arete Australia’s University of Melbourne, Ian Potter Museum of Art Education Centre project has been nominated for the 2025 Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Fitout Over $10M category.
This transformative project reimagined a historically significant building into a contemporary, high-performance education and exhibition space. Works included extensive structural demolition, construction of a new suspended slab, and the installation of a striking mirrored steel entry feature, the Entry Blade, designed by Wood Marsh.
The upgraded facility now features a state-of-the-art seminar room, a newly constructed plant platform, a reconfigured museum layout and a new lift core built using Dincel panels to accelerate construction while maintaining exceptional quality. Delivered within a century-old structure with limited documentation, the project required continuous investigation, adaptive design and close collaboration across all disciplines.
Meeting the tight air-sealing standards essential for conservation spaces demanded rigorous testing and specialist input, ensuring the museum meets international standards for artwork loans. Careful planning, out-of-hours works and strategic shift scheduling safeguarded progress and quality while maintaining access across the live university campus.
This project exemplifies arete’s commitment to excellence, innovation and precision. The result is a world-class facility that honours the building’s heritage while enabling new opportunities for education, research and cultural engagement.
