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The compound-curve foyer wall at Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) was made with custom-fabricated timber veneer panels, a tailored fixing system and panel sizes thin and small enough to follow a surface that bends vertically and horizontally. The result is a double-storey lining that reads as a continuous warm timber surface while also using perforated panels to help control reverberation in the lofty foyer. It was one detail within a larger adaptive-reuse project by NBRS that joined two locally heritage-listed buildings to a new exhibition wing.
This is an architectural case study, not a consumer DIY method. The available project descriptions document the products and fabrication decisions used at MAMA, but they do not establish a universal bending recipe, a retail kit or comparative test results for other buildings.
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What was the MAMA compound curve, and why did it matter?
MAMA’s foyer contains a wall that curves in both directions at once. In geometric terms, it is a compound curve: the surface changes vertically as it rises and horizontally as it sweeps through the plan. A flat sheet can follow a single radius with relative ease; a double-curved surface introduces changing angles, torsion and compound joints that must be coordinated across the entire wall.
The museum describes the feature as a double-storey wall whose lining had to twist with the foyer. Its architecture account identifies concept timber veneer systems from SUPAWOOD—SUPALINE and SUPACOUSTIC—as suitable because they could be fabricated to twist and follow the geometry. The supplier’s project case study gives the more specific description: the twist was based on a segment of a sphere, so the wall curved both vertically and horizontally. MAMA’s architecture overview independently confirms the double-direction curve and the named panel systems, while SUPAWOOD’s case study explains the fabrication and fixing approach.
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The practical significance is that the curve was solved as a coordinated lining system rather than by forcing a conventional flat panel to an irregular substrate. Panel dimensions, flexibility, joints, attachment points, perforation pattern and finish all had to work together.
How did the redevelopment set up the curved foyer?
The foyer was part of a major expansion and refurbishment, not an isolated interior fit-out. MAMA retained and renovated the 1907 Town Hall and 1860 Burrows House, both identified by the museum as locally heritage-listed, then connected them and extended the complex toward QEII Square. The museum reports that the footprint grew from 832 square metres to 2,036 square metres and gives the redevelopment cost as $10.5 million. Those figures come from MAMA’s undated architecture page, so the cost should be read as the project figure stated by the museum rather than a current estimate.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsNBRS and Partners designed the redevelopment and Zauner Construction built it, according to MAMA. NBRS’s own project description identifies a new two-storey rear addition for major touring exhibitions and a curved foyer linking the older buildings. The foyer therefore performs several jobs at once: it is a circulation space, a visual transition between old and new fabric, and the first acoustic volume visitors encounter.
Published gallery counts are not identical. MAMA describes four separate gallery spaces over two levels, while NBRS refers to exhibitions across eight gallery spaces. The sources do not explain whether this reflects different counting categories or project descriptions, so neither number should be treated as a definitive total without qualification.
What was the documented construction strategy?
SUPAWOOD reports that the installation team customized the fixing system for the spherical compound geometry. Rather than relying on a single large, rigid sheet, it used smaller, thinner panels where necessary to achieve a smooth visual sweep. Dividing the surface into manageable pieces reduces the amount of twist demanded of each panel and gives the installer more control over alignment, joints and tolerances.
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The approach can be understood as a sequence of coordinated decisions:
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- Model the surface. The wall’s changing vertical and horizontal curvature must be defined before panel fabrication. A spherical segment is not equivalent to a simple cylindrical radius.
- Develop the fixing system. Attachment points and support rails need to accommodate the changing orientation of each panel while maintaining a consistent face line.
- Break the skin into panel fields. Smaller, thinner pieces can distribute the twist and make transitions less abrupt. Their joint layout becomes part of the visual design.
- Fabricate panels to the required curvature. The project account says panels were curved where required rather than bent generically on site.
- Coordinate finish and pattern. Perforated and smooth panels were combined so the joints and perforation fields read as an intentional composition.
