Award-winning heritage architects to lead gallery redevelopment

Published on 26 April 2022

Benalla Rural City Council has appointed award-winning heritage architects, Williams Boag Architects the tender for the Benalla Art Gallery redevelopment project.

Williams Boag Architects will lead the key project, designed to enhance the gallery entry, staff and back-of-house spaces, and the existing space offering within the Munro and Sargeant Café.

With experience in designing galleries, art precincts and cultural spaces, Williams Boag managed the redevelopment of the McClelland Gallery in Langwarrin, a bespoke modernist building built in the 1970s by the same architects who designed the Benalla Art Gallery, Philip Sargeant and Colin Munro.

Williams Boag architecture is sympathetic to a building’s heritage and original construction, highlighted by their Heritage Architecture award at the Victorian Architecture Awards in June 2021, for the Bendigo Former Mining Exchange project.

Benalla Rural City Mayor Cr Bernie Hearn was delighted with the first step in the project.

“The Benalla Art Gallery is an iconic building in our town and the redevelopment by Williams Boag Architects will only enhance this space,” Cr Hearn said.

“The redevelopment will help to increase the engagement of the community with the Gallery collection, exhibitions and programs,” she said.

Funding for the gallery redevelopment project has been allocated by the State Government. 

It is anticipated that the design stage of the redevelopment project will be completed by November 2022.

Image: Benalla Art Gallery. Photo by Serana Hunt-Hughes