The Museum of Contemporary Art is one of Sydney's most iconic buildings, nestled around our famous beautiful harbour and hugged by the Harbour Bridge on one side and the Sydney Opera House directly opposite. It was built in 1939 and has just received the green light for a $53 million redevelopment. This is BIG news for Sydney.
Above are the plans for the redevelopment transforming the building into Sydney's major art and education hub. The plans have been designed by award winning Architect Sam Marshall http://www.marshall.net.au/ in close collaboration with the MCA.
The plans include the creation of a National Centre for Creative Learning, along with revamped and extended gallery spaces and a new public entrance. Previous schemes to redevelop the MCA - including a proposed design concept by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa in 1997 and a controversial design by Sauerbruch and Hutton in 2000 - have failed to progress to planning consent stage but obviously Sam Marshall's designs have made the cut.
Education is the central focus of the redesign and with more than 500,000 people visiting the MCA each year, the design is key to accommodating everyone's needs. It will house a space with workshop for schools and after-school youth programs and will be the new facility for the Museum's renowned Bella program for young people with special needs. Plus a digital classroom, multi-media room, library and extensive resource room - the redevelopment will add so many benefits to the community as well as the visiting tourists.
The MCA has secured more than half of the $50m needed for the redevelopment, with already $27m already raised. Construction will commence once 90% of the funding has been achieved. There is a $10m grand from the State Government and a further $1m pledged by the City of Sydney.
MCA Foundation Chair Simon Mordant and CEO of Greenhill, is a passionate collector of contemporary art who has personally pledged $5m to the project.
Environmentally sustainable design (ESD) and the reduction of the MCA’s carbon footprint are also key elements of the redevelopment. The plans incorporate a seawater heat exchange with a fully integrated air-conditioning system offering energy savings of up to 30%. Other initiatives include ESD compliant lighting, energy monitoring throughout the building, insulation of gallery spaces, as well as water and materials recycling.
The MCA is the only institution in Australia dedicated to both collecting and exhibiting contemporary art, from this nation and around the world. For more information visit http://www.mca.com.au/
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