These steps describe what the supplier says happened at MAMA; they are not a guaranteed method for another project. Substrate stiffness, moisture, fire requirements, support conditions, access and the exact curvature would change the engineering and fabrication solution.
Which panels were used on the foyer wall?
The primary lining was perforated SUPACOUSTIC, supplemented by smooth SUPALINE panels. SUPAWOOD describes the smooth panels as occasional inserts that created a decorative chequered pattern within the larger field of perforated surfaces. The warm timber appearance came from a Fusion Maple finish.
The perforations were not merely decorative. The supplier says they were used mainly in the high, open foyer to help address reverberation. A tall hard-surfaced volume can produce long decay and distracting reflections; perforated wood panels can contribute absorption when their construction, backing cavity and acoustic specification are designed for that purpose. The project description does not publish a measured reverberation time, absorption coefficient or post-occupancy test, so the acoustic benefit should be reported as the design intent and supplier-described function, not as a quantified performance result.
The alternating smooth and perforated fields also gave the designers a way to balance visual continuity with acoustic treatment. A fully perforated wall might have read as overly technical, while a completely smooth timber skin would provide fewer opportunities for absorption. At MAMA, the pattern, finish and perforation strategy were developed together with the compound geometry.
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Where else did the timber system appear?
SUPAWOOD’s case study says SUPACOUSTIC panels were also used on ceilings in other parts of the museum. In the gallery shop, white panels were selected to increase reflected light, while Fusion Maple panels continued onto shop walls. In the café, Spotted Gum ceiling panels were intended to soften reverberation and visually lower the ceiling.
The case study also reports that the panelling was supplied with a fire-retardant MDF substrate and describes low formaldehyde emissions and low-VOC finishes. Those are supplier-reported project specifications. They should not be confused with independent testing of the completed installation, and a comparable project would still need to verify the applicable code classifications, certificates and documentation for its own jurisdiction and assembly.
How did the curved foyer relate to the heritage buildings?
The design challenge was not simply to make a dramatic wall. The new foyer had to mediate between retained civic buildings and a contemporary extension. MAMA identifies the Town Hall and Burrows House as locally heritage-listed and dates them to 1907 and 1860 respectively. The museum reproduces the NSW Heritage Council’s description of the Town Hall as “an exuberantly-designed town hall and chambers in Edwardian Baroque style with a profusion of painted stucco relief work,” including its pediment, gable, shingled tower, iron lace platform, chimneys, cupolas and lantern roof ventilators. That description concerns the historic Town Hall, not the new curved lining.
Against that ornate background, the foyer’s restrained timber surface provides a contemporary connective element. Its continuous sweep can make circulation legible without imitating the historic ornament. At the same time, the use of a warm veneer and a repeated panel rhythm gives the large addition a material relationship to the older buildings rather than presenting a purely industrial interior.
Heritage coordination would have involved more than visual judgment. Survey accuracy, interfaces with retained fabric, protection of significant surfaces, reversibility and the location of new fixings all matter. The cited project descriptions do not disclose the detailed heritage-approval process or fixing locations, so those aspects should not be inferred beyond the documented fact that the historic buildings were retained and connected to the extension.
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What should architects specify when a wall has a compound curve?
A project team facing a similar condition can use MAMA as a set of questions rather than a plug-in specification.
- Define the geometry early. Confirm whether the surface is cylindrical, conical, spherical or free-form, and establish tolerances before panel shop drawings begin.
- Choose a panel strategy that accepts the geometry. Ask the manufacturer what curvature can be fabricated, what minimum panel size is practical and where joints must fall.
- Design the support and fixing system with the skin. A panel may be flexible enough to curve but still require a precisely aligned subframe. Allow for adjustment, access and movement.
- Resolve the joint pattern as architecture. On a compound curve, joints can reveal errors or become a deliberate grid. Coordinate them with doors, services, lighting and changes between perforated and smooth fields.
