The Waterfront Pavilion

 

The Waterfront Pavilion

The form of this exhibition pavilion suspended over the harbour has been inspired by the flow patten of water and the profiling of the navel vessels to which it provides public access. It is a complementary form of movement and flow assembled from prefabricated elements that is like a third vessel berthed between HMAS Vampire and HMAS Onslow.
Built on a narrow existing wharf structure and to a tight budget the question was what should be the character of such a ‘building’ over the water of Darling Harbour and fitting tightly between two of the most significant Australian navel vessels.

The design seeks to bring the stories of service to life and enliven the visitors relationship with the vessels, waterfront and broader museum precinct. The articulated facade of the pavilion compliments the scale, form, colour of the vessels and the broader marine environment. The Waterfront Pavilion offers a dynamic, immersive experience and is an elegant, integrated addition to the Harbour precinct.

The suspended tube ‘hovering’ over the wharf, creates space at the wharf level to move around and experience the edge where the vessels meet the water. The tube appears to ‘float’ in the air between the vessels floating in the water.This tube was then formally shaped and profiled in relation to the natural movement of visitors from the dockside up into the building, through the portals and gangways onto the vessels.

The pavilion is further shaped by the primary forms of the adjacent vessels themselves, the conning tower of the submarine and the bridge of the destroyer creating central formal distortions. These distortions are then transformed into large glazed portals that frame lateral views onto the vessels.

The interior of the pavilion reflects elements of the interior of the navel vessels; hardy, rough and adaptable. Sheet vinyl floors, insulated aluminium walls and industrial suspended fans. A lack of preciousness invites future change, adaptation and evolution for future curators and visitors.

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fjcstudio acknowledges all Aboriginal and Torres  Strait Islander peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work.

We recognise their continuing connection to Country and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

We extend this acknowledgement to Indigenous People globally, recognising their human rights and freedoms as articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.