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Collection by Aaron Britt

Melbourne Convention Center

One element of my tour of Melbourne that really surprised me was how much I liked the new Melbourne Convention Center by Hamish Lyon of NH Architecture and Nik Karalis of Woods Bagot.

Before meeting Lyon I stopped in for a light breakfast at Cumulus Inc., a nice little cafe with identity by Round, the design firm that incidentally designed a book, The Private Life of Public Architecture, that documents the construction of the Convention Center. We chatted in his Flinders Lane offices before I went to the tour of the new Docklands facility, and we discussed his vision for the building, the origins of its "pineapple wall," how it managed to win a six out of six stars in the Green Building Council of Australia's Green Star rating system, and why convention centers are usually so unutterably lousy. Check out the slideshow for a great view of the new Convention Center (it's only opened this year) and to see what Lyon has to say about the project.

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Viewed from high above, you can see how the Convention Center (black roof) sits nestled between Melbourne Exhibition Center—the massive white roof in the foreground—and the tower of the new HIlton Hotel, part of which is still under construction. Elements of the zinc facade of the Convention Center run directly onto the facade of the hotel, uniting the two buildings on the banks of the Yarra. The connection from Hilton to Convention Center is far more graceful than that between the Convention Center and Exhibition Center, which are smack up against one another with only a small glass portal between them.Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Viewed from high above, you can see how the Convention Center (black roof) sits nestled between Melbourne Exhibition Center—the massive white roof in the foreground—and the tower of the new HIlton Hotel, part of which is still under construction. Elements of the zinc facade of the Convention Center run directly onto the facade of the hotel, uniting the two buildings on the banks of the Yarra. The connection from Hilton to Convention Center is far more graceful than that between the Convention Center and Exhibition Center, which are smack up against one another with only a small glass portal between them.Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Melbourne Convention Centre Location: Melbourne Australia Architects: NH Architecture & Woods Bagot Description: 5500 seat concention Center and 500 room hotel on the banks of the Yarra River
Melbourne Convention Centre Location: Melbourne Australia Architects: NH Architecture & Woods Bagot Description: 5500 seat concention Center and 500 room hotel on the banks of the Yarra River
Melbourne Convention Centre Location: Melbourne Australia Architects: NH Architecture & Woods Bagot Description: 5500 seat concention Center and 500 room hotel on the banks of the Yarra River
Melbourne Convention Centre Location: Melbourne Australia Architects: NH Architecture & Woods Bagot Description: 5500 seat concention Center and 500 room hotel on the banks of the Yarra River
Here's another view of the pineapple wall on the interior of the building. The black zinc facade of the building is also a series of triangular panels (the same is true of the fractal facades at the city's Federation Square, actually). I really like the attention to color paid at the Convention Center. Public buildings which try to get too hip often feel like nightclubs with the lights turned up, but the orange glow within the wooden structure gives the whole thing a sophisticated, yet professional feel.Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Here's another view of the pineapple wall on the interior of the building. The black zinc facade of the building is also a series of triangular panels (the same is true of the fractal facades at the city's Federation Square, actually). I really like the attention to color paid at the Convention Center. Public buildings which try to get too hip often feel like nightclubs with the lights turned up, but the orange glow within the wooden structure gives the whole thing a sophisticated, yet professional feel.Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Melbourne Convention Centre Location: Melbourne Australia Architects: NH Architecture & Woods Bagot
Melbourne Convention Centre Location: Melbourne Australia Architects: NH Architecture & Woods Bagot
Another design feature of the building that I like, perhaps more in theory than in practice, is that the patterns on all the carpet are meant to mimic elements of Melbournian culture. The rose pattern on the carpet here is supposed to evoke the rose from the floral bloom at the very famous Flemington Spring Racing Carnival. This horse racing event is actually a holiday for Victorians, and as my cabbie in from the airport put it: "Even little old ladies with no real money to speak of have laid a few dollars on the Racing Carnival. It's that important."Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Another design feature of the building that I like, perhaps more in theory than in practice, is that the patterns on all the carpet are meant to mimic elements of Melbournian culture. The rose pattern on the carpet here is supposed to evoke the rose from the floral bloom at the very famous Flemington Spring Racing Carnival. This horse racing event is actually a holiday for Victorians, and as my cabbie in from the airport put it: "Even little old ladies with no real money to speak of have laid a few dollars on the Racing Carnival. It's that important."Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Melbourne Convention Centre Location: Melbourne Australia Architects: NH Architecture & Woods Bagot
Melbourne Convention Centre Location: Melbourne Australia Architects: NH Architecture & Woods Bagot
Here is Plenary Hall totally opened up. There are a pair of huge, retractable, sound-proof panels that can come out and split the hall into three smaller spaces. Lyon said that the sound-proofing is so complete that you can have a rock concert in one section of the hall and a poetry reading in the one next door. I didn't get to see that myself as there was an accountants' meeting going on when I visited. Didn't hear a peep from them, though.Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Here is Plenary Hall totally opened up. There are a pair of huge, retractable, sound-proof panels that can come out and split the hall into three smaller spaces. Lyon said that the sound-proofing is so complete that you can have a rock concert in one section of the hall and a poetry reading in the one next door. I didn't get to see that myself as there was an accountants' meeting going on when I visited. Didn't hear a peep from them, though.Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Here's a quick peek at one of the corridors, up one level and inside the pineapple wall. As you can see, the orange glow gives the gallery a kind of warmth, but the view out the big windows is still what dominates. Unlike most convention centers, which really could be anywhere, this one does try quite hard, and successfully, to connect to the exterior world. Lyon and his design partner Nik Karalis of Woods Bagot made a world tour of convention centers, a grim prospect indeed. "Convention centers are really boring." Lyon recounted. "In five minutes you're asleep. They're like Greyhound bus stations at 3 AM. And about as architecturally adventurous." Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
Here's a quick peek at one of the corridors, up one level and inside the pineapple wall. As you can see, the orange glow gives the gallery a kind of warmth, but the view out the big windows is still what dominates. Unlike most convention centers, which really could be anywhere, this one does try quite hard, and successfully, to connect to the exterior world. Lyon and his design partner Nik Karalis of Woods Bagot made a world tour of convention centers, a grim prospect indeed. "Convention centers are really boring." Lyon recounted. "In five minutes you're asleep. They're like Greyhound bus stations at 3 AM. And about as architecturally adventurous." Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
If the Melbourne Convention Center is to truly integrate into the architectural life of the city, it's certainly pointing in the right direction. Instead of being, as Lyon says, "a utilitarian beer barn or sports stadium thing on the edge of town," this one is quite near the action. Just across the Yarra from the Central Business District of Melbourne, and a stone's throw from the developing Docklands, it's well situated to truly interact with the city.Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.
If the Melbourne Convention Center is to truly integrate into the architectural life of the city, it's certainly pointing in the right direction. Instead of being, as Lyon says, "a utilitarian beer barn or sports stadium thing on the edge of town," this one is quite near the action. Just across the Yarra from the Central Business District of Melbourne, and a stone's throw from the developing Docklands, it's well situated to truly interact with the city.Image courtesy Peter Bennetts.