47-783: The Australian Music Vault is a free permanent exhibition that showcases past and present Australian contemporary music. It is located in the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank, within the Arts Centre Melbourne . Australian Music Vault exhibits physical objects such as costumes, lyric books, and tour paraphernalia from the Arts Centre Melbourne 's Australian Performing Arts Collection . Exhibits include material from artists such as Baker Boy , Mo’Ju , Missy Higgins , Chrissy Amphlett , AC/DC , Olivia Newton-John , Archie Roach , and Kylie Minogue , as well as interactive digital activities. Recorded interviews with musicians and key music industry promoters are also displayed. It
94-527: A Flight Lieutenant, performing works and camouflage duties. After the war, Grounds retired for a few years, returning in 1951 as a senior lecturer at the School of Architecture at Melbourne University. In 1953, he resumed his architectural practice and produced a series of houses, including his own, based on pure geometric shapes. The Leyser House was triangular, the Henty House was circular, and his own house
141-654: A Modernism combining the brick volumes of Willem Dudok with European Bauhaus starkness, Grounds' distinctive work was influenced by the simple, rough modernism of US West Coast architect William Wurster . The most notable expression of this influence are a series of houses including Portland Lodge, Lyncroft and the Ramsay House, all on the Mornington Peninsula , the Fairbairn House in Toorak and
188-741: A dance hall. The area was a popular venue featuring the Olympia Dancing Place, the Glaciarium Ice-Skating Rink, a Japanese tea house, Snowden Gardens, the Trocadero and the Princes Court with a miniature train and water-chute. The Wirth's Circus appeared in 1907 with a 5000-seat auditorium. In the book A Place Across the River , Vicki Fairfax described the lot as a "oddly shaped piece of land" considered
235-545: A major upgrade of the theatre, as part of the $ 1.7 billion Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project. Arts Centre Melbourne features a large steel spire with a wrap-around base. It is a complex of distinct venues. Hamer Hall is a separate building and the largest of the venues. The other venues (the State Theatre, Playhouse, Fairfax Studio and The Show Room) are housed in the Theatres Building (under
282-519: A sacred public spot by the locals. During World War II there was a push to establish a new home for the National Gallery of Victoria , along with a state theatre, on the site. The construction was difficult due to the triangular parcel of land the construction was planned on. However, by the 1960s, all the entertainment had left and the lot had turned into an improvised parking for city workers. After many years of discussion, Roy Grounds
329-577: A solo practice between 1939 and 1942, and designed a series of unusually modern flat developments in the Toorak area which further established his reputation as a modernist: Moonbria, with its balustrades topped with Swedish blue tiles and Quamby 1939-41, both situated in Toorak, are buildings which consist of studio, one or two-bedroom apartments. During World War II he served in the Royal Australian Air Force (1942—1945) as
376-504: A while, Grounds worked in the United States for two years. It was there that his son, Marr Grounds was born. On his return to Australia in 1932, Grounds shared an office with Mewton, who had already set up a solo practice the previous year, where they worked on projects separately, but published under "Mewton & Grounds". One of their first projects that is attributed to Grounds was radically modern for Melbourne - located in
423-579: Is an outdoor arena also managed by Arts Centre Melbourne. It seats 12,000 on the lawn area and 2,150 in reserved seating, and is used for music concerts. The Australian Performing Arts Collection at Arts Centre Melbourne is the foremost and largest specialist performing arts collection in Australia, with over 510,000 items relating to the history of circus, dance, music, opera and theatre in Australia and of Australian performers overseas. Many of Australia's national performing arts companies are represented in
470-498: Is located in the Theatres Building of Arts Centre Melbourne under the spire, and is a 2,079-seat theatre used for opera , ballet and theatre performances. It was opened in 1984, and has one of the largest stages in the World. Playhouse The Playhouse is also located in the Theatres Building of Arts Centre Melbourne and is an 884-seat theatre used for plays and dance performances. It was also opened in 1984. The premiere production
517-573: The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra . Arts Centre Melbourne also hosts many Australian and international performances and production companies. Arts Centre Melbourne is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register . Arts Centre Melbourne's site has long been associated with arts and entertainment; in the early 20th century it was occupied variously by a permanent circus venue, an amusement park, a cinema and
