The Wonnarua People of the Wonnarua Nation
New South Wales
Newcastle
The new Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre encourages fresh and exciting creative opportunities in the Hunter Valley. Located on a floodplain, the gallery sustains a flexibility throughout, catering to various demographics and changes in exhibitions, with the design being future proofed to allow for further expansion.
Openings of varying shapes puncture the tilt-up concrete envelope, providing glimpses of views to the parkland. The studios are distinct in form, planning and colour. Vivid red steel cladding and steep roof forms solidify the new building as a future icon in the Hunter Valley. With bold sloping roof forms, the gallery emerges from the parkland site as one makes their way along the New England Highway, a thoroughfare for tourists.
The new building promotes creative activities, providing space for functions and art shows, as well as providing the rural community with access to international exhibitions.
Careful planning and material selection have extended a limited budget to deliver a pragmatic, contemporary gallery space for the Singleton community.
BKA deserve recognition for their economical use of linear gallery space, modestly inserted behind the retained Information Centre, and their use of elevated volumes and dynamic roof forms to catch the attention of the New England Highway.
BKA are to be congratulated for their commitment to the effective delivery of this important cultural asset.