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Awards

Crone’s Orange Regional Museum wins the Sulman Medal for Public Architecture

11.08.17

Irish born Architect, Niall Durney, has recently won the most distinguished award in New South Wales, Australia, for Public Architecture.

Orange Museum: Image by Tom Ferguson

Irish born Architect, Niall Durney, recently won the most distinguished award in New South Wales, Australia, for Public Architecture. Niall is Irish born and bred and moved to Australia at the end of 2006. He is now the principal and design director of a prestigious Australian architecture firm, Crone who he joined in 2012.
Announced in July by the Australian Institute of Architects, the awards profile the innovative work of NSW architects through peer recognition while promoting architects and architecture within NSW, across Australia and internationally.

The AIA Jury surmised, “This bold, large-scale intervention re-organises a whole city block through the application of a combined landscape, architectural and urban solution. Simple, bold and confident moves have created a destination for locals and visitors which provide a clear and active address to the larger civic precinct.”

Crone began work on the 1,300 square-metre museum after winning a competitive tender process with the brief to strategically place the building to create a distinctive civic square between new structures and the existing Orange Library and Art Gallery. The Museum serves a significant function in the local community, housing an exhibition space, visitor information centre, café and council office space, while also playing host to a variety of temporary and permanent exhibitions.

Seating stairs create an amphitheatre and provide access to the sloping landscaped roof, a defining feature of the design that rises from the existing lawn to provide a public green space and vantage point across the City. Blurring the distinction between architecture and landscape, the grassed area was designed for flexible usage as an outdoor exhibition area or simply an area for visitors to relax.

Crone Design Director, Niall Durney, said, “We are extremely proud to have won the Sulman Medal for Public Architecture, one of the most distinguished awards in the State, particularly as our mission was to create a forward-thinking design for the Orange Regional Museum that would contribute to the community and create a new destination for the area.

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