- Set acoustic targets separately from appearance. Specify the required reverberation or absorption performance, backing construction and maintenance access rather than assuming that perforations alone solve the room acoustics.
- Document fire and emissions requirements. Confirm the substrate, finish, reaction-to-fire classification and emissions documentation for the complete assembly, not just a sample veneer.
- Coordinate heritage interfaces. Record where new rails and anchors meet retained fabric, and obtain the approvals required for the building and conservation status.
- Plan fabrication logistics. Large, curved components may be difficult to transport through an existing building. Smaller modules can ease handling but increase the number of joints and installation checks.
These are general design considerations derived from the issues visible in the MAMA account. They are not claims that alternative systems were tested or rejected on this project; the available evidence documents one selected approach.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about the project timeline?
The earlier gallery closed for redevelopment in 2014. MAMA’s history page records the redeveloped museum opening on 2 October 2015. That sequence places the compound-curve foyer within a relatively concentrated refurbishment and extension program that had to coordinate heritage work, new construction, gallery fit-out and public reopening.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The timeline also helps explain why the foyer detail matters. It was delivered as part of an operational museum project with a defined opening date, not as a later decorative upgrade. The wall had to meet the visual, acoustic and code requirements of a public cultural building while fitting into the construction program for the entire complex.
What does this case study prove—and what does it not prove?
It demonstrates that a compound, double-storey gallery wall can be realized with fabricated timber veneer panels when geometry, panel segmentation and fixing design are developed together. It also shows how perforated and smooth surfaces can share one visual language while supporting different acoustic and lighting intentions in adjacent spaces.
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It does not establish a universal bending technique, a standard cost per square metre, a measured acoustic improvement or a maintenance life for the panels. Nor does it provide enough information to reproduce the wall from photographs alone. The documented evidence comes from MAMA’s project information, NBRS’s description and SUPAWOOD’s supplier case study; detailed shop drawings, structural calculations and independent performance reports are not included.
For architects and clients, the transferable lesson is therefore process-oriented: treat the compound curve as a coordinated building-system problem. Lock down the digital geometry, select a fabricator capable of producing the required twist, design the subframe and joints around that geometry, and verify acoustic, fire, emissions and heritage requirements before fabrication.
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Why is the MAMA foyer significant as an adaptive-reuse detail?
The wall makes a technically difficult transition visible to visitors without turning it into a spectacle detached from the building’s purpose. MAMA’s redevelopment more than doubled the reported floor area while retaining two historic structures and adding space for major exhibitions. The curved foyer is the connective tissue between those conditions: old and new, low and high volumes, circulation and gathering, visual warmth and acoustic control.
That combination is why the detail is useful as an architectural reference. Its value is not a promise that one branded panel can solve every curved wall. It is an example of how a project team can use custom fabrication, controlled panel subdivision and material variation to make a complex geometry serve heritage, visitor experience and building performance at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a compound-curve timber wall be built from standard flat sheets?
Not reliably without a project-specific fabrication and support strategy. The MAMA account describes panels curved where required, a customized fixing system and smaller, thinner pieces; it does not describe simply forcing standard flat sheets into shape.
Does perforated timber automatically improve gallery acoustics?
No. Perforations can contribute to absorption when paired with the right backing cavity, substrate and room design, but the completed assembly must be specified and verified for the required acoustic performance. MAMA’s published case study gives design intent, not independent reverberation measurements.
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Was the MAMA foyer lining installed on a heritage wall?
The project retained and connected the heritage-listed Town Hall and Burrows House, but the cited descriptions do not identify every fixing location or state that the curved lining was attached directly to historic fabric. Detailed interfaces would need to be confirmed in the project documentation.
When did the redeveloped Murray Art Museum Albury open?
MAMA’s history page gives 2 October 2015 as the opening date after the earlier gallery closed for redevelopment in 2014. The work included refurbishment, a new extension and the interior fit-out described in the project case studies.
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