The brief was to expand the gallery space of the recently opened Judith Wright Centre for contemporary Art. The lower floor tenant, the Institute of Modern Art, fictitiously wanted to expand. The proposition created an art gallery that wears a skin of art. An accessible, modular timber skin covers the gallery and exhibiting artist are encouraged to make a contribution. In this way the object evolves, changes and decomposes such that it is always intriguing. From the street the gallery is accessed by moving under the skin to a void, where an escalator carries you up into the guts of the building.

In terms of program the scheme includes a lecture theatre, 1000m2 of gallery space, a cafe, bar and a commercial gallery with associated service space on top of the building’s existing program. The design was required also to lower the net energy use of the centre, and passive ventilation and lighting systems were designed to achieve a reduced net air-conditioned volume and increased daylighting.