Work to upgrade and expand Arts Centre Melbourne’s iconic Theatres Building has reached a major milestone, as part of Victorian Government’s city-shaping Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation.
The construction site extends the basement of the Theatres Building to make way for new and expanded facilities, increasing the centre’s capacity to host world-class performances.
Enough to fill six Olympic swimming pools, the excavation behind the Theatres Building has resulted in the removal of 15,644m3 of earth and reached the required depth of approximately 14 metres underground.
This will create space for a brand-new flexible rehearsal space and studio, with an adjoining function room, which will support the successful staging of performances and provide new amenities for creative workers and performers.
The expanded loading dock – twice the size of the current dock – will include two new scenery truck lifts, allowing faster and safer bump-in-and-out times for productions, which will mean the centre can add even more performances to its already busy calendar of shows.
This extension increases the space of the Theatres Building by around 16%. Upgrades inside the State Theatre will result in improved accessibility, acoustics, theatre technology and comfort.
There will be a new accessible stage door, more wheelchair positions and two new lifts, meaning for the first time, patrons with mobility requirements can choose to sit across all three seating levels and ticketing reserves in the State Theatre.
Works are also progressing for the next section of the deck to be built for the 18,000sqm garden – Laak Boorndap. A key section of the deck for the garden is currently being installed near City Road.
Laak Boorndap will be an elevated garden planted on a deck more than eight metres high, and it will connect the creative attractions in the precinct like never before.
Around 100 apprentices, trainees and cadets have worked across the Arts Centre Melbourne project to date, gaining valuable experience to kick start their careers in trade.
In total, the wider Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is expected to create 11,000 jobs over the life of the build.
The Arts Centre Melbourne Theatre Building expansion is part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project, a $1.7 billion project backed by the Victorian Government.
The State Theatre is expected to reopen in early 2027, in time for the Australian Ballet and Opera Australia performance seasons.
For more information about the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation visit artsprecinct.melbourne