Dunn & Hillam Architects were engaged by Cobar Shire Council to work with Peter Freeman Conservation Architects & Planners to provide a masterplan for the 8000m2 site.
The completed Stage 1 involved renewing and restoring the main building and designing an engaging Cobar-specific museum. We gave priority to large scale moves that provided the best flexibility, energy performance and lowest maintenance costs over time. The second stage is now underway with plans to upgrade and extend the outdoor exhibition and landscape, and build a new structure to house some of the larger items in the collection.
Our “deep clean” approach to the existing building included the removal of unsympathetic and damaging additions to the building over the past 50 years; opening up, cleaning and restoring the prominent elevations; and the creation of an exhibition sequence that aligns with the museum’s narrative.
The restored landmark now functions as an accessible repository of local knowledge, integrating stories of the Pilaarrkiyalu, Nhiilyikiyalu, Karulkiyalu and Galiyargiyatr – who are the Traditional Custodians of the land and waters – with history of the town and the ongoing story of mining in Cobar. The exhibition starts outside, along the new accessible entry ramp, winds through the building, and continues out into the landscape.
This project benefits from a broad vision of environmental, economic and social sustainability aligned with our practice ethos and B Corp accreditation (link). By reusing the building’s existing fabric, prioritising elements that deliver ongoing savings and utilising a passive climate-control approach, we’ve limited the introduction of new embodied carbon and balanced capital costs against long-term operational costs.
Dunn & Hillam Architects were engaged by Cobar Shire Council to work with Peter Freeman Conservation Architects & Planners to provide a masterplan for the 8000m2 site.
The completed Stage 1 involved renewing and restoring the main building and designing an engaging Cobar-specific museum. We gave priority to large scale moves that provided the best flexibility, energy performance and lowest maintenance costs over time. The second stage is now underway with plans to upgrade and extend the outdoor exhibition and landscape, and build a new structure to house some of the larger items in the collection.
Our “deep clean” approach to the existing building included the removal of unsympathetic and damaging additions to the building over the past 50 years; opening up, cleaning and restoring the prominent elevations; and the creation of an exhibition sequence that aligns with the museum’s narrative.
The restored landmark now functions as an accessible repository of local knowledge, integrating stories of the Pilaarrkiyalu, Nhiilyikiyalu, Karulkiyalu and Galiyargiyatr – who are the Traditional Custodians of the land and waters – with history of the town and the ongoing story of mining in Cobar. The exhibition starts outside, along the new accessible entry ramp, winds through the building, and continues out into the landscape.
This project benefits from a broad vision of environmental, economic and social sustainability aligned with our practice ethos and B Corp accreditation (link). By reusing the building’s existing fabric, prioritising elements that deliver ongoing savings and utilising a passive climate-control approach, we’ve limited the introduction of new embodied carbon and balanced capital costs against long-term operational costs.
Dunn & Hillam Architects were engaged by Cobar Shire Council to work with Peter Freeman Conservation Architects & Planners to provide a masterplan for the 8000m2 site.
The completed Stage 1 involved renewing and restoring the main building and designing an engaging Cobar-specific museum. We gave priority to large scale moves that provided the best flexibility, energy performance and lowest maintenance costs over time. The second stage is now underway with plans to upgrade and extend the outdoor exhibition and landscape, and build a new structure to house some of the larger items in the collection.
Our “deep clean” approach to the existing building included the removal of unsympathetic and damaging additions to the building over the past 50 years; opening up, cleaning and restoring the prominent elevations; and the creation of an exhibition sequence that aligns with the museum’s narrative.
The restored landmark now functions as an accessible repository of local knowledge, integrating stories of the Pilaarrkiyalu, Nhiilyikiyalu, Karulkiyalu and Galiyargiyatr – who are the Traditional Custodians of the land and waters – with history of the town and the ongoing story of mining in Cobar. The exhibition starts outside, along the new accessible entry ramp, winds through the building, and continues out into the landscape.
This project benefits from a broad vision of environmental, economic and social sustainability aligned with our practice ethos and B Corp accreditation (link). By reusing the building’s existing fabric, prioritising elements that deliver ongoing savings and utilising a passive climate-control approach, we’ve limited the introduction of new embodied carbon and balanced capital costs against long-term operational costs.
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