When Ben Quilty heard of the late James Fairfax’s bequest of his country estate ‘Retford Park’ to the National Trust he saw an opportunity to provide the Southern Highlands with a much needed regional art gallery and in 2017 he began lobbying the National Trust as well as state and local government for Retford Park to be the home of this new gallery. Today that vision is realised with ‘Ngununggula’ regional gallery sitting within the leafy grounds of Retford Park.

Making ‘Ngununggula’ a reality involved the adaptive reuse of two buildings within Retford Park, a grand Dairy Building and an associated ‘Vet Clinic’, both of which were underutilised and rapidly deteriorating. These buildings, as well as a third contemporary pavilion, were reimagined as a state-of-the-art Regional Gallery for the Southern Highlands.

The brief required flexible and engaging gallery spaces capable of displaying a wide range of nationally significant exhibitions and arts programs. Touring exhibitions from some of Australia’s finest galleries, require strict temperature and humidity controls along with security and art handling practices in line with the International Council of Museums – Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) environmental guidelines. Integrating the services required for the gallery into a pair of heritage farm buildings, whilst conserving the heritage fabric and retaining a legibility of the past uses, were difficult but rewarding design objectives.

The design embraces a sensitive approach to adaptive reuse, through working closely with the National Trust and community groups, which ensures the cultural significance of the site remains central to the project. New gallery walls are separated from the existing masonry walls, concealing a web of services and forming a tight seal from external moisture and heat exchange. The new walls are carefully peeled back, where possible, to reveal the repaired and conserved heritage fabric behind.

Awards

AIA NSW Architecture Awards; Commendation - Creative Adaption Heritage Architecture, Ngununggula Southern Highlands Regional Gallery, 2022.
The National Trust Heritage Award Winner; Adaptive Re-use, Ngununggula Southern Highlands Regional Gallery at Retford Park, 2022.