Denton Corker Marshall’s “small and tall” Shepparton Art Museum, built on the lands of the Yorta Yorta peoples on the shore of Victoria Park Lake, will open to the public on 20 November.
Restricted to a small footprint due to a floodway running across the site, the museum is stretched vertically across five levels, making it the tallest building in the topographically flat town in regional Victoria. The architect, whose design was chosen through a design competition in 2017, describes the building as a “beacon” and a “sculpture” nestled in the landscape.
“The Shepparton Art Museum was a great competition to win as it represents such an important cultural contribution to a regional city like Shepparton,” said Denton Corker Marshall founding director John Denton. “Sitting between the lake and the main road into town from Melbourne it presents a strikingly bold signal – a new contemporary building added to the fabric of the city.”
Shepparton Art Museum by Denton Corker Marshall.
Image: John Gollings
Replacing the old gallery on Welsford Street, the art museum will house more than 4,000 artworks across four main gallery spaces. It will also feature a dedicated kids’ space and workshop space; a visitors’ information centre; the Kaiela Arts Aboriginal community arts centre; an outdoor amphitheatre; a café; and a 150-person event space and terrace.
The design is defined by a simplicity of form and clarity of materials. Across the building’s facades, four floating perforated L-shaped plates are suspended in the landscape, referencing traditional Australian verandas. Three of the plates are formed of powdercoated aluminium, while the fourth facing the lake is made of a rich ochre-red Corten steel.
“From a distance, the plates give virtually no indication of interior life and waits to be discovered and explored,” the architect notes in a statement.
“At their base, they float seemingly unsupported over an open, visibly accessible and highly activated ground plane. Each plate is simultaneously an object in its own right and an integral part of the whole. The plates group together, at different heights and contrasting materiality, to form a cube composition at a scale comparable to the surrounding red river gums. Each facade plate becomes a canvas, layered into the treed landscape of dappled light and shade with the ability to transform as a base for temporary installations or projection imagery.”
Shepparton Art Museum by Denton Corker Marshall.
Image: John Gollings
The building connects to surrounding parklands via a raised grass area dubbed the “Art Hill.” This raised form incorporates building services and back-of-house areas while offering an elevated outlook for the museum café that connects directly to the park.
Inside the museum, an open circulation galleria leads onto a range of interconnected multi-level spaces, including the Lin Onus Gallery, People’s Gallery, Williamson Community Space, SAM Kids Space, the Bill Kelly Peace Room.
“The building is about hope and aspiration, with a range of welcoming spaces and places designed to invite all members of the public to meet, enjoy, and call their own through arts and culture,” said Rebecca Coates, artistic director and CEO of Shepparton Art Museum.
“There’s a play of theatre, performance and comfortable reflection with natural light and views to the landscape connecting people to context and landscape.”
The new building was funded by local, state and federal government, as well as through philanthropic and community support.
Also working on the project in collaboration with Denton Corker Marshall and Greater Shepparton City Council were landscape architects Urban Initiatives and signage and wayfinding consultant Studio Ongarato.
