Curtain lifted on contemporary theatre in a heritage setting

Project: Goulburn Performing Arts Centre (GPAC)

Award: Civic – The Arts, Bronze, 2022

Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Architect: Brewster Hjorth Architects

Client: Goulburn Mulwaree Council

The Goulburn Performing Arts Centre is located on a small and complex site with a rich history which has been cleverly incorporated in to the brand-new performance space. The new theatre includes the converted spaces of the old town hall, which are now used as a cafe, box office and bar. A translucent ‘glazed box’ foyer runs between the rear wall of the older building and the new concrete 400-seater auditorium, ingeniously preventing the new space from dominating the Heritage listed building. New arched openings link the foyer with the original council chamber to create a large open plan public space. Internal walls inserted into the grand chamber in the 1930s have been removed, and the space has been restored to its original proportions, revealing its beautiful diagonal boarded cedar ceiling which has been used as the inspiration for the diagonal lined motif of the new building’s signage and screens.

Design highlights

GPAC has been built on the site of an old gaol and the design had to take in to account extensive archaeological investigations. The fire exits from the auditorium run through a new lattice walkway suspended over the sensitive archaeological area. Meanwhile the new accessible ramped entry from the street runs past an interpretive display celebrating the old Fire Station.

Photo credit: Tim Shaw Photography