© Leo Showell
What is architecturally adequate for a building intended to memorialise the atrocities of the Nazi regime? For the Melbourne Holocaust Museum in the suburb of Elsternwick, Kerstin Thompson Architects chose light as the central motif of their design: Light as a symbol of education and understanding for a new building open to hundreds of annually visiting school groups. The exterior only reveals this at a second glance: An historic bay window and an arched doorway with fixed glazing near the building corner are the only larger openings along the street facade. The remaining surface consists of a patchwork of grey brick and glass brick arranged in different masonry bonds.