Completed in 2022, the new Fig Tree Galleries in Yeppoon, Queensland, by local practice Design+Architecture, delivers an arts precinct for the coastal community that celebrates the site’s unique history.
The project was commissioned by Livingstone Shire Council for a narrow, sloping block, nestled behind two historic fig trees and situated beside Yeppoon’s original post office. The gallery had to deliver the much-needed art precinct while celebrating the legacy of the site.
“Despite the presence of a strong artistic community, Council did not have any public gallery at that point,” said Colin Strydom, director of Design+Architecture. “Our mission was to design a brand-new exhibition space while completing restoration and renovation works on the existing buildings, making it something of a community hub.”
Yeppoon post office was opened on 11 August, 1883.
Image:
Courtesy of Capricorn Coast Historical Society
The existing building on the site was that of the original Yeppoon post office, opened in 1883, which the architect converted into a workshop and community art shop that connects with the new gallery building through an interactive pathway.
Incorporating Queensland’s coastal vernacular, the new gallery features a simple, lightweight weatherboard structure painted white, with a gabled roofline housing 68 square metres of indoor exhibition space. Perforated drywall is designed to dampen sound while softening the visual uniformity of the raked ceilings.
“We wanted to preserve and respect the existing building without copying it,” Strydom said. As a result, the gallery has been designed to be more contemporary in its expression, without detracting from the other buildings on site.
The gabled roofline houses 68 square metres of indoor exhibition space.
Image:
Cam Murchison
“Yeppoon was a popular postal holiday destination you would take the train to from Rockhampton and Morgan in the old days, when there was a lot of money here because of the mines,” said Strydom. “Our new building reflects those original beach huts you would see 100 years ago.”
“The art precinct is a street away from the main street, with a park in between,” Strydom explained. “We wanted to give the building a humbleness and simplicity, but we also wanted to give it some presence from across the road or from a distance, for visitors and holiday makers to identify it.”
The architect resolved to design a screen made from multicoloured blades “to ignite curiosity”. The screen also serves to conceal some of the building’s functions, such as the accessible ramp built into the entrance.
The screen’s blades, which differ in colour and shape, create a barcode-like pattern that spells out the word “gallery” in Morse code, referencing the site’s history as the town’s nucleus for communications.
To “ignite curiosity,” the architect resolved to design a screen made from multicoloured blades.
Image:
Cam Murchison
The pitch of the gallery roof angles away from the heritage-listed fig trees, which line the street down towards Anzac Parade in front of the building. The gabled roof angles to work with the trees by sloping away to accommodate future canopy.
The project was achieved with less than half a million dollars in funding, and the galleries will offer exhibitions, programs and events throughout the year.
The architect said the concept for the gallery was based on “the rich history of communication, pineapples, and bathing boxes,” integrating Morse code to represent the 1883 post office; yellow to incorporate the town’s produce export history; and beach shack typography to reference the architectural style characteristic to Yeppoon.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
