Western Australia
The design store refurbishment reorganises and re-imagines the entry to Western Australia’s preeminent arts institution.
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.
Treated as precious objects, the desks befit the state’s art collection, imbued with clear rules for usage and presentation. These single sheeted steel monoliths are set at accessible height for wheelchair use, forcing the carved stone elements to be the able-bodied moments that must rise to adjust—an important flip of the common public spatial paradigm.
The entire refurbishment aims to honour the original Architectural intention of the gallery building, a state icon. The result is a timeless monument to greet visitors on entry, reflective and flexible to ongoing changes.
Natasha Martawijana, Project Designer
David Weir, Project Assistance
Dedicated Construction (DeCo), Builder (Design Store)
Fergusons Manufacturing, Manufacturer
Ian Kanik, Collaborator (Design store)
Ian Strange, Art Direction
Shifted Designs, Engineer
Taycon Group, Building Surveyor and Manufacturer
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
