bundanon's new art museum and bridge for creative learning are built to endure climate change

bundanon new art museum to open 29th january 2022

bundanon – a reimagined art destination situated near nowra in the city of shoalhaven, australia – will be opening its new art museum and bridge for creative learning to the public on saturday 29th january 2022, with an official ceremony and festival of events being held on saturday 5th march 2022.

embedded within the landscape, the new 500 sqm museum, designed by kerstin thompson architects (KTA) will present a year-round program of exhibitions of modern, contemporary, and first nations art, as well as new commissions. drawing inspiration from rural australia’s trestle flood bridges, the design responds efficiently to current and future climatic conditions — the 160-meter-long bridge allows floodwaters to flow beneath it, while the art museum is concealed inside a hill to protect itself against heat and wildfires. the project is a collaboration between KTA, landscape architects wraight associates with craig burton, and sustainable design engineers atelier ten. 

all images by zan wimberley

placing ecology at the center of the design

‘we have placed the site’s ecology at the center of the design with the new suite of buildings and landscapes responding to bundanon as both subject and site of arthur boyd’s work, seeking to heighten the visitor’s appreciation for the sights, sounds, textures, and ecological workings of the landscape. both the art museum and bridge respond to current and future climatic conditions,’ comments kerstin thompson, director of kerstin thompson architects (find more here).

the bridge presents itself as a 160-meter-long and 9-meter-wide structure that spans the existing gully in the sloping hillside, housing a creative learning center with break-out spaces. it offers accommodation for up to 64 guests, as well as café and dining facilities, while revealing unobstructed views over the shoalhaven river. 

solutions for a changing climate

the design incorporates radical solutions that respond to the changing climate, generating a structure that is defensible against fire and flood and with a net-zero energy target. the bridge is conceived as a piece of flood infrastructure with the architecture supporting the natural system of water flow across the site. meanwhile, the art museum and collection store are subterranean, with precious artworks housed and exhibited in an underground building that protects the works from diverse climate conditions and offers thermal stability in the form of the reinstated hill.

the bridge encompasses bundanon’s net-zero ambitions. powered by solar panels, it incorporates exemplary sustainability features including passive temperature management, black water treatment, harvesting and storing of rainwater, local materials throughout, and reduced reliance on fossil fuel sources.

an inaugural exhibition surrounding arthur boyd

the art museum opens with the inaugural exhibition, from impulse to action, which draws on the creative energy of experimentation and runs from 29 january until 12 june 2022.  arthur boyd’s drawings were often the basis for larger works in his lifetime, leading to collaborative and multidisciplinary projects. exhibition curator sophie o’brien has selected twelve new commissions by australian contemporary artists, working in a diverse range of disciplines. the new work by a younger generation of artists explores the energetic, raw, and generous spirit of boyd, responding to this immediacy through choreography and film, photography and performance, weaving and sound, and clay from the bundanon site. participating artists include arthur boyd, dean cross, rochelle haley, tina havelock stevens, kate jones, jo lloyd, emily parsons-lord, izabela pluta, uncle steven russell & aunty phyllis stewart, skye saxon, vivian cooper smith, shan turner-carroll, and kaitlen wellington.

project info: 

name: bundanon new world-class art museum and bridge for creative learning (find more here)
architects: kerstin thompson architects (KTA)
in collaboration with: wraight associates with craig burton, atelier ten
location: near nowra, city of shoalhaven, new south wales, australia