CULLEN FENG
STATE LIBRARY OF NSW-MACQUARIE STREET WING
Sydney CBD
Cullen Feng collaborated with original State Library Architect Andrew Andersons to redesign the Macquarie Street wing public spaces, delivering the project in seven months. Completed on time and on budget, the transformation was achieved in readiness for the State Library’s 200th anniversary in 2026.
A new 55-square-metre void introduces natural light and visual connection to the lowest level of the underground Marie Bashir Reading Rooms. Colour and warmth have been added through bright timber slats, which subtly reference the spines of books lining the Library’s shelves. At the main entrance, the redesign restores Martin Sharp’s iconic Oz tapestry, originally commissioned for the 1988 building to the foyer.
The Bashir Reading Room has been reimagined as a more accessible, welcoming and inspiring environment for the growing community of students, readers and researchers who rely on the Library each day. The design prioritised sustainability, with a strong commitment to retaining, salvaging and reusing existing elements wherever possible. Renewable and recycled materials were favoured, energy efficiency was maximised, and natural materials such as timber ceilings, timber study furniture, stone counters and terrazzo floors were used throughout.
Seating capacity has increased from 482 to 659 seats, while study rooms have expanded from 6 to 21 with upgraded technology. New additions include a reading lounge and Young Adult fiction area on Lower Ground 1. The bookshop is now three times larger, and the café has expanded to seat 220 people, featuring a 12-metre glazed opening to connect indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as a private 12-seat dining room
Photography: Michelle Feng
STATE LIBRARY OF NSW-NEW AUDITORIUM & PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY
Sydney CBD
This project involved the creation of a new 350 seat tiered auditorium housed in the original bookstacks below the iconic Mitchell Reading Room; the revitalisation of a large atrium space in the Macquarie Budling to serve as foyer/breakout space for the auditorium; the creation of two new gallery/circulation spaces-the larger one as a dedicated photography gallery allowing parts of the Library’s extraordinary collection of two million images to be displayed for the very first time-and the upgrading of the public entrance of both buildings to provide complying equitable access.
The shear heads of the concrete columns removed from the original structure are retained and visible within the auditorium space suspended below four new large steel trusses. The perimeter of the room has been designed with timber cladding metaphorically surrounding the visitor with a memory of the bookstacks from which the space was carved.
Photography: Eric Sierins, Judith Russo
QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM & ART GALLERY
Inveresk, Tasmania
An adaptive reuse of an existing disused railway workshop. The gallery includes permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, auditorium, cafe and retail facilities. The contrast between the old and the new is dramatised by the juxtaposition of the patina of grey and rust with the brightly coloured new construction.
The QVMAG won the 2002 RAIA Tasmanian Chapter Awards for both Public and Heritage, and more recently the Tasmanian Chapter Triennial Award for Heritage Buildings. Jon Cullen was the design architect for QVMAG while at PTW Architects, and continued his involvement in association while at Cullen Feng.
Photography: John Gollings
MCA STORAGE FACILITY
Sydney
The project involved the conversion of a floor of warehouse in Sydney to house the MCA permanent Collection Storage and associated conservation and art installation workshop. Temperature and humidity stability were largely achieved with compartmentation and insulation. Only one room insulated by surrounding storage areas and containing very sensitive items was air-conditioned.