University of Melbourne
William Macmahon Ball Theatre
William Macmahon Ball Theatre
University of Melbourne
William Macmahon Ball Theatre
Client:
University of Melbourne
Location:
Parkville, Victoria
Scale:
250 sqm
Status:
Completed 2013
Contact Person:
Ruth Wilson
The William Macmahon Ball Theatre challenges the shift toward fully digital learning, reimagining the lecture theatre as an intimate, elliptical forum within the former hall of the University of Melbourne’s Old Arts Building.
The seventy-five-seat hemicycle configuration becomes a signature hybrid teaching space – driving participation and discussion, operating as a flexible bookable venue, and supporting graduate programs across the Faculty of Arts.
A contemporary arena for debate
Architectus’ design adopts a distinctly parliamentary character while maintaining a relaxed, informal atmosphere. It functions as a contemporary arena for political discourse – a setting that invites oration, debate and the testing of ideas.
The room shifts easily between formal presentation, collaborative discussion and experimental teaching modes.
Performance led by collaboration
Interdisciplinary collaboration drives the theatre’s performance. Acoustic design enables natural voice projection without amplification. Lighting strategies respond to conditions from soft daylight through to complete blackout. The team resolved complex dimensional relationships between structure, fixed joinery, loose furniture and mobile elements to protect clarity, flexibility and comfort.
Ceiling as instrument
A double ceiling concentrates light and sound into a singular, expressive gesture.
Acoustic fabric wraps a reinstated skylight. A suspended steel frame carries a luminous parametric surface, its clear and translucent acrylic elements digitally optimised for material efficiency.
In concert with insulation and carefully detailed wall finishes, the ceilings define and illuminate the room, control reverberation and deliver even sound to every seat.
Quiet palette, vivid assembly
Below the glowing lower ceiling, neutral and natural finishes recede to foreground the spatial form and the people within it.
Seating provides the primary accent: four vibrant upholstery colours register individual presence while reinforcing a sense of collective assembly in this compact parliamentary chamber.
MoreLess
Client:
University of Melbourne
Location:
Parkville, Victoria
Scale:
250 sqm
Status:
Completed 2013
Contact Person:
Ruth Wilson
Awards
CEFPI (VIC) Awards for Outstanding School Facilities, Commendation – Education Initiative or Design Solution for an Innovative Program, 2014
