The renovation of the George Wood Performing Arts Centre at Yarra Valley Grammar will transform the introverted and dated building into an inviting contemporary hub for the performing arts.
The building’s much-loved auditorium will be the focus of the renovation. This involves increasing its seating capacity with an expanded mezzanine and upgrading the existing spaces to meet current technical standards and building codes, with new theatre seats, acoustic baffles and lighting. Two extensions to the building’s north and south will take the form of glazed pavilions, which provide additional foyer and instructional spaces and are differently articulated to respond to the junior school and music building on either side. New external landscaping and plazas will complement the pavilions and extend the performance space beyond the confines of the auditorium, dissolving the boundary between the building and the wider campus.
Like a theatre curtain, a series of perforated and patterned scrims and fins will enfold the Arts Centre, a cohesive gesture that unifies the pavilions and existing building. During the day, dappled light through the perforations will animate the internal spaces. At night, internal lighting will reveal the colour, movement and drama within the building, transforming the Arts Centre into a delicately filigreed lantern.
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