Bunjil Place is a library, a performance theatre, a public gathering space, a place of exhibition, gallery and display, a flexible and experimental space for events, lectures, debate and celebration, it is a help point, a service centre and a place of work and collaboration. Above all perhaps, it is a place where all of this overlaps and interconnects and at the centre is the interconnecting fluid form of the foyer gathering space, a non-hierarchical space that unifies the complex. The largest local government investment of its kind, the success of the project is the result of an aspirational brief and long term collaboration with the client, consultants and integrated disciplines within our firm. The response from the community is extraordinary. Where once the community travelled long distances to access high culture, live entertainment and quality learning environments, a compelling local alternative avoids significant emissions and congestion generated in travelling to the city.

The project’s concept arose from this inclusive sense of identity, and from the land, its history and nature. Two central themes arose from the culture of Wurundjeri, Bunurong and Boon Wurrung people, the traditional owners and inhabitants of this land. The first, a “The Meeting of Many Paths”. The second, “Bunjil” the Eagle.

The architecture began to form around the idea of an organic meeting of many paths. Gathering takes place under the protective and sheltering roof.