Tasman Gallery

The project sits within the popular Byron Bay Arts and Industry Estate, on the edge of town. The estate houses creative start-ups, boutique stores, artisanal food and beverage. The client is a local entrepreneur with an interest in the arts and sustainable food. The brief was to transform an existing concrete and steel shell, a prefabricated storage shed, into an adaptable workspace that would attract high-value culturally-invested tenants and contribute to the commercial and creative value of the precinct. The challenge was to reimagine a concrete shell as a place of creativity, a multi-functional space for art and work.

The concrete and steel shell is transformed by different scales and atmospheres - from a dramatic double height void to intimate corners. With overlapping activities and requirements, a minimalist approach rationalises the different elements. There is drama - the mezzanine wraps the void, like a stage, with a stainless steel curtain. And dynamism - the strong sculptural staircase sweeps up sight lines across the spaces, evoking movement, acting as a catalyst for workplace interaction. And softness - diffuse light, gentle acoustics, intimate scaled spaces. The monochromatic colour palette, an oasis from the tropical environment, allows simple furniture from readily accessible outlets.

The open-ended nature of the repurposed space, spatially and programmatically, promotes co-working and a healthy workspace. The calm, monochromatic spaces boost productivity and creativity. The flexible nature of the ground floor gallery space is an attractive element for tenants of the mezzanine office spaces above. New tenants have added and diversified the mix of creatives in the precinct, adding value to existing local businesses. The gallery provides opportunities for local artists to showcase their work, adding another destination and increasing visitation. Nurturing the cultural industries of a regional area. An incubator of creative thinking. Demonstrating the benefits of good design.

The space-saving central stair manages the entire building experience. The aesthetically simple metal mesh balustrade allows for light filtration, reduces visual bulk and opens up the spaces, continuing the industrial aesthetic. Formal office spaces above ’pivot’ around the stair and are pushed to the outer edge of mezzanine, leaving a path around the void for circulation. Steel mesh is placed around the void, amplifying the industrial space, maintaining sight-lines throughout, and creating a balustrade-free edge to the void. The glass partitions of the working pods create both visual connection and separation. Pristine-white workplace pods create visual coherence, break down the scale of the space, allowing for different configurations. White suspended acoustic ceiling panels dampen noise and exposed services generate visual interest. Exposed polished concrete flooring downstairs, upstairs low maintenance, durable marmoleum allows individualised colour matching of office fit-outs. High-frequency LED lights optimise art display and working. The monochromatic colour palette is an oasis from the tropics and busy lives - a backdrop for simple furniture from readily accessible outlets. The project creates calm, constrained and considered spaces, using a minimal material palette, with a modest, timeless design. Exploring the intensity of one or two materials to craft an original, functional space.