Storey Hall
Storey Hall, located at 342–344 Swanston Street in Melbourne, Australia, is part of the RMIT City campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University). It consists of a grand meeting hall constructed in 1887, extended and renovated in 1996, providing a large upper hall, the lower hall as home to RMIT Gallery First Site, and a range of lecture theatres and seminar rooms.
| Storey Hall | |
|---|---|
RMIT Building 16 | |
Postmodern 1996 annex of Storey Hall on Swanston Street | |
| General information | |
| Type | Education |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical (1887 wing), Postmodern (1996 annex) |
| Address | 342-344 Swanston Street |
| Town or city | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Completed | 1887 |
| Renovated | 1996 |
| Cost | £25,000 (1887 wing) |
| Renovation cost | A$10.5 million (1996 annex) |
| Owner | RMIT |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Tappin, Gilbert and Dennehy (1887 wing), Ashton Raggatt McDougall (1996 annex) |
| Awards and prizes | RAIA, 1996 - National Interior Architecture Award, Victorian Chapter Medal, William Wardell Award for Institutional Architecture, Marion Mahony Griffin Award for Interior Architecture; Dulux Colour Awards, 1996 - National Award |
The 19th century hall was built by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and known as Hibernian Hall. In the early 20th century it was put to a range of uses, until it was acquired by RMIT in 1957 The hall was named after the Storey family; John Storey (Junior), who founded the RMIT Student Union in 1944, and Sir John Storey (Senior), who left a large bequest to RMIT in order to found the John Storey Junior Memorial Scholarships in memory of his son, whose studies were cut short in 1947 when he died of leukaemia at age 22.
A major refurbishment and addition was completed in 1996 to the design of Ashton Raggatt McDougall. The design of the new works is colourful and angular, employing Penrose tiles to create the patterned facade and the refurbished interior of the original auditorium.
The ground level of the original hall houses the RMIT First Site Gallery, which is operated by the RMIT Union, and has a focus on new media, as well as a cafe named re:vault.