2021 Australian Interior Design Awards: Interior Design Impact – joint award

Jury comment

Bunjil Place is a stunning example of genuinely impactful design. The scale of the impact is significant and meaningful. Bunjil Place reaches a large community by providing a sense of place and amenity that was previously absent. This project has created a true civic heart that brings together various functions that benefit the community and staff. It provides a platform for community programming, social interaction and cultural inclusion – it brings the people of Casey together and brings people to the City of Casey.

The success of Bunjil Place is due to a confluence of intelligent and ambitious undertakings by the designers and client that have resulted in a coherent, well-resolved and joyful design.

Co-development and expansion of the brief raised initial expectations and enabled the project to realize its full poten-tial. A generosity of spirit is evident in FJMT’s determination to provide authentic world-class facilities for the City of Casey, including an international-standard art gallery and an 850-seat state-of-the-art

theatre. The highly functional design caters equally to the needs of international artists and primary school groups. Genuine engagement with the Indigenous community, from the compe-tition stage and throughout the design process, has strengthened and informed the symbolic design, which integrates the form of Bunjil through the timber ceiling grid. Planning is intuitive and human-centred. All amenities, including the library, art gallery, theatre, council chambers and offices radiate from the central lobby, maximizing cross-interaction and cross-engagement. The flexible use of spaces – in particular, the Council Chamber’s adapt-ability to a function venue – has provided increased revenue and is a demonstrably effective use of rate payers’ money. Bunjil Place has proven transformative to a community through increased local patronage to the arts and literature, new job creation, education and access to the arts, and local access to world-class perfor-mances and exhibitions. This project has changed lives positively and will continue to do so for future generations.

Design statement

A combination of intimate and expansive interiors, with a play between public and private space, expresses a vision to bring together people. A seamless integration of technology and a high level of detail in the configuration of interior spaces has led to a successful and vibrant civic gathering space. Bunjil Place offers a stage for living that performs in a new and exciting way. The configuration of the building offers opportunities for educational facilities, gallery space, customer service, leisure space, performance spaces, functions and events.

The interior exists as a series of white and timber ribbons hovering between the roof and ground-floor plane. The sinuous roof element symbolizes past traditions and is a contemporary vision of the future. A close team collaboration between FJMT, TTW and Bluemer Lehman – a Swiss timber consultant – was necessary to optimize the spatial design. The timber grillage is a highly complex shape, with thousands of lamellas forming the voluptuous glulam structure. The whole structure was provided in many parts and assembled on site in a kit of parts.

Design practice — FJMT Studio

Project team — Richard Francis-Jones, Jeff Morehen, Geoff Croker, William Pritchard, David Moody, Lina Sjögren, Annie Hensley, Andrew Chung, Fleur Downey, Iain Blampied, Laura Vallentine, Amanda Beh, Bradley Kerr, Nic Patman, Jessica Kairnes, Lance White, Estelle Roman, Marco Coetzee

The Award for Interior Design Impact supported by Signorino. The Australian Interior Design Awards are presented by the Design Institute of Australia and Artichoke magazine. For more images of this project, see the Australian Interior Design Awards gallery.