Embed within the heart of Geelong’s energetic Ryrie Street, HASSELL dramatically reveals and reintroduces the new Geelong Arts Centre as the region’s trailblazing creative hub.
January 13th, 2020
For over 35 years, the Geelong Arts Centre has earned its illustrious reputation as the region’s cultural icon. As the only state-owned arts centre in Victoria outside of Melbourne CBD, it has been a long-lasting symbol of the city’s thriving creative and artistic community.
Award-winning multi-disciplinary design studio HASSELL saw an inimitable opportunity for the UNESCO Creative City – a well-deserved title for Geelong in 2017. Determined to rejuvenate the well-loved community space, the new Geelong Arts Centre redefines its growing reputation as a revolutionary and enriching artistic hub into the new decade.
HASSELL’s $38.5 million development put the community at its core. Opened to the public at the end of last year, an enticing translucent form crowns over a heritage Church façade. Clean, minimal and elegant – this contemporary design reconnects the old and the new in a confident and vibrant new identity. Colossal in size, the Geelong Arts Centre establishes a strong civic presence as a landmark that wants to be seen across the regional city.
“Geelong Arts Centre will not only be a reinvigorated destination, it will also help service the needs of the growing creative and cultural community,” states HASSELL principal Mark Loughnan.
The new structure provides a unique visitor experience of the performing arts through a modernised range of communal and creative spaces. Inside the revitalised soul of the arts hub, the design carves out two new levels of foyer, a dynamic bar area, state-of-the-art rehearsal studios and dynamic co-working spaces for collaborative work across the art community.
A striking, sculptural staircase connects the renovated ground floor and balcony foyers. A space like no other, this zone services The Playhouse theatre, studios and future Church Theatre – acting as the heart of the arts centre.
“Growing up in Geelong and now seeing Geelong Arts Centre’s Ryrie Street building come to fruition has given me an immense amount of pride,” expresses Mark.
A platform for the local community, Geelong Arts Centre represents the stunning architectural, cultural and arts movement that the city has seen in the last decade. Captivating, immersive and sophisticated – the redevelopment ushers in a new era for the Geelong Arts Centre.
“Geelong Arts Centre has long been at the heart of Geelong’s creative community,” Martin Foley MP, Ministers for Creative Industries adds. “Thirty-eight years later, the community has grown and so has Geelong Arts Centre. We’re proud to have supported this latest chapter and the growth of the region as a creative hub.”
A city that’s well-loved and famously known for its passion for the arts, dedication to its community, and energetic livelihoods, Geelong’s future amongst the creative community has just begun once again.
If you loved this story, we think you’d might like a profile story on Kirsten Stanisich and Jonathan Richards of Richards Stanisich. Join our digital community and get weekly inspiration straight to your inbox.
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Schneider Electric’s new range are making bulky outlets a thing of the past with the new UNICA X collection.
A longstanding partnership turns a historic city into a hub for emerging talent
How can design empower the individual in a workplace transforming from a place to an activity? Here, Design Director Joel Sampson reveals how prioritising human needs – including agency, privacy, pause and connection – and leveraging responsive spatial solutions like the Herman Miller Bay Work Pod is key to crafting engaging and radically inclusive hybrid environments.
It’s widely accepted that nature – the original, most accomplished design blueprint – cannot be improved upon. But the exclusive Crypton Leather range proves that it can undoubtedly be enhanced, augmented and extended, signalling a new era of limitless organic materiality.
A longstanding partnership turns a historic city into a hub for emerging talent
The Melbourne-based artist works at the intersection of art and architecture. In a new exhibition at MAGMA Galleries, he turns his focus on urban space and agency to a smaller scale.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
The Altro Neurodiversity Forum 2025 gathered leading architects, designers, thought-leaders and advocates in March at the Manly Pacific Hotel in Sydney.
Designed by Plus Architecture, the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust’s Rānui Apartments have been officially opened by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
We spoke to the internationally renowned Moroccan designer on the eve of his visit to Australia as guest of honour for Design & Build Week 2025.