In the first major building project at the Mitchell Building in over 50 years, the New South Wales State Library has undergone a $15m redevelopment to deliver a stunning facility befitting its heritage status.
The scheme comprised a series of upgrades to the Mitchell Building, including new exhibition spaces and a learning centre, involving careful planning to ensure the heritage fabric of the building was respected and protected.
The exhibition spaces were designed by HASSELL architects, with BVN Architecture providing the concept design for the learning centre. The vision was to activate heritage spaces while improving access in and around the library’s historic Mitchell Building and adjoining contemporary Macquarie Street building, facilitating greater engagement with the library’s renowned collection.
Due to the age of the two existing buildings, this presented significant challenges since the life safety services were no longer compliant, making a full re-design of the fire engineering strategy a necessity. The new design, incorporating high-end amenities, was also required to accommodate high occupancies for functions, whilst offering tight humidity control and adherence to strict acoustic requirements.
Our team provided engineering designs to upgrade life safety services and create new exhibition and learning areas. We worked alongside HASSELL architects and BVN Architecture through all stages of the project, from master planning of both the Macquarie and Mitchell Building upgrades, through to design and construction.
