute of Architecture Blacket Prize for Regional Architecture.
2010 Australian Institute of Architecture Commendation for Public Architecture.

PROJECT TEAM
ARCHITECTS – TONKIN ZULAIKHA GREER
Tim Greer, Trina Day, Regina Meyer, Roger O’Sullivan, Peter Tonkin, Kon Vourtzoumis, Bettina Siegmund, Elizabeth Muir, Paul Rolfe, John Chesterman, Tamara Frangelli, Jennifer Fetner, Alison Osborne

PROJECT MANAGER
Root Projects Australia

QUANTITY SURVEYOR
Currie & Brown

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Simpson Design Associates

FAÇADE ENGINEER
Arup Façade

ACOUSTICS ENGINEER
Arup Acoustics

SERVICES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER
Steensen Varming

HYDRAULICS ENGINEER
Warren Smith & Partners

ACCESS CONSULTANT
Accessibility Solutions

BCA CONSULTANT
Cityplan Services

FIRE ENGINEERING
Defire

THEATRE CONSULTANT
Entertech

MATERIALS, FINISHERS AND SUPPLIERS
EXTERIOR CLADDING

ITEM: Facade

DESCRIPTION: Fully glazed.

SUPPLIER: Austress Freyssinet.

ITEM: Flytower Cladding

DESCRIPTION: Aramax Wall Cladding. Profile 800A100. Unpainted zincalume steel.

SUPPLIER: BlueScope Lysaght

ITEM: Roof

DESCRIPTION: Cliplock profile. Zincalume steel.

SUPPLIER: BlueScope Lysaght.

STRUCTURE

ITEM: Structure

DESCRIPTION: Precast concrete post tensioned slabs.

SUPPLIER: Hanson Australia Pty Limited

THEATRE

ITEM: Acoustic Panels

DESCRIPTION: Patterned perforated plywood.

SUPPLIER: Supawood.

ITEM: Theatre Seats

DESCRIPTION: Plywood backed, red fabric clad. Structural base of the seat is an A/C outlet.

SUPPLIER: Hadley and Series Australia Pty Ltd

ITEM: Walls

DESCRIPTION: Black polished precast concrete panels. (Made black through the addition of black oxide and black granite).

SUPPLIER: Hanson Australia Pty Limited

FOYER

ITEM: Internal Walls

DESCRIPTION: Plywood panels.

SUPPLIER: Supawood.

ITEM: Floors

DESCRIPTION: Fontain Bleau Bluestone Tiles. Large format 600x1200mm. Inlaid with text describing archaeology. Detailed ‘pebble’ and ‘rubble’ pattern as part of heritage interpretation.

SUPPLIER: Nefiko.

MEZZANINE + GALLERY

ITEM: Floors
DESCRIPTION: The Golden Oak floors laid at Glasshouse Arts, Conference and Entertainment centre are a unique AST blend of Australian hardwoods from within Northern NSW Highland region comprising Fastigata, Messmate, New England Blackbutt, Stringybarks and Viminalis which together depict a distinctly natural looking floor of golden yellow tones infused with husk brown and cream accents.

The flooring at Glasshouse is further characterised by randomly allowing more natural characteristics within the surface appearance to further compliment the natural themes throughout the building.

SUPPLIER: Donated by local timber mill, Australian Solar Timbers.

The Glasshouse Port Macquarie images / information from Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects

Location: Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia

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