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#1732793715056564-680: The State Theatre , to which he added perforated brass balls. During his tenure, Arts Minister Norman Lacy was constantly called on to defend the Victorian Arts Centre Trust and its construction program during some highly charged public debates in the parliament. He had to defend the acoustics, the design of the spire, the rejection of the proposed changes to the Concert Hall interiors, the BASS ticketing system of
611-802: The Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre , is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct , located in the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank in Victoria , Australia. It was designed by architect Sir Roy Grounds , the masterplan for the complex (along with the National Gallery of Victoria ) was approved in 1960 and construction began in 1973 following some delays. The complex opened in stages, with Hamer Hall opening in 1982 and
658-723: The 1950s and 1960s, such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the adjacent Victorian Arts Centre , cemented his legacy as a leader in Australian architecture. In 2011, with the opening of the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania, two houses designed and built there by Grounds in 1957–1958 for Claudio Alcorso on the Moorilla Estate—the Courtyard House and the Round House—became respectively
705-562: The Theatres Building opening in 1984. Arts Centre Melbourne is located by the Yarra River and along St Kilda Road , one of the city's main thoroughfares, and extends into the Melbourne Arts Precinct . Major companies regularly performing include Opera Australia , The Australian Ballet , the Melbourne Theatre Company , The Production Company , Victorian Opera , Bell Shakespeare , Bangarra Dance Theatre and
752-709: The archives. The Arts Centre presented the Kenneth Myer Medallion for the Performing Arts between 1994 and 2010. In August 2022 Karen Louise Quinlan AM was appointed chief executive of Arts Centre Melbourne, with the new role starting on 3 October 2022. After 18 years of director of Bendigo Art Gallery , Quinlan had headed the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra from December 2018 until September 2022. At
799-493: The entrance and the library of Australia's largest private museum. Grounds married Regina Marr, an American divorcee (aka Virginia Lammers; Marr was her maiden name). Their son, artist Marr Grounds , was born in Los Angeles in 1930. There was not a close relationship between father and son, and the parents split in 1939 and divorced a couple of years later in 1941. Roy Grounds created a scandal when he left his wife for
846-508: The firm and later Grounds himself. Grounds opened a Canberra office in the Forrest Townhouses (1959), which he designed and partly financed. In 1959 the firm was awarded the commission to design the National Gallery of Victoria and Arts Centre , with Grounds named in the contract as the architect in charge. When Boyd and Romberg were mildly critical of the preliminary geometric designs that Grounds showed them, relations between
893-907: The firm became very successful. Grounds' first large commission was for the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra . The construction of its reinforced concrete dome was a considerable technical achievement. Opened in 1959, it won the Meritorious Architecture Award of the Canberra Area Committee of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) and the Sulman Award for Architectural Merit. The Academy building also led to other work in Canberra, initially for
940-433: The foundations, including water seepage, meant the structure had to be raised to three storeys above ground. Similarly, budget constraints meant that Grounds' design for the Theatres Building, which included a copper-clad spire, were shelved, and a shortened un-clad design was substituted. This was eventually replaced with the current "full-height" un-clad spire. By the mid-1990s, signs of deterioration became apparent on
987-547: The gallery was brought in on time and budget, the complicated Yarra River site for the Concert Hall and Theatre Complex resulted in building delays and criticism. Unlike the fate that befell Jørn Utzon on the Sydney Opera House project, Grounds managed to hold on to his commission from the Victorian Government despite tumult within his company in the late 1970s. Grounds showed Queen Elizabeth II
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#17327937150561034-408: The geology of the site, Roy Grounds completely redesigned the project. The concert hall was separated out and placed in the riverbank, and the theatres building expanded above ground, with a latticework spire above. Work began on the theatre site in 1973, but excavations were not completed until 1978, two years later than expected. Work began on the concert hall site in 1976. During the first phase of
1081-406: The ground. The fire burned for about forty minutes, causing only cosmetic damage to the tower. In February 2016, two protesters climbed the spire of the centre to protest Nauru detention centre deportations. They stayed on top of the spire for 11 hours, and disrupted a programmed light show. They unfurled a banner reading #letthemstay . They were not arrested. As of 2022 there are plans for
1128-666: The hills of Upper Beaconsfield, Wildfell, built in 1933, was a long flat roofed rectilinear composition of white painted brick, with red and cream brick details and corner windows. This was followed in 1934 by the Milky Way Cafe in Little Collins Street, a venture of the United Milk Producers Society to encourage milk consumption, with modern tubular steel furniture and flush recessed lighting panels. While Mewton produced many designs in
