LEAD PROJECT

ACMI RENEWAL

Project description by BKK Architects

ACMI is the largest museum in the world focusing on screen culture and the moving image. The renewal of the 2002 museum space by BKK Architects and Second Story represents a quantum leap forward for this museum typology, but also for all types of experience design and digital culture; it questions the very nature of the physical museum itself. The project is unlike traditional museums that house physical artefacts. Instead, it is a museum that celebrates the physically intangible, virtual and ephemeral culture of the moving image, the consumers of which play an active role in its continual reproduction, they are watchers, players and makers. One of the central drivers of this new museum is to extend its boundaries beyond its physical structure at Federation Square, out into the city and into people’s homes, revolutionising the way we understand exhibitions and how we can (re)continue to interact with them long after we’ve left.

The original ACMI museum never envisaged the method of its evolution, nor did it anticipate the success of the institution. A major issue was the disconnected nature of the spaces and lack of legibility within ACMI, combined with an absence of identity and a clear point of entry. Visitors often went to one component of ACMI but not others.

The design process was genuinely collaborative; BKK worked hand-in-hand with Razorfish and many other design disciplines, as well as ACMI’s Indigenous curatorial team, to develop the strategic design framework from Day 1. The result is a seamless museum space that is non-static and traverses the traditional boundaries between the physical and virtual – between exhibition and dwell spaces. A new permanent exhibition, The Story of the Moving Image, is a major work. A number of design moves were undertaken to achieve this: n Connect the city and museum: Bring the museum out into the city through the reinstatement and reinforcement of the original (internal) laneway design. n Connect multiple levels and programs: Disconnected spaces were united and legibility improved through, first, the carving out of the interior, and then the major insertion of the timber Living Stair. n Strengthen identity: Create a new identity for ACMI and make it distinct from Fed Square, while respecting the original Heritage architecture. n Animate the lightwell: Through amplification of the lightwell, the central spine was strengthened; it becomes a beacon at night and also allows light (the fundamental component of the moving image) to fill and animate the space. n Create dwell spaces: Spaces, such as the Living Stair and Urban

Lounge, were created to pause, relax, hang out – a ‘third space’ for the city and museum. n Use editing as a process: The process was as much subtractive as additive – removing layers or repositioning elements of redundant space to reveal and amplify the best qualities of the original design. n Facilitate enhanced learning: Spaces were created to support the doubling of student numbers across ACMI’s vital and popular teaching programs.

The ACMI renewal is a world-first adaptation of a museum into a multilayered physical and virtual platform that can expand over time.

THE ORIGINAL ACMI MUSEUM NEVER ENVISAGED THE METHOD OF ITS EVOLUTION, NOR DID IT ANTICIPATE THE SUCCESS OF THE INSTITUTION.

Q and A with architects

How was BKK chosen for the project? BKK was selected through a staged, open, tender process progressing through an Expression of Interest, a Request for Tender and a final interview of the two shortlisted teams. Interviews were conducted by ACMI and the project manager, Root Partnerships.

What were your greatest challenges with this project? Dealing with an existing building, and especially one as well-loved as the Alfred Deakin Building, was always going to be a challenge. The original building at Federation Square (by LAB Architecture\Bates Smart) had never intended to house a cultural facility, let alone one shared across multiple levels by other co-tenants. The design process was further complicated by the building’s Heritage listing in the middle of delivery.

How did it di er from other recent BKK projects? BKK was appointed in parallel with Razorfish, the project’s Exhibition and Experience Designer. The independent engagement of two lead designers was intended to foster a comprehensive three-way collaboration between ACMI, BKK and Razorfish and indeed it did; the result is a seamless user experience from arrival, through public spaces, to each of the Museum’s distinct o erings.

What was the timescale between commission, design and completion? The project commenced in December 2017 and the build was completed in 2021; the original opening date of May 2020 was delayed due to COVID-19.

How did you make your material choices? We sought to pay homage to what was already present in the Alfred Deakin Building but clearly identify new insertions. These interventions were designed as moments of counterpoint to Federation Square’s angular geometry and cooler coloured material palette.

Custom circular ceiling co ers were derived from the pixelation of digitised moving images and were juxtaposed against LAB Architecture’s fractured, angular co ers. Colourful examples of Victorian flora were referenced as a counterpoint to the muted desert landscape tones found in Federation Square’s hard paving of Kimberley sandstone.

