design*kung-fu

In early January 2011, the Musuem of Old and New Art – Mona, opened its doors to the public in Tasmania’s capital Hobart. Situated in Hobarts down to earth northern suburb of Barriedale, the new building shares its little peninsula with the local “Moo Brew” brewery and a very odoursome waste water treatment plant – a strange combination and a little troublesome to think about while enjoying one of their great tasting beers! Yet quite suiting the diverse aura around MoNa’s founder and art collector David Walsh, who describes the museum as a “subversive adult Disneyland”.

Designed by Fender Katsalidis architects, the exterior of the building becomes most apparent when approached via the Derwent river. From a distance the red brown corten steel facade elements alongside complementing grey surfaces of structural concrete used to stabilize hillside slopes create the impression of a brutalistic medieval keep rising up from the Derwent river.

Approaching the building from the land leaves a very different impression. After following the road through rows of vines, the building gradually rises out towards the water, leading the visitor past a corten steel concrete truck and over a tennis court to the reflecting stainless steel surface of the main entrance. Inside the complex a minimalistic seaside residence welcomes the visitor with great floor to ceiling windows, framing the river scenery of the Derwent, a warming fire blazing in its hearth. From here, the real Mona experience starts. Descending through the circular glass cylinder into the jaw-dropping guts of the raw space beneath, ten meter high bare cut sandstone walls give way to free flowing space with a cathedral like atmosphere. No daylight, just bare rock, concrete and raw art.

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nk | design*kung-fu

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Australia’s architectural capital Melbourne has borne a new gem. Situated on the north-western edge of the CBD, the newly built Design Hub for the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology – RMIT by Sean Godsell Architects boasts research and accommodation facilities for the universities design initiatives, design research groups and postgraduate programs. Situated at the northern end of the cities civic axis, Swanson Street (crn. of Victoria Street) the buildings facade consists of 16.000 sandblasted semi-translucent glass cells that form the outer shell of the building, shielding it from solar impact. The inner shell is dominated by floor to ceiling double glazed low emission curtain wall.

The facade gives the building a distinctive appearance which changes immensely throughout the day. From solid deep green at dawn over a fine silky blanket of silvery blue to a gleaming gold at dusk. I have yet to see and photograph the building light up at night, at its most translucent state. Below are some of the images I took of the building over a period of some weeks, with potentially more to follow to complete the circle once the building is fully finished.

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nk | design*kung-fu

nk | design*kung-fu

nk | design*kung-fu

nk | design*kung-fu