1175-613: The house for the Chateau Tahbilk winery. Grounds also designed in a more Streamline Moderne style, with his own family holiday house on the peninsula nicknamed "The Ship" due to its long horizontal asbestos-cement sheet flat forms topped by a pipe railing and a glass walled lookout, and the similarly styled Rosanove House in nearby Frankston. In about 1937, Grounds ended the partnership with Mewton, spending time in England again until 1939. Grounds returned and established
1222-530: The largest public works projects in Victorian history, which had been undertaken over a period of almost twenty-five years. Arts Centre Melbourne is unusual in that its theatres and concert hall are built largely underground. Hamer Hall, situated closest to the river, was initially planned to be almost entirely underground, thus providing a huge open vista between the theatre spire, the river and Flinders Street railway station . However, construction problems with
1269-472: The lightning conductor rod at its pinnacle on 20 October 1981. Once the buildings were nearly complete, and with the death of Grounds in 1981, Academy Award -winning expatriate set designer John Truscott , was employed to decorate the interiors. His work was constrained only by a requirement to leave elements already constructed, such as Ground's faceted cave-like concert hall interior, to which he applied mineral finishes, and his steel mesh draped ceiling in
1316-459: The massive excavations shortly before his death. Much of the theatres' interior designs were completed by John Truscott after Grounds' death. One of his last designs was Hobart 's iconic 18-story octagonal tower and Wrest Point Hotel Casino complex. Grounds died on 2 March 1981. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of
1363-673: The mid 1920s, he began his articles with the architectural firm of Blackett, Forster and Craig, where Geoffrey Mewton was doing the same. By 1928 they were both studying at the University of Melbourne Architectural Atelier, where they won first prize in an Institute of Architects Exhibition for a house costing under £1000. They both also won scholarships to further their studies later that year. After graduating in 1928 they travelled to London together with another student, Oscar Bayne, where they all shared digs. After working in London for
1410-454: The partners became strained, and in 1962 Grounds left the partnership, taking the commission with him and setting up his own company with Oscar Bayne. Under a building committee chaired by the philanthropist Ken Myer , Grounds devoted the next twenty years of his life to the completion of the Arts Centre. His longest-serving architectural associates throughout this period were Alan Nelson, Fritz Suendermann, Lou Gerhardt and Allan Stillman. While
1457-526: The project from 1972 until 1979 responsibility was with Rupert Hamer as Minister for the Arts (and premier) and during the main construction phase from 1979 to 1982 with Norman Lacy as Minister for the Arts (and Minister of Educational Services). After significant public controversy, political inquiry and financial reassessment, the spire was completed by the Minister for the Arts, Norman Lacy , installing
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1504-439: The project in 1972, was appointed the first general manager of the building committee and then the trust, a position he held until 1989. As a result, Fairfax played an influential role in administration of Arts Centre Melbourne's development. In the early 1970s, due to the expansion of the size of both the theatre and the concert hall required, the addition of a smaller second theatre, and to accommodate difficulties associated with
1551-607: The project, as well as its delays and cost over runs. The Victorian Arts Centre's management and administration was set up under the Victorian Arts Centre Act 1979 introduced into the Victorian parliament by Minister for the Arts, Norman Lacy. The trustees were appointed by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the minister. The trust were given responsibility for the operation and programming of
1598-749: The publicly owned performing arts spaces that make up the Victorian Arts Centre – the Theatres Building beneath the Spire, Hamer Hall and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl . Soon after the legislation to establish the trust was passed, Norman Lacy and George Fairfax undertook a study trip to North America and Europe to assess administrative arrangements, educational programs and community initiatives at major performing arts centres in Los Angeles , San Francisco , New York , Washington , Toronto , Ottawa , London and Paris . The result
1645-560: The spire was inspired by the billowing of a ballerina's tutu and the Eiffel Tower . In early 2008, a wedge-tailed eagle and peregrine falcon were utilised to deter groups of sulphur-crested cockatoos from damaging the spire's electrical fittings and thimble-sized lights. On 1 January 2012 the spire was accidentally set afire by New Year's Eve fireworks. Two sides of the structure were set ablaze by fireworks that apparently discharged improperly, causing flaming debris to fall to
