This project at the historic Magdalen Laundry at the Abbotsford Convent is part restoration, activation and adaptation. The Magdalen Laundry is one of a campus of historic buildings on the Nationally signifiant and State Registered heritage site situated in the sweeping bend of the Yarra river In Abbotsford.

 

The brief was to create a space that is viable for the Abbotsford Convent Foundation to utilise as a multidisciplinary performance and exhibition space. 

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The Magdalen Laundry was used by the order of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd up to 1970. A period of deterioration and dilapidation followed until community action secured Victorian Government support and vested ownership in the newly formed the Abbotsford Convent Foundation.  

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This project comprised initially comprehensive hygienic works to enable the extensive conservation, restoration and adaptive works. Maximum retention of historic fabric and careful intervention were combined to ensure no loss of heritage legibility and delivery of a revitalised highly functional venue.  

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Photography: Tony Miller

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AIA Victorian Architecture Awards 2020

Award for Heritage Architecture - Creative Adaptation