The design of the NMA Administration Hub has been carefully considered to minimize the environmental impact and maximise the wellbeing of its occupants. Building openings have been located to allow maximum daylight into internal spaces, and highlight views of picturesque Lake Burley Griffin. High performance glazing and shade structures over larger expanses of glass have been installed to provide optimal temperature regulation. Further glazing has been used internally to create private meeting spaces whilst allowing daylight to reach the central circulation spaces, reducing the need to artificially light all areas. The internal spaces include low-emission finishes, recycled products and low-emission plantation-sourced hoop pine plywood lining. 6 star water fittings have been installed in all areas. Where possible Australian made FF&E have been specified to reduce embodied transportation emissions and to support and promote local our industry.
The new Administration Hub for the National Museum of Australia provides both a public face and central hub for the Museum’s administration department. The two existing administration wings have been refurbished and then linked by ARM’s addition, designed as an enclosed and welcoming path of discovery for staff and museum visitors alike. The workspaces are open, informal and flexible, providing various opportunities for collaborative work and formal / informal staff meetings. The internal areas are linked by a ribbon device, weaving through the interior and defining individual workspaces as it changes form, becoming tables, walls, workspaces and pin boards. A wide variety of surface treatments including super-graphics, sisal matting, dedicated blackboard walls and pin boards have been used to create a visual variance and provide tools for collaborative discussion. The interior colour palette has been selected to create continuity with the eye catching colors of the exterior façade, with individual colours carefully employed to define and identify different spaces. The coloured glazed-brick tiled façade visually connects the two existing staff buildings as it blends from the green anodized aluminium cladding of the existing administration wing to the pale yellow bricks of the annexe, while the tiling pattern has been carefully designed to create QR (Quick Response) codes at an architectural scale. The overlaid coding and organisational technique of QR codes provides a layer of information and detail, where actual and abstracted messages and data can be gathered by the Museum visitor. This theme of engagement and discovery continues throughout the internal workspaces as work nooks and meeting spaces hide and reveal themselves.
