The proposal will maintain the interior experience of the Exhibition hall and, particularly, the views of the roof and the sense of volume. The design proposal includes:
• A new floor configuration, including the extension of the basement;
• Structural strengthening;
• The removal and reinstating of the plinth brick structure and the creation of new openings in the plinth;
• Repairs to the façade where the administration block is to be removed;
• Replacement of the frames and glass with a new framing system to match the original; and
• New stair and lift cores
• Inside the Exhibition Building, it is envisaged that the public program of the Design Museum will be accommodated on two main levels:
◦ The ground floor with the foyer, the temporary exhibition spaces,
auditorium and shop; and
auditorium and shop; and
◦ The top floor, capitalising on the drama of the hyperbolic parabaloid roof, hosts the permanent exhibition, event space, a restaurant and café.
◦ Sandwiched between the two main public levels, discretely tucked away, there is an intermediate level which will contain all of the administration and support functions of the museum.
In the revised proposal, the void on the top floor has been set back further than the opening on the first level opening up greater views of the existing roof. Surrounding the void, an exclusion zone in which no partitions will be located, will ensure the edge of the floor slabs reads similar to the existing edges and also creates a similar sense of volume and openness as the original design of the Commonwealth Institute.
The re-modeling of the interior is part of safeguarding the future of the building by providing an up-to-date and more flexible space capable of supporting the demands of a modern D1 (non-residential user).
