r.a.g.e

A contemporary glass art studio led by Ruth Allen in the inner-north Melbourne suburb Coburg North. The building includes purpose-built glass-blowing and cold-working facilities, a gallery and shop, and spaces for the community to engage with the works and the process of their making.

Within a simple industrial envelope, the building is spatially articulated in two main volumes, corresponding to the viewing and making of the art. Tilt-up concrete and blockwork supports a roof that allows substantial south light to filter into the full length of the building.

Materials are visually neutral to allow focus to remain on the colour and light of the glass art itself. They are treated with different levels of refinement and robustness in each of the two halves, also addressing the rich architectural history of the intersection of industrial and art spaces.