Victoria Police Museum

The new Victoria Police Museum aimed to grow visitation by leveraging its proximity to nearby tourist hubs. Situated on the ground level of the Victoria Police Centre, a 39-storey office building, there were operational and design challenges in transforming a foyer space, not designed to house an exhibition, into a top-tier museum. Restrictions were placed on anchoring into the floor, and the 10-meter walls were predominantly glazed. The nature of the location posed additional security challenges to overcome, all while maintaining a friendly and inviting design that would feel like a museum and inspire people to explore the stories within.

Thylacine collaborated closely with the Museum team and Police stakeholders to create an accessible and engaging experience. Due to structural and spatial limitations free-standing joinery was largely used, and creative displays, like hanging banners and a wall display of police bikes, maximised the space’s height. We consulted ballistic specialists to ensure the main wall could withstand shooting attacks while maintaining display opportunities. Despite Covid lockdowns, we worked closely with media, lighting, and installation partners to ensure there was an effective and collaborative understanding of creative vision. The result was a bold, contemporary, and visually striking museum design.

Victoria Police have a nationally significant collection, including Australia’s largest collection of Kelly Gang armour and the car used in the 1986 Russell Street bombing. The design elevates this collection thoughtfully, tackling any limitations of the pre-existing space to create an exciting space for the public to explore and a cultural space that Victoria Police feel is their own, to hold the stories that are important to them, honouring the victims of crime and the difficult work police do. The feedback from the client and community has been overwhelmingly positive, with 20,000 visits during the first year of re-opening.

Dramatic overhead banners, an intriguing journey, unique interactives and thoughtful collection display sets this exhibition apart. A designated landing point threshold orients visitors upon arrival, before they begin exploring. Overhead banners suspended from the high ceilings help with navigation and provide atmospheric markers for the content below. These backdrops bring focus to key stories and provide a powerful canvas to showcase archival images from the collection. Using the unique space available, a dramatic display of police motorbikes race down a wall and a bomb-detecting robot crawls across a slanting surface. Break-out zones offer the visitor further themes to explore and dive deeper into the stories, enhanced by a series of mechanical and digital interactives to let visitors try their hand at police and forensics techniques. At the heart of the museum is a “Remembrance” area, set apart from the other exhibits, using tonal compositions and atmospheric lighting to offer a place for reflection and commemoration. As the museum is part of a bigger Police precinct, staff and visitor security was an additional consideration. Working with security experts, we embedded passive security measures into the design that met practical requirements without making the exhibition feel like a daunting high-security space.