Traditional Land Owners: The Yorta Yorta People of the Yorta Yorta Nation 

SAM is characterised by simplicity and clarity, with compelling imagery creating a landmark cultural destination.

It includes an art museum, Visitors’ Information Centre, Kaiela Arts Aboriginal community centre and 150-person event space, all within a 5,000m2 cubic form.
A floodway across the site required a restricted ground floor. The resultant footprint, extruded over five levels, generates the distinctive small-and-tall art museum: maximising the surrounding parkland, while creating a beacon in the flat Shepparton landscape.

A landform, Art Hill, screens all building services and back-of-house under the expanded parkland. Art Hill also creates an upper ground affording an elevated outlook and direct connection from cafe to park.

The facades comprise four floating L-shaped plates, grouped together at different heights and materiality. By subverting expression of built form into a composition of abstract sculptural elements, scale becomes indeterminate.

Internally a highly legible and accessible museum experience is centred around a circulation galleria.