LIMINAL ARCHITECTURE | with Snøhetta + Rush Wright - Winning Proposal Unveiled
Posted 3 March 2018
Our winning design for the Cascades Female Factory’s History and Interpretation Centre has been unveiled at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in South Hobart.
We are thrilled to be the successful team for this incredibly competitive, internationally significant design competition
Image: Liminal Architecture with Snøhetta and Rush Wright's winning proposal. Render by Brick Visual.
We feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with PAHSMA [Port Arthur Historic Sites Management Authority] and key stakeholders to create a new History and Interpretation Centre that will uncover untold stories and highlights the plight of Tasmanian convict women and the important role they played in shaping Tasmania.
Liminal is proud to be awarded such a culturally significant project in our home city, and excited to have the opportunity to continue our wonderful collaborative relationships with Snøhetta, working from their headquarters in Oslo and Australasian Studio in Adelaide, and talented landscape architects, Rush Wright Associates, based in Melbourne.
The Cascades Female Factory, one of eleven UNESCO Australian Convict Sites, comprises three of five original yards which accommodated, punished and aimed to reform female convicts. The proposed design concept unravels the stories of the 6000+ women who spent time within the walls. Through contained form, spatial design and integrated landscape the proposal explores the representation of the plight of the convict women.
Image: Entry to the Centre, an isolated walk with only the sky as a connection to the outside world.
Our team's approach to the design was influenced by the history of the site and the powerful struggle between light and dark; and how these dualities present a tension between imprisonment and liberty; punishment and reform; threat and opportunity; horror and hope.
Image: The 'empatheatre' - a landscaped platform giving voice to untold stories.
The centre will fulfil an empowering and educational role recognising the social, cultural and political foundations laid by the convict women, building upon their legacy, connecting to the past to inform the future.
Image: The Hon. Elise Archer MP and Chair of the Jury and PAHSMA, Sharon Sullivan AO unveil the winning design.
Image: Elvio Brianese, co-director of Liminal Studio, the Hon. Elise Archer MP, Kaare Krokene of Snøhetta, Peta Heffernan, co-director of Liminal Studio, Cassandra Chilton of Rush Wright Associates and part of the Happy Team!
