Bunjil Place, City of Casey

At Bunjil Place, a mixed-use cultural and community facility in Narre Warren, engagement with the Kulin Nation was central to the design process from the beginning. fjcstudio’s initial meetings with Elders from the Koorie Heritage Trust provided knowledge about the Bunjil and its important relationship with place and people, and planning of the spaces incorporated Boon Wurrung stories relating to the meeting of many paths. Further engagement was undertaken with the Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum, including studies of the kinetic Bunjil sculpture developed by the First Peoples Yulendj advisory group and Museums Victoria. Ongoing engagement with Boon Wurrung Elder Aunty Carolyn Briggs continued throughout the development of the project. This sustained collaboration with Boon Wurrung Elders shaped the form of the building itself, while interior design and colour selection were informed by Aboriginal artwork depictions of the Bunjil.

The project involved multiple user groups, and the functional brief was developed from a high-level area brief and vision through expert input, benchmarking workshops, and consultation with relevant user groups, with front-of-house ‘day in the life’ scenario testing for various types of performances and events. The Arts Industry was engaged more widely for the development of the performance spaces and gallery to identify best practice and leverage the opportunities for cross pollination through colocation. Extensive engagement with City of Casey supported the consolidation of multiple workplaces under one roof, including significant change management and prototyping. The result was a building that received 2 million visitors in its first year and earned recognition including the William Wardell Award for Public Architecture.