Designed by TERROIR, Burnie Makers was a rare public investment in a small coastal town in northwest Tasmania that was suffering the loss of its old heavy industries.
Understanding the need for a transformative approach to the economy, a group known as Burnie Makers focused on pivoting the old paper mill to the tertiary processing, recycling, and crafting of paper products.
To make sense of the investment, other functions were co-located with the makers, such as a visitor centre and local museum.
The exterior is an incredibly lean combination of precast concrete and translucent Danpalon sheeting.
Terroir selected these materials for their economy, erection speed, and abstract qualities when seen in the context of the port.
Climatic considerations also demanded a taut skin that, as with Nordic buildings, bluntly delineates between inside and out.
As a result, the project sits as a large waterfront ‘toy’ on the headland.
This taut appearance is countered by the imagination of the third space, which reaches out beyond the envelope to the spaces around and forms part of them.
The building exceeded the economic forecasts for the original brief since, without an entry charge, visitors came regularly to this new ‘living room’ for the whole town.
The proposition emerged from an economic argument where the entry charge to the museum would be abandoned and the building augmented with additional facilities such as a small gallery and café.
Spatially, this meant that all circulation and foyer spaces were collected into a single, viral third space, around which discrete functions were arranged in separate arms.
The intersection of internal exhibition requirements and the external arms was addressed via an arrangement of cubes that are unified in a single material – recycled timber panels.
The space appears as a central core created by ‘hollowing out’ the primary object.
Project Details
Completion Date – 2009
Project Team
Architecture
TERROIR
TERROIR is a collective of architects and urbanists dedicated to producing work that increases the connection between people and the places they inhabit.
Photography
Brett Boardman
Brett is a well-established commercial and architectural photographer based in Sydney.
Photo Gallery
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Design © 2022 Terroir. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Brett Boardman. All Rights Reserved.
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