WA Museum Boola Bardip

2021 National Architecture Awards: pUBLIC Architecture

WA Museum Boola Bardip | Hassell + OMA

Traditional Land Owners: The Whadjuk People of the Nyoongar Nation

WA Museum Boola Bardip at Perth’s Cultural Centre, designed in joint venture by international design practices Hassell + OMA, has been conceived as a ‘collection of stories’ about Western Australia’s diversity, rich history, and contemporary culture. Heritage buildings and new volumes have been connected to offer a variety of curatorial possibilities, and to create the sheltered, outdoor ‘City Room’ for public cultural programs and daily activities, including a nine-day cultural festival celebrating the opening.

The renewed Museum will be a place where the local community and global visitors can gather to engage in diverse cultural experiences. It features additional spaces for exhibitions and events, capacity for national and international touring shows, and new retail and dining opportunities.

Two intersecting circulation loops – one vertical and one horizontal – connect the refurbished historic buildings and new structures, while offering multiple routes for different experiences of the Museum’s content.

Client perspective:
How does the design benefit the way you live/work/play/operate/educate/other?

“Hassell + OMA, and contractor, Multiplex have produced a magnificent museum that embraces the heritage buildings, with a series of spectacular new elements turning the musuem – inside and out – to provide a wide range of memorable experiences.
Since opening, record crowds have enjoyed the Museum with many visitors returning multiple times.
Most impressive has been the integration of the old and the new: whether marveling at the soaring heights of the cantilevered galleries, exploring the beautifully refurbished heritage buildings, or enjoying the spectacularly suspended blue whale, Otto – visitors have been impressed and delighted with the WA Museum Boola Bardip.”

Practice team:

Mark Loughnan, Project Director
Peter Dean, Project Director
Brenden Kelly, Project Director
Anthony Brookfield, Landscape Design Principal
David Gulland, Peer Review
Belinda Gilby, Design Team member
Benjamin Rees, Design Team member
Reuben Bourke, Design Team member
Hannah Galloway, Landscape Design Team member
David Hunt, Design Team member
Katherine Arrigan, Design Team member
Callum Chute, Landscape Design Team member
Philip Davies, Design Team member
Ricky Frazer, Design Team member
Sarah Gaikhorst, Landscape Design Team member
Wayne Greensill, Design Team member
Aysen Jenkins, Landscape Design Team member
Kaine Jenkins, Design Team member
Mark McKenna, Design Team member
Patrick O’Neil, Design Team member
Irene Payne, Design Team member
April Pine, Design Team member
Douglas Pott, Landscape Design Team member
Thomas Proctor, Design Team member
Simon Rich, Design Team member
Michael Ruehr, Design Team member
Patrick Sims, Landscape Design Team member
Samuel Travers, Landscape Design Team member
Jill Turpin, Landscape Design Team member
Annika White, Landscape Design Team member
Lucy Wilson, Landscape Design Team member
David Gianotten, Project Director
Paul Jones, Project Director
Christopher Hing Fay, Design Team member
Mirai Morita, Design Team member
Fred Awty, Design Team member
Thorben Bazlen, Design Team member
Marina Cogliani, Design Team member
Jack Davies, Design Team member
Haram Hong, Design Team member
Eunjin Kang, Design Team member
Alan Lau, Design Team member
Fedor Medek, Design Team member
Marcus Parviainen, Design Team member
Paola Provinciali, Design Team member
Yash Ravi, Design Team member
Takehiko Suzuki, Design Team member
Shinji Takagi, Design Team member
John Thurtle, Design Team member
Elizabeth White, Design Team member
Polina Zhalniarovich, Design Team member

Construction team:

Multiplex, Managing Contractor
BG&E, Structural Engineer
Wood & Grieve Engineers, Services Engineer
Hera, Facade
Atelier 10, ESD Consultant
JMG, Building Surveyor
Studio Ongarato, Signage & wayfinding