This week marks the 25th anniversary of Melbourne Museum – designed by Denton Corker Marshall (DCM) – which first opened in Carlton Gardens on 21 October 2000.
Having previously been part of the State Library of Victoria, the DCM-designed museum has welcomed more than 23 million visitors and hosted hundreds of exhibitions, events and programs at its Carlton location. According to a release from the Melbourne Museum, “these experiences have helped generations of Victorians and visitors connect with the world around them and understand their place within it.”
The Carlton Gardens precinct in which the museum is sited has long been central to Victoria’s civic and cultural life, with the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building opposite having hosted the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition and the 1888 Centennial International Exhibition, as well as the venue for the launch of Australia’s first federal parliament in 1901. Throughout its history, the site has seen various incarnations, including a WWII Royal Australian Air Force training centre and a host venue for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.
Long before this, the site served as a place of cultural gathering, learning and exchange on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Eastern Kulin Nation. According to a communique from Melbourne Museum, First Peoples’ knowledge remains at the core of the Melbourne Museum’s program today through collaboration with Yulendj Elders and community representatives.
“Melbourne Museum holds a unique place in the hearts of Victorians,” said CEO and director of Museums Victoria Lynley Crosswell. “For 25 years, it has been a destination for discovery, conversation and wonder — a place where science meets culture, and where stories of the past, present and future are shared under one roof.”
According to the media release, DCM’s design for the museum, which was first unveiled in 1994, “redefined what a museum could be.”
“The design reflects a dialogue between history, nature, culture and progress. Its striking geometry, contemporary materials, and bold spatial layout represent the ambition of a new millennium, to create a public space for discovery and innovation,” the communique reads.
In his review of the museum for Architecture Australia (Jan/Feb 2001), architectural critic Paul Walker described the building as “a collection of buildings, where the landscape interpenetrates the forms and where garden and open activity space interact.”
This idea is most potent in the design of the museum’s Forest Gallery – an outdoor space described by Melbourne Museum as “a living ecosystem that bridges the human and natural worlds.”
In Walker’s view, the building “subtly lays claim to a powerful presence by its very interaction with the landscape; the gardens themselves become inclusive to its form. It is not a forbidden and impenetrable institution entered through closed doors.”
Source: Architecture - architectureau
