Kerstin Thompson Architects‘ long-awaited “art bridge” for the Bundanon Trust in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales will open on 29 January.
The project, designed in collaboration with Wraight and Associates, Craig Burton and Atelier 10, adds a creative learning centre and accommodation for 64 guests as well as café and dining facilities to a 1,100-hectare property established by the late artists Arthur and Yvonne Boyd in 1993. The landscape of the property heavily influenced the paintings of Arthur Boyd.
Kerstin Thompson Architects’ design consists of two parts: a 160-metre-long, 9-metre-wide bridge-like structure, and a subterranean art museum and collections store.
“The design is driven by Bundanon’s main imperative, as established by the Boyd family, to foster an appreciation for and understanding of landscape and art,” said Kerstin Thompson. “We have placed the site’s ecology at the centre of the design with the new suite of buildings and landscapes responding to Bundanon as both subject and site of Arthur Boyd’s work, seeking to heighten the visitor’s appreciation for the sights, sounds, textures, and ecological workings of the landscape. Both the Art Museum and Bridge respond to current and future climatic conditions, with inspiration drawn from rural Australia’s trestle flood bridges.”
Bundanon Art Museum and Bridge by Kerstin Thompson Architects in collaboration with Wraight Associates, Craig Burton and Atelier 10.
Image:
Zan Wimberley
The bridge spans an existing gully and allows flood waters to naturally flow across the site. The project is also designed to be defensive against bushfires.
Solar power, passive temperature control, rain water harvesting, black water treatment, as well as the use of local materials all contribute towards the Bundanon Trust’s net-zero ambition for the project.
The Bundanon collection holds 1,448 works by Arthur Boyd as well Sidney Nolan, John Perceval, Joy Hester and Charles Blackman. The Riversdale property includes a historic homestead complex as well as the Boyd Education Centre, designed by Glenn Murcutt, Wendy Lewin and Reg Lark in 1999. The new additions share an expansive public plaza, which is located near the existing nineteenth century buildings.
The $34 million project was supported by the federal ($22.5 million) and state ($10.3 million) governments. The federal government also announced in the 2020 budget a further $6 million over two years for Bundanon’s operations.
The inaugural exhibition, From impulse to action, will feature works of Boyd’s as well as contemporary artists working in choreography and film, photography and performance, weaving and sound. Some of the artworks incorporate clay from the Bundanon site.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
