Cat Fiddle DigiGlass

Architects, designer and writer collaborate Hobart’s iconic Cat and Fiddle Arcade underwent a significant renovation in 2010–15. Our office was approached to Contract Manage, design & oversee works between 2012–2015. During this time our office designed artwork for the Elizabeth Street façade and entrance, to draw from collective memories of the shopping area and acknowledging contemporary businesses. The resulting large-scale Digiglass artwork (19 metres wide in places), was created using old photos, text, handwriting and images found primarily in the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office. Content and ideas were contributed by Cat and Fiddle Centre Management, the Centre’s owners Silverleaf Investments, architects Meyer Shircore and our own architects from BYA. The central creative team on the Digiglass component was Cathy McAuliffe and writer Chris Viney. The Process Working with a partially developed concept from Meyer Shircore, Cathy McAuliffe developed a solution using Digiglass, as it created a ‘fabric’ that wraps the Elizabeth Street Mall façade of the shopping arcade – incorporating 100 different panels of large glass featuring a large collection of historical photographs, organized into seven main stories about the building and surrounding area. A secondary theme of blue triangles runs throughout to represent Hobart’s Rivulet – a waterway that flows from kunanyi / Mount Wellington, underneath the Cat and Fiddle Arcade, and out to the River Derwent. The staff at Digiglass were a source of much valuable information and advice in the file building for this project. Further invaluable digital imaging assistance was contributed by Simon Olding.