The introduced floral colours were developed into linear forms, influenced by compressed film art. The Urban Lounge is also an exploration of the use of fabric in cinema and performative culture. Timbers throughout the Living Stair add warmth, yet draw upon tones found in the existing sandstone flooring. Seating nooks, such as those in the Federation Square Foyer and shop, provide moments of human scale – a contrast to the vastness of the atrium.

Additions also celebrated the art of editing; in the Reception Desk at Level 1, for example, one can see the residual impression of the relocated Cinema stair, acknowledging its former location. Identity also played out as an important layer in a full rebrand by the UK design studio North and bolstered by new signage and wayfinding by local design agency, Büro North.

How involved were the clients during the design and build? Again, the entire project was really a three-way collaboration from start to finish between ACMI, BKK and Razorfish. ACMI brought a very strong creative and curatorial team to the table, well beyond the functional and operational contribution a client might typically make to a project. That said, the renewal also required enormous technical input from ACMI to ensure a successful outcome.

Were there unexpected or confounding obstacles that arose during construction? COVID was obviously an interesting scenario that no one could have predicted; it had an impact on the way we could work, as well as the arrival of materials and products from overseas that were particularly key to the exhibition fitout.

What was your main inspiration for the design? The driving ambition was to reposition the museum as a civic space – to expand the institution’s role as a repository of culture and to invite the public in to simply dwell.

The original vision for Federation Square looked to extend Melbourne’s laneways across Flinders Street. Our work, through the heart of the Alfred Deakin Building, sought to reinvigorate this vision by

AS A CLIENT AND KEY DESIGN COLLABORATOR, ACMI REMAINED CLOSELY INVOLVED IN THE DESIGN PROCESS THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT AND ACTED AS BRIDGE BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES OF THE PROJECT.

4. a design to improve our visitors’ experience – a welcoming space that invited our visitors to explore and dwell, and 5. a redesign that was sympathetic to the vision of Federation Square’s original architecture (by LAB) but which also made ACMI a notably distinctive space within the Square itself.

How was BKK chosen for the project? In July 2017 ACMI issued an Expression of Interest for the project open to architectural firms/design consortia registered in Australia. A select Request for Tender to five shortlisted bidders was issued in September 2017. A selection panel consisting of key ACMI project sta , our project management consultant Root Partnerships and key government stakeholder Creative Victoria selected the winning bid based on their creative response to and understanding of the brief and Victoria Government procurement guidelines.

How was the briefing and consultation period handled? How long did it take and were there any obstacles or di iculties along the way? ACMI had developed a masterplan in 2016/17 with Art of Fact, which was done in deep consultation with ACMI senior management and sta . This formed the basis of the written design brief for the project, which was further developed by ACMI sta in consultation with Root Projects and other museum consultants. Briefing occurred through live presentations by key ACMI sta and a written brief.

The project itself was divided into two halves, Exhibition and Experience Design (EED) and Architectural Design, and each was contracted separately to separate teams through similar procurement processes. At the core of the project was the complete redevelopment of our 10-year-old permanent exhibition Screen Worlds, and the brief ACMI created required a new exhibition that was far more integrated through our building and our visitor journey. It was an important part of the briefing for architectural services that the EED brief was also shared with the architectural project brief.

ACMI also chose to commission a co-design methodology requiring that the two design sides of the project collaborate with each other and with ACMI’s project team on all aspects of the design, so introductions between the two teams were made and ACMI led a two-month briefing and consultation period with both parties, both separately and together.

ACMI and BKK also consulted closely with Federation Square, LAB Architecture and Heritage Victoria on the designs.

As a client and key design collaborator, ACMI remained closely involved in the design process throughout the project and acted as bridge between the two sides of the project. ACMI’s key project team consisted of: Root Projects, creative director (CEO/director Katrina Sedgwick, project director (deputy director Graham Je eries) and

creating a direct link between the city and the river that celebrates the atrium, establishes a distinct ACMI identity and provides greater access to ACMI’s diverse o erings.

Now the project is finished, what elements do you love most and why? Two things stand out – the first is seeing people occupy and use the public space as we’d hoped and the second is how well the architecture and exhibition spaces work together to create a singular vision.

