Melbourne Arts Centre

Direct Client Hassell and Development Victoria
End Client Development Victoria
Architect Hassell
Sectors
- Infrastructure & Bridges
- Public Domain & Community
Services
- Civil
- Structural
Value $180m, Laak Boorndap, $1.7bn overall
Year In progress, expected completion 2028
Location
- Melbourne

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Partnership

Collaborating with Hassell and Development Victoria, Northrop is proud to contribute to the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation which is set to redefine the city’s artistic heart and public space. This flagship project which will create a vibrant, elevated public parkland in the city centre, forming an integral part of Australia’s largest cultural infrastructure project.

Project

From commencing sitewide master planning in 2018, Northrop, as part of the Hassell team have been working closely with the broader precinct teams including Reimagining Arts Centre Melbourne and National Gallery Victoria Contemporary, providing structural and civil design solutions for the elevated parkland that links the buildings across the precinct.

Delivery

An 18,000 square metre, biodiverse garden named Laak Boorndap, by Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Elder Aunty Gail Smith, will stand out globally for its remarkable scale, planting density, and climate resilience. The public space will link the venues across the precinct and support community wellbeing and connection.

The entire parkland sits above a combination of new and existing elevated structures, bringing challenges in creating the desired biodiversity and varying topography to the garden, for both connection and to genuinely feel like an uninhibited space, whilst working within the capacities of the elevated structure.

The civil design prioritises integrated stormwater management strategies across all buildings within the precinct. This approach emphasises the capture, treatment, and reuse of water throughout the entire precinct, specifically for greywater and irrigation purposes.

Impact

This project forms part of the wider Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation which will deliver:
• The Fox: NGV Contemporary – a new gallery dedicated to art and design.
• Upgrades to Arts Centre Melbourne’s Theatres Building.
• A new 18,000 square metre urban garden.
James Sutherland, Melbourne Office Leader, describes the project as, “an immensely challenging and rewarding project so far, working with the existing iconic buildings and collaborating with the broader precinct teams. With the naming of the garden and seeing it starting to come to life, at least in imagery makes me excited about what the space will become.”

Imagery

Map Co