University of Tasmania Centre for the Arts, Hunter Street Hobart – Forward Consultants and Alex Kostromin & Associates
Project summary
The site is the founding place of Hobart, while extant buildings formed the original Henry Jones IXL factory. The project was to house the University of Tasmania’s School of Art and Schools of Architecture and Legal Studies, in an invigorating waterfront environment away from the main campus. The design intent was to preserve the structure of the factory buildings, displaying alterations and additions as separate chronological events. The openness of industrial uses was preserved within the constraints of compartmentalisation in the new use. The facades remained in their original guise except for the entrance building. This building is punctuated with an arcade leading to a courtyard and entrance to the school. The Centre for the Arts was awarded the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Tasmanian Chapter Award for Recycled Buildings and the National President’s Award, the first time the latter award had been presented to a Tasmanian architect. Saved from deterioration by adaptive reuse, this collection of buildings illustrates the historic narrative of the site. The enduring nature of the architectural interventions of the 1980s is confirmed by the current and future viability of these buildings as a sought-after place for teaching and making.
Consultants
Laver Pty Ltd – builder
Smith, Sale & Burbury – structural consultant
Pearu Terts – acoustic consultant
Lincoln Scott – services consultant
Beattie Prowse – quantity surveyor
Richard Eastwood – photographer
The architect’s office – photographer