The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is a once-in-a-generation, city-shaping project that will redefine the Australian capital’s cultural offering.
Responding to its setting in Melbourne’s artistic heart, our concept for the precinct is a vast, immersive landscape of nature, sanctuary and creativity connected by an 18,000-square-metre, biodiverse urban garden.
Announced by the Victorian Government in 2018, the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation (MAPT) is the largest single cultural infrastructure project that Australia has seen. Surrounded by Victoria’s leading arts institutions, the site stretches between the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), the soon-to-be reimagined Arts Centre Melbourne (ACM), the future NGV Contemporary, The Fox, and adjacent The Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre.
Along with our collaborators, our master plan conceives the precinct as a ‘constellation of many stories’ guiding visitors through the seasonality of our contemporary cultural landscape. It’s a distinctly Victorian, highly dynamic landscape that’s layered and varied, changing not just with the seasons but from week to week. It’s an inviting, accessible place for locals and visitors to meander, gather, play and perform, experiencing both public events and smaller, more intimate moments.
Designed to support biodiversity and climate resistance, a highly complex 18,000-square-metre elevated garden will link the venues across the precinct. Laak Boorndap, a Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung name, was bestowed on the garden by Traditional Owner, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elder, Aunty Gail Smith.
“I gave it the name Laak Boorndap because to me it means a beautiful place for all people to visit and recognise our Country and our Wurundjeri ancestors. It’s not just a place name; it brings Sky Country, the heavens and everyone back together on Country.”
— Aunty Gail Smith, Language Elder from Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
A new and unique public place that fosters well-being and community, the MAPT will add vital green space to one of Australia’s most densely populated urban areas and increase connectivity to surrounding parts of the city.
Work on Laak Boorndap is due to begin in 2026 with the MAPT expected to be completed in 2028.
