Construction begins on Melbourne Recital Centre’s new rooftop venue The Beacon

Construction has begun on Melbourne Recital Centre’s new rooftop venue, The Peter and Ruth McMullin Beacon, marking the next stage in the Southbank institution’s expansion and adding another performance space to the fast-changing Melbourne Arts Precinct.

The new venue, first announced in 2024, is being created at the top of the Melbourne Recital Centre building on Sturt St and will transform what the organisation describes as a previously underused upper level into a publicly accessible performance and events space with sweeping views across the city skyline.

Backed by a $2 million investment, comprising a $1 million contribution from the Victorian Government and a matched $1 million philanthropic gift from Peter and Ruth McMullin, The Beacon is intended to broaden the centre’s programming and audience reach beyond its two existing venues, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall and Primrose Potter Salon.

Melbourne Recital Centre chief executive Sandra Willis said the start of construction was an important milestone in the project’s evolution.

“The Peter and Ruth McMullin Beacon began as a vision – a belief that this building had another extraordinary space to offer – and to see it now under construction is genuinely thrilling,” she said.

Ms Willis said the new venue would offer something quite different from the centre’s existing auditoriums, which are better known for formal and acoustically refined listening experiences.

“Where our two existing venues – Elisabeth Murdoch Hall and the Primrose Potter Salon – invite deep listening and contemplative experience, The Beacon is something altogether different – vibrant, electric, intimate,” she said. “Artists and audiences side by side, above the city, in a space that is as much about joy and connection as it is about music.”

As previously reported by Southbank News, the venue is being delivered amid the wider Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation and was originally pitched as a way of unlocking the latent potential of the building’s rooftop. At the time, the Recital Centre said the project would become a “transformative” new public arts space and an additional drawcard for music lovers and visitors to the precinct.

The Beacon is expected to host a mix of cabaret, musical theatre, jazz, First Nations storytelling, curated cultural events and community programming. It will also be available for private functions including receptions and corporate events.

For Peter and Ruth McMullin, whose names the venue will carry, the project is also about supporting Melbourne’s broader cultural life.

“Throughout our lives, music has been a powerful source of connection and inspiration,” they said. “We are delighted to see The Beacon move into construction and are excited by the opportunities it will create for artists, audiences and the wider community.”

Creative Industries Minister Colin Brooks said the development would reinforce Melbourne’s reputation as a live music capital. “The Peter and Ruth McMullin Beacon will add a compelling new dimension to that offering – enhancing the visitor experience while contributing to the vibrancy of Victoria’s creative sector,” he said.

Construction is scheduled to be completed in the coming months, with the official opening planned for mid-year. •