1692-559: The spire). Hamer Hall Hamer Hall (formerly the Melbourne Concert Hall) is a 2,466-seat concert hall – the largest venue in Arts Centre Melbourne's complex, used for orchestra and contemporary music performances. It was opened in 1982 and was later renamed Hamer Hall in honour of Sir Rupert Hamer (the 39th Premier of Victoria ) shortly after his death in 2004. State Theatre The State Theatre
1739-540: The time of her appointment to NPGA, Quinlan was also Professor of Practice at the La Trobe Art Institute at Bendigo . Quinlan was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Australia Day Honours list, "For significant service to the visual arts as an administrator and gallery curator, and to higher education". Roy Grounds Sir Roy Burman Grounds (18 December 1905 – 2 March 1981)
1786-429: The upper spire structure and Arts Centre Melbourne's Trust decided to replace the spire. The new spire was completed in 1996, and reaches 162 m (531 ft), though still based on Grounds' original design. The spire is illuminated with some 6,600 m (21,700 ft) of optic fibre tubing, 150 m (490 ft) of neon tubing on the mast and 14,000 incandescent lamps on the spire's skirt. The metal webbing of
1833-478: The wife of Tom Ramsay, Alice Bettine Ramsay. Ramsay (son of William Ramsay ) was known as "Mr Kiwi Boot Polish ". The Grounds family lived in the affluent suburb of Toorak at the time. Marr was married to artist Joan Grounds for some time, and died in New South Wales in 2021. Although he lectured in architecture, he never practised as an architect. He was known for his sculpture, and for co-founding
1880-578: Was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the adjacent Victorian Arts Centre , cemented his legacy as a leader in Australian architecture. Artist Marr Grounds was his son. Born on 18 December 1905 in Melbourne , Grounds was educated at several schools, including Scotch College Melbourne and Melbourne Church of England Grammar School . In
1927-417: Was chosen as the architect, and his master plan of a gallery and an adjacent theatre under a tall copper spire was approved in 1960. One of the main challenge of the construction was to dry up and retain the waters out of the base, as the construction went as deep as 7 m (23 ft) below water levels. The original spire envisaged by Grounds was 115 m (377 ft) tall, and because of its complexity
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1974-730: Was developed by Arts Centre Melbourne in consultation with the music industry. Patrons of the Australian Music Vault include Kylie Minogue, Tina Arena , Ian “Molly” Meldrum, Archie Roach and Michael Gudinski . Founded in 2017, it reached 1 million visitors within two years of opening. It was Australia's first physical "hall of fame" for music. It has been noted for their inclusion of a number of Indigenous performers such as Yothu Yindi , No Fixed Address , Archie Roach, and women artists including Chrissie Amphlett , Little Patti, Judith Durham and Ngaiire. Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne , originally known as
2021-455: Was one of the first structures in Australia to rely on computer-aided-design (CAD). The gallery was completed in 1968, with the theatres to be built in a second stage. Responsibility for the project lay with the building committee, established in 1956 and chaired by Kenneth Myer from 1965 to 1989. For twenty-five years the committee was a consistent force in the completion of the complex. Actor and film director George Fairfax , having joined
2068-675: Was opened in 2024. Galleries Arts Centre Melbourne also houses dedicated gallery spaces including newly opened Australian Music Vault (formally Gallery 1 and the George Adams Gallery) on Level 6 (Ground level), Gallery 2 on Level 7, the St Kilda Road Foyer Gallery and the Smorgon Family Plaza, whose walls and central areas are used for exhibitions, in the Theatres Building. The Sidney Myer Music Bowl , situated in nearby Kings Domain ,
2115-509: Was square, with a central circular courtyard. This theme was repeated in later projects, including the circular Round House in Hobart, and the square Master's Lodge at Ormond College. When Grounds, Frederick Romberg and Robin Boyd formed their partnership in 1953 all were well established in Victoria. Each brought substantial work to the practice, which they usually worked on separately, and
2162-497: Was the Melbourne Theatre Company 's staging of Euripides ' Medea , starring Zoe Caldwell and Patricia Kennedy . Fairfax Studio The Fairfax Studio is also located in the Theatres Building of Arts Centre Melbourne and is a 376-seat theatre. It was also opened in 1984. The Show Room The Show Room is located between the Playhouse and Fairfax Studio within the Theatres Building and is an intimate 150-seat studio theatre. It
2209-580: Was the development of Arts Centre Melbourne's management structure during 1981 and a suite of opening and on-going initiatives. The Concert Hall opened in November 1982, while substantial work remained to be done on the Theatres site. The rest of Arts Centre Melbourne was opened progressively in 1984, with the Theatres building officially opened in October that year. This signified the completion of one of
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