Contract - November/December 2011 - (Page 75)

When architects talk about the challenges of adaptive reuse and renovation, rarely do they talk about runaway trains. Ninotschka Titchkosky, a principal in the Melbourne, Australia, office of Bligh Voller Nield (BVN) Architecture, found herself facing that subject head-on while planning new interiors for the complete restoration and adaptation of Melbourne’s historic Goods Shed North. “It’s always a balance when working with these old buildings to enhance the character, while also making them functional for contemporary use,” says Titchkosky, who led the interior design of the project. Originally built as a railway shed in 1889, the structure was damaged by a runaway train within just a few years, and was later abandoned in the 1980s after decades of neglect. BVN’s charge was to convert the shed into open offices for two separate tenants: the Urban Renewal Authority (URA, formerly known as VicUrban) and the Building Commission and Plumbing Industry Commission (BC/PIC). BVN worked for the developer Equiset, with Lovell Chen as heritage architect. Goods Shed’s key historical elements, including clerestory windows, exposed trusses and brickwork, and cast-iron columns, were retained and restored, and the renovation overall is touted as the most sustainable historic building in the state of Victoria, Australia. In plan, the roughly 110,000-square-foot shed divides into three bays from east to west, with an approximately 40-foot-high central bay crowned by a lantern running the length of the building. The 265 employees of the URA (pictured opposite and below) occupy 70,000 square feet at the south end of the shed, where BVN added a new building that connects the site with the adjacent Collins Street bridge. The 200 employees of BC/PIC occupy two bays within 36,000 The Goods Shed interior was completely gutted (top) while maintaining the original clerestory windows, exposed trusses and brickwork, and cast-iron columns. The interior of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) features a central timber staircase (opposite) connecting the mezzanine with the display and collaboration space on the ground floor. BVN designed wooden benches and tables, and the shed’s original rolling doors are hung as sculptural elements (below). Before www.contractdesign.com c ontract november/december 2011 75 http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - November/December 2011

Contract - November/December 2011
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Product Briefs
Product Focus: Classic Touch
Product Focus: Generating Buzz(i)
Gelfand Partners Architects Office in San Francisco Designed by Gelfand Partners Architects
Sorg Architects Office in Washington, D.C. Designed by Sorg Architects
Sauerbruch Hutton Office in Berlin, Germany Designed by Sauerbruch Hutton
Roth Sheppard Architects Office in Denver Designed by Roth Sheppard Architects
AOL West Coast Headquarters in Palo Alto, California Designed by Studio O+A
Red Bull Canada Office Expansion in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Designed by Johnson Chou Inc.
Goods Shed North in Melbourne, Australia Designed by BVN Architecture
Bota Bota Spa in Montreal, Quebec, Canada Designed by Sid Lee Architecture
A’maree’s in Newport Beach, California Designed by Paul Davis Architects
2011 Contract Brand Report Awareness Survey
Sources
Designers Select: Building Products
Ad Index
Perspectives

Contract - November/December 2011