Melbourne’s Federation Square has created an indelible mark on the city. At the same time that it was heritage listed, BKK Architects was commissioned to create a new identity for the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). “From the outset, ACMI wasn’t purpose built for the development and there were no clear sight lines or procession,” says architect Tim Black, principal of BKK Architects, who worked closely with architect Deb Adams, a senior associate of the practice and architect and principal Simon Knott.
20 September 2021
Sydney Morning Herald story: Colours define Australian Centre for the Moving Image refurbishment
The Sunday Morning Herald
Our ACMI Renewal was featured in this story by Stephen Crafti in the Sydney Morning Herald, September 18, 2021.
The full article is also available on here.
Their team, who worked with London-based branding agency Razorfish, received an interior architecture award from the Australian Institute of Architects (Victorian Chapter) as a result. “We had to create a series of well-connected paths through ACMI, as well as making the film and digital world more accessible to the public,” says Adams, recalling the former escalator that simply bypassed many of the activities ACMI was offering.
Briefed by ACMI’s CEO, Katrina Sedgwick, the architects and designers were commissioned to develop a unique and recognisable presence for this much-loved Melbourne institution within the building’s halo of angular metal panels, glass and stone. “It was important to speak to the history of the culture associated with the moving image,” says Knott. One of the films that influenced BKK’s colour palette also came from the exuberant costumes worn in the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
This history of both the image and the Australian context beautifully unfolds in the new ‘urban lounge’/foyer that leads directly from Flinders Street.
Even before exploring ACMI, visitors can take a moment to sit and reflect on this space from multi-coloured-striped upholstered banquette seating with its extended canopy. “We drew on the colours of the Australian fauna,” says Adams, pointing out the deep reds and orange tones found in the landscape. The former gallery was also reworked with new interactive displays. The BKK team point out the ‘Foley Room’ in the new exhibition space.
Framed by vacuum-packed orange panelled walls there’s a series of objects, including a dishpan and a pair of runners: the former used to create the sound of crackling bacon in a pan, while the runners are tapped together to evoke a person on the run. Instead of an escalator, people can now meander up the stairs or alternative part of the staircase’s broad timber platforms, to catch up. Alternatively, they can move to the multi-function space at the top of the stairs and view some of ACMI’s memorabilia in the customised cabinet displays.
Those who loved through the 1970s are likely to gravitate to the Countdown section of the wall, while others will be intrigued by the many cameras on display. This glazed wall of cabinets appears entirely fixed, but one section on wheels can be moved to allow the lab behind it – used to restore film – to form part of the experience.
