Rocky Hill Memorial Museum 2021 NSW Architecture Awards

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Rocky Hill Memorial Museum Level 18, 680 George Street Sydney NSW, Australia 2000 2021 NSW Architecture Awards - The Blacket Prize E [email protected] T + 61 2 8295 5300

The Rocky Hill Memorial Museum extension in Goulburn was the recipient of the coveted Blacket Prize for Architecture at the NSW AIA Awards on the second of July 2021. Named after Architect Edmund Blacket, the award is the highest honour for projects situated in country New South Wales that best promote design excellence in a regional context.

Crone Principal Ashley Dennis reflects on the project design drivers and process.

Project Context The iconic Rocky Hill War Memorial Tower opened in 1925 as a lasting tribute to the men and women of Goulburn who served during World War 1. Designed by renowned local Architects, E.C. Manfred and sons, the tower and hill is a well-known representation of Goulburn and a significant landmark to the local community. The Rocky Hill landscape was seen as reminiscent of the rugged terrain of ANZAC cove and decided upon as a suitable location for the Memorial Tower.

Rocky Hill Memorial Museum at the foothill of the historic Memorial Tower. Image: Jon Case ‘The Architect, Mr E.C. Manfred, had designed a tower which, rough and rugged in its beauty, conformed to the surrounding hill whereon it stood and which reminded them of the sturdy bravery of our illustrious soldiers’. The Goulburn Evening Penny Post 1925.

At the foothill to the Memorial Tower, the new Museum extension looks to continue the legacy of the tower as a physical and material interpretation of the unique Rocky Hill site character, conforming to the hill in a contemporary, yet sympathetic way.

The footprint of the new Museum also replicates the scale and simple, cruciform structure of the original Memorial Tower Base.

‘Rough and rugged in its beauty’ - The stone conglomerate of the historic Memorial Tower

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EXHIBITION/CARETAKERS COTTAGE 1.

2. 12.

3. ROCKY HILL WAR MEMORIAL 6. TOWER 7. F

8. 4. 5.

EXHIBITION EXHIBITION/EDUCATION

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1. Arrival Plaza 7. Lift Access to Lower Ground and Archive Rooms Site Plan 2. Upgraded Caretakers Cottage Arrival/Acc. WC 8. Services Shaft 3. New Museum Wing Reception 9. Loading Below 4. Exhibition Space 01 10. Existing Toilet Block 5. Exhibition Space 2/Education Area 11. Public Carpark 6. Volunteers Discussion/Kitchen 12. Access to Memorial Tower

The building features a new exhibition space designed to accommodate the expanding collection of locally acquired Australian war artifacts. The contemporary structure, completed in 2020, complements and strengthens the identity of the adjacent refurbished caretaker’s cottage (Manfred and Sons, 1935) which also serves as Museum space and has it’s own local significance.

The design incorporates bronze mirrored cladding elements to reflect the unique surrounding landscape whilst signifying the precinct as a place of reflection, while the textured concrete structure is a modern interpretation of the memorial tower and it’s substrate.

A place of reflection. Images: Sally Hsu

The new building location minimises any further damage to an iconic landscape, working on the sections of Country disturbed by existing infrastructure and historic site excavation for raw materials during the construction of the Memorial Tower.

Upgrades have been designed to enhance the civic reading of the site without compromising the ability to connect with the dedicated Museum volunteers, and their baked goods in an unceremonious environment.

Blurring the lines between front of house and back of house spaces and incorporating The new Museum wing nestles into a previously disturbed portion of the site. Image: Sally Hsu low-tech curtain divisions between spaces, volunteers are able to move freely between two wings of the Museum experience or undertake archiving and conversation within the Museum environment. The precinct is able to offer a range of user experiences, retaining the charm of the caretaker’s cottage exhibitions and contrasting this with a more solemn, contemporary, secure and thermally controlled space for more valuable items.

The modern day caretakers of the hill - Rocky Hill Museum Volunteers A contemplative interior can easily expand and contract. Image: Stephen Sharkey

A simple material palette and interior form takes cues from and interprets an Australian Memorial vernacular to provide a minimalist backdrop, bringing prominence to the collection of artefacts and information.

Subtle undulation of the bronze facade panels are reminiscent of the ANZAC rising sun motif. The mirrored finish to these panels brings a golden shimmer to the building at the going down of the sun...and in the morning. This undulation carries through to the interior spaces, where exhibition walls provide rhythm and relief between the dominant exposed concrete blade walls.

The combination of concrete and bronze finishes also continues an architectural tradition which adorns many of our most significant Memorial buildings and structures. The work of Rayner Hoff and his art deco sculptural detailing is one such example of this tradition which has had an obvious influence on the building form and materiality.

The rising sun War Medals and the material influence of Rayner Hoff, Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park. Left - A contemporary Australian Memorial vernacular. Image: Ashley Dennis

Rocky Hill Memorial Museum Symbology In Form and Materiality

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EXHIBITION/CARETAKERS COTTAGE 1.

2. 12.

3. ROCKY HILL WAR MEMORIAL 6. TOWER 7. F

8. 4. 5.

EXHIBITION EXHIBITION/EDUCATION

10. 9.

Plan Upper Ground 1. Arrival Plaza 7. Lift Access to Lower Ground and Archive Rooms 2. Upgraded Caretakers Cottage Arrival/Acc. WC 8. Services Shaft 3. New Museum Wing Reception 9. Loading Below 4. Exhibition Space 01 10. Existing Toilet Block 5. Exhibition Space 2/Education Area 11. Public Carpark 6. Volunteers Discussion/Kitchen 12. Access to Memorial Tower

In strengthening the identity of the site, the new building has been able to achieve a lot within a relatively modest $2.2M budget which was partly funded through the Australian Government’s ‘Building Better Regions’ fund in combination with Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s own funding. The finished product has surpassed all visitor number expectations since opening in 2020 and continues to build profile for the region.

The Crone team and our collaborators are extremely proud of what has been achieved and the result reinforces the power of holistic visioning towards integrated urban, architectural and interior design.

The project also strengthens an evolving portfolio of public building projects for Crone which are helping to define an ever evolving design approach within the practice across all scales and typologies. Our Civic projects are all unique, site specific design A neutral palette allows the stories and collection to shine. Images: Stephen Sharkey outcomes united through an integrated architecture + landscape approach.

The Rocky Hill Memorial Museum also received a commendation in the NSW AIA Public buildings Award category.

Thank you to our team of collaborators who made the project possible.

Architecture, Urban Design and Interior Design: Crone Ashley Dennis, Snigdha Udatha, Niall Durney, Raymond Blake, Franco Diana

Client/Collaborator: Goulburn Mulwaree Council and Pejar Lands Council

Builder: VanMal Group Landscape Design: Urbis Multidisciplinary Engineering: JN BCA/Access: CityPlan

The Museum experience spread across the new and the old wing. Image: Jon Case

Detail Section 1:50 @ A3