Has there been any need to revisit the project since completion and, if so, were those issues resolved easily? No. Despite the ongoing disruptions of the COVID situation, ACMI has successfully opened and operated all of its main facilities including the permanent exhibition, Museum shop, cinemas, education hub, café and corporate function centre, as well as the blockbuster Disney: The Magic of Animation exhibition (running until 17 October 2021).

Post occupancy evaluation

Chris Harris, ACMI director Exhibitions and Touring and ACMI Renewal project design lead, and Katrina Sedgwick OAM, CEO share their response to the project.

What were the top five elements that were most important for the finished building to have integrated into the design? Our priorities were: 1. to create a warm and inviting, connected and coherent building across the four levels of our very vertical museum 2. design aligned to ACMI’s brand personality: bold, playful, smart, original and transformative 3. that the existing building be easier to navigate and ACMI’s program o er and its various spaces be more explicit and easily read, both through design and wayfinding

separate leads in design lead (director of exhibitions and touring Chris Harris), experience lead (chief experience o icer Seb Chan), content lead (chief curator Sarah Tutton).

All designs from both sides of the project were reviewed and approved by this team. COVID-19 and mid-project Heritage listing of Federation Square both added significant complications to the project.

How involved were you during the construction period and how long did that process take? As outlined, the ACMI team’s involvement in all aspects of the project including design reviews and approvals continued throughout the project, including the build period. COVID-19 and some underlying built conditions caused construction timeline complications, so the entire period of closure and building took 18 months instead of the initial nine months; however, this includes fitout of all EED elements of the project.

Now that the project is finished: How well does it respond to those top elements, individually? Overall, highly successfully. ACMI is very happy with the outcome and our visitors concur. 1. The architectural design and wayfinding (Büro North) design aligns well with our new identity and existing brand – ACMI now has a sense of sophistication and playfulness that speaks to us as a ‘21st century museum’. 2. BKK’s use of natural materials, colour and light have all contributed to a more welcoming space. The key design move of removing the central escalators and replacing them with a massive timber stair case serves the dual purpose of bringing together the multiple levels of our building and also providing a central welcoming softer focus for visitors. 3. The new layout and wayfinding are much more successful, and we feel the building is now whole and perceived as a functioning single museum space. 4. LAB has been involved in the design consultation process and BKK’s design. While significantly di erent in style to some aspects of the original materials and design of Federation Square, BKK’s design is successfully faithful to the original LAB concept of embracing and extending

Melbourne’s laneways, among other original LAB design concepts. 5. Both the design and wayfinding help serve as a solution to this aspect of the brief (see ‘staircase’ point 2).

THE DRIVING AMBITION WAS TO REPOSITION THE MUSEUM AS A CIVIC SPACE – TO EXPAND THE INSTITUTION’S ROLE AS A REPOSITORY OF CULTURE AND TO INVITE THE PUBLIC IN TO SIMPLY DWELL.

Are there any unexpected or surprising elements that have become apparent through daily use? While we planned to attract more diverse visitors and to provide popular comfortable zones for visitors to dwell within the museum, the degree to which we have been successful in this has been surprising. Also the way our sta have enthusiastically embraced the new spaces as their own has been fantastic.

What has been the reaction from other visitors/stakeholders? Overwhelmingly positive. Visitor feedback, as measured through surveys (97 percent visitor satisfaction) and social media reviews have been excellent. Stakeholders see the project as very good value for money and the new ACMI is already recognised as an important cultural asset for Melbourne and Victoria, and the architectural, interior, exhibition and brand design have won several prestigious awards.

Are there any elements that will need further adaptation or augmentation? Museums constantly need to change, particularly in the fast-paced cultural landscape of the 21st century. A further element of the brief, explicit in the EED section, but also in the architectural, was the requirement for inbuilt change. This has been achieved in part through better service design, but we also feel the design lends itself well to incremental change over time – through elements like non-fixed furniture, flexible cabinetry and flooring, and so on. We expect over time the success of the project will require expansion, something our limited real estate footprint makes very di icult.

Have you needed to go back to BKK with any queries or responses to the project? Only minor built quality issues, not with many design issues. Some aspects of better universal accessibility have needed addressing post opening.

And, if so, was the practice able to handle any issues successfully? Yes. ar