WILD Design Awards 2023 Pop-Ups, Display, Exhibit & Set Design - Silver

Australia Design Awards 2023 Pop-Ups, Display, Exhibit & Set Design - Silver

Good Design Awards 2022 Architecture and Installation Design - Winner

Australian Interior Design Awards 2022 Installation Design - Commendation

<p>The LUME Melbourne was Australia’s first permanent digital art gallery – a gallery in which the visitor is fully immersed in a multi-sensory experience. Housed across two of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre&#8217;s (MCEC) massive halls from 2021 to 2025, The LUME Melbourne played host landmark exhibitions celebrating some of the world’s most famous artists, with their work projected at a larger-than-life scale, creating an awe-inspiring experience for both public and private functions.</p>


Traditional Custodians of the Land

Location

Status

Client

Architect + Interior Design

Structure, Services + Fire Engineering

Structure (Fitout)

Acoustics

Building Surveyor

Construction

Photography

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<h6>Collaboration</h6>
<p><a href="https://www.grande-experiences.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grande Experiences</a> came to Decibel Architecture with a strong concept based on its years of creating and hosting travelling immersive shows. Decibel Architecture worked closely with the client’s technical team, a specialist consultant team and the building contractor to deliver The LUME Melbourne in a highly coordinated way within a fast-tracked programme. Due to its contextual and operational requirements, the project was subject to a level of architectural and legislative challenges unusual for exhibition design projects. We were able to apply our architectural expertise, not only in design, but in delivery, stake-holder management, consultant team coordination and communication to successfully complete The LUME Melbourne.</p>
<h6>The Journey</h6>
<p>A matte black gateway projects dramatically into the MCEC’s entry concourse, disrupting its extruded continuity and clearly marking the gallery’s entry-point. The patrons’ journey begins as they pass through one of the three wall-papered tunnels into the intimately lit Introduction and Interpretation space. The visitor’s sense of space is disorientated and compressed as they pass through a light locking corridor before it is expanded when emerging into the vastness of the Main Gallery.</p>
<h6>Design and Experience</h6>
<p>The architectural environment of The LUME Melbourne was designed to allow every surface, including the floor, to become the canvas upon which the gallery’s animated content is projected. Large-scale objects in space subtly divide the space into experiential zones inviting different perspectives of the immersive programme. A long mezzanine with a frameless glazed balustrade provides an elevated advantage point down onto the gallery space.</p>
<h6>Delivery</h6>
<p>The fast-track delivery model employed for the project allowed the works to be delivered within the client’s programme. A first stage of documentation allowed the structural and acoustic work to commence on site whilst the architectural and building services scope were being documented and certified. Through careful programming, the Main Gallery space was able to be handed over to The LUME Melbourne’s technical team to install and commission its audio-visual infrastructure, whilst the auxiliary spaces were built and fitted out.</p>
<p>The delivery of major built elements such as an 80m long, 11m high acoustic wall between The LUME Melbourne’s tenancy and its neighbouring hall were possible due to the successful management of a large array of project stakeholders. The committed working relationship between client, architect and builder ensured clear lines of communication and understanding of responsibilities and led the exceptional built and experiential outcomes.</p>
