Following the poetics of what a meeting place is. A circle around a fire remembered as a brass table top, a surface gathering the marks of all who sit there.
A collaboration with Bridie Lunney, the project brief asked for the creation of a meeting room. Sited inside the RMIT Design hub, we saw the opportunity to fix a point of intimacy in the free-for-all space of the building.
Design Response
Objects brought to the table. The modernist picnic setting: an elegant sculpture of function and economy that brutalises the informality of a park. The temple: the source of the ritual inherent in a gathering. An inheritance received through the colonial picturesque landscape.
But it is not a tomb, the walls are made of air. A composite panel of 3mm thick steel sheet and R8 insulation batts, perforated to reduce echo. Movable furniture allows for accessibility and screen based presentations. A hand sanded glass oculus filters light.
Simultaneously an art installation, a site for performance and a beautiful room, this space is in a sense suspended, between things ancient and contemporary, within the creative and functional opportunities of combining art and architectural practice.
Come Closer: A Meeting Pavilion Design Characteristics
Key values
Qualities of finishes across all materials
Flexible and accessible
Simple construction using readily available materials
Key materials
Hand oiled 3mm thick steel sheet
R8 rockwool insulation batts
Precast concrete
Brass tube and sheet
Hand sanded glass
Recycled leather
Come Closer: A Meeting Pavilion Design Specifications
Core deliverables
Meeting enclosure with movable furniture
Services Provided
Concept Design
Architect
Workshop Architecture + Bridie Lunney
People
Project Director: Simon Whibley, Bridie Lunney Project Team: Simon Whibley, Bridie Lunney, Bahman Andalib, Piran Rietze
Client
RMIT University
Date completed
May 2015
Location
RMIT Design Hub, Melbourne
Related projects
Acheson Place, Coburg North
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