Mecanoo appointed to renovate Perth City Hall

Mecanoo's design proposal has been chosen from five finalists for the renovation of Perth City Hall, which features adding of exhibition spaces, learning suite, café, and retail space. The firm intends to transform the existing building into a cultural facility by conducting a number of mindful interventions that honor the building’s historical significance. 

Councillor Ian Campbell, Leader of the Council noted: "Mecanoo stood out as having responded sensitively to the brief, conserving much of the historic building with an innovative and flexible design that will stand the test of time. The panel felt that Mecanoo paid particular attention to the needs of a wide range of visitors and the transformation of the area surrounding City Hall into a vibrant, inclusive civic space of which we can be truly proud.” 

The firm will preserve most of the original architecture while also improving its accessibility and circulation. Their flexible design offers a welcoming public environment that allows visitors to naturally flow between the inside and the outside—the exhibition spaces and café can be entered through the ‘internal vennel'. Perth & Kinross Council’s permanent and temporary collections will be located in the main hall. A comfortable seating area and a new lighting scheme will serve to link the spaces together.

Previously, Mecanoo has worked on a variety of similar projects. The firm's extensive experience includes restorations of Mies van der Rohe’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC, Het Hof van Nederland heritage museum in Dordrecht, and New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.