# Storey Hall

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Former cinema in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Storey Hall RMIT Building 16 Postmodern 1996 annex of Storey Hall on Swanston Street Interactive map of the Storey Hall area General information Type Education Architectural style Neoclassical (1887 wing), Postmodern (1996 annex) Location 342—344 Swanston Street, 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 National Interior Architecture Award, 1996 Victorian Architecture Medal, 1996 William Wardell Award for Institutional Architecture, 1996 Marion Mahony Griffin Award for Interior Architecture, 1996 Dulux Colour Awards, National Award, 1996

**Storey Hall**, located at 342–344 [Swanston Street](/source/Swanston_Street) in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), [Australia](/source/Australia), is part of [The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology](/source/RMIT_University) (RMIT University) [City Campus](/source/RMIT_City). The building consists of a grand meeting chamber constructed in 1887, which was extended and renovated in 1996. It provides a large upper hall for meetings and events, while the lower hall is home to RMIT Gallery First Site, and a range of lecture theatres and seminar rooms.

## History

The hall was built by the [Hibernian-Australasian Catholic Benefit Society](/source/Hibernian_Australasian_Catholic_Benefit_Society), formed in 1885, for the local Irish Catholic community, and called Hibernian Hall.[1] The architects were Tappin, Gilbert & Dennehy, and the contractors were O'Dea & Kennedy, and it opened to great fanfare in November 1887.[2] There was a meeting room and offices downstairs, and a large hall upstairs, complete with gallery, and the facade features a high rusticated base, and giant order Corinthian columns above, all executed in fine stone. The Society ran into difficulties and had to sell in 1903, and by 1907 it was known as the Guild Hall, used for art exhibitions, a cinema and as a wrestling venue.[1] From 1917-1919 it was occupied by the [Women's Political Association](/source/Women's_Political_Association_of_Victoria), dedicated to women's suffrage and other political reforms,[3] and became a commune to support wharf workers during the [1917 General Strike](/source/1917_Australian_general_strike).

It was purchased Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (now RMIT University) in 1957.[4] In 1959 the hall was named after the Storey family; 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, and John Storey (Junior), who founded the [RMIT Student Union](/source/RMIT_Student_Union) in 1944, and whose studies were cut short in 1947 when he died of leukaemia at age 22.[5]

A major refurbishment of the hall, and a large addition to the south was completed in 1996 to the design of [Ashton Raggatt McDougall](/source/Ashton_Raggatt_McDougall).

The ground level of the original hall houses the RMIT First Site Gallery, which is operated by the [RMIT Union](/source/RMIT_Union), and has a focus on [new media](/source/New_media), as well as a cafe named re:vault.[6]

## Architecture

One of the key influences in the design of the Storey Hall annex is the use of [Penrose’s tiling pattern](/source/Penrose_tiling), developed by [Roger Penrose](/source/Roger_Penrose).[7] The street [façade](/source/Fa%C3%A7ade) is a version of the historic hall next door, its basic shapes of arch below and window above transformed by applying the Penrose pattern. The precast Penrose patterned tiles incorporate the impression of ruffles, keys and suspender belts to represent the [suffragettes](/source/Suffragette) of the Women's Political Association. The colours of purple and green also reflect those of the women's liberation movement, with the green, used more extensively inside, referring to the Hibernian Hall’s construction by the Irish community of Melbourne.[8] The foyer contains off-form [concrete](/source/Concrete) walls and columns with a curved stairwell. The main [auditorium](/source/Auditorium)’s ceiling and large areas of wall are composed of geometric [Penrose tile](/source/Penrose_tiling) patterns in green and white.

Storey Hall is both architecturally and historically significant as it has won numerous awards and combines both the historical and traditional aspects of the former Hibernian Hall to create a complex and daring building.

Storey Hall could be said to represent the [Deconstructivism](/source/Deconstructivism) strain of [postmodern](/source/Postmodern) architecture, and contrasts for instance with the more ordered and facade of [RMIT Building 8](/source/RMIT_Building_8) on the other side of Storey Hall.

The Storey Hall refurbishment was one of the first buildings in Melbourne to use computer and [digital fabrication](/source/Digital_fabrication), necessary to produce the complex yet mathematical elements of the architecture.[9]

## Gallery

		- Hibernian Hall facade

		- Storey Hall nameplate

		- Storey Hall extension

		- Storey Hall extension

		- Looking up inside Storey Hall extension lobby

		- Storey Hall extension entry on Swanston Street

		- Storey Hall extension tiled elements

		- Section

		- Plan

## Awards

- RAIA [Victorian Architecture Medal](/source/Victorian_Architecture_Medal), 1996[9]

- RAIA [William Wardell Award for Institutional Architecture, 1996](/source/William_Wardell_Award_for_Public_Architecture)[9]

- RAIA National Interior Architecture Award, 1996[9]

- RAIA Marion Mahony Award for Interior Architecture, 1996 (Victoria)[9]R

- RAIA National Award, Dulux Colour Awards, 1996[9]

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_1-1) ["STOREY HALL"](https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/821). *Victorian Heritage Database*. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["THE HIBERNIAN HALL"](https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197167369). *Age*. 4 November 1887. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** School of Historical Studies, Department of History. ["Women's Political Association - Entry - eMelbourne - The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online"](https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01636b.htm). *www.emelbourne.net.au*. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [RMIT University - Storey Hall](http://www.rmit.edu.au/about/heritage/bld16) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120902032420/http://www.rmit.edu.au/about/heritage/bld16) 2 September 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_5-0)** [John Storey, RMIT University, Accessed 17 November 2008](http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse/About%20RMIT%2FSupporting%20RMIT%2FHow%20giving%20made%20a%20difference%2FJohn%20Storey/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Launch (RMIT Union) - Exhibition Spaces](http://www.launch.rmit.edu.au/visualarts.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20081224014951/http://www.launch.rmit.edu.au/visualarts.html) 24 December 2008 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-adam_7-0)** Dimech, Adam. ["Melbourne Buildings-RMIT Storey Hall"](http://www.adonline.id.au/buildings/storey-hall/). Adam Dimech Online. Retrieved 5 April 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-mat_8-0)** Vincent, Jill. ["SHRINE TO UNIVERSITY: MATHEMATICS IN THE CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENT"](http://www.mav.vic.edu.au/files/conferences/2000/Keynote_paper_3.pdf) (PDF). The Mathematical Association of Victoria. Retrieved 5 April 2012.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-AIA_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-AIA_9-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-AIA_9-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-AIA_9-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-AIA_9-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-AIA_9-5) Ashton Raggatt McDougall Pty Ltd. ["Storey Hall"](http://www.architecture.com.au/awards_search?option=showaward&entryno=19963015). The Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Retrieved 5 April 2012.

## References

- ["Storey Hall, former Hibernian Hall"](http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=719&view=next). phpBB Group. Retrieved 5 April 2012.

- Day, Norman. ["Story Hall"](http://www.architecturemedia.com/aa/aaissue.php?issueid=199601&article=6&typeon=2). Architecture Australia. Retrieved 5 April 2012.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Storey Hall](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Storey_Hall).

- [Architecture Australia Storey Hall Review](http://www.architecturemedia.com/aa/aaissue.php?issueid=199601&article=6&typeon=2/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Storey Hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storey_Hall) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storey_Hall?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.