A new home for NORPA at The Joinery

Date: 04.02.2026
Filed under: Project

Choi Studio is proud to be working on a new home for Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA) - a not-for-profit organisation led by a small team of theatre professionals and supported by a generous community of volunteers and patrons.

The devastating 2022 floods saw NORPA’s previous home at Lismore City Hall inundated by two storeys of floodwater. In response, and in pursuit of a NORPA-owned presence in the heart of the Lismore CBD, the organisation has since purchased The Joinery, a historic joinery workshop with remarkable character and potential.

The design is a close collaboration between NORPA and Choi Studio. Photography by Kurt Petersen.

An engrossing look at the character of the space. Photography by Kurt Petersen.

Choi Studio and NORPA are now working together to reimagine the space as a flood-resilient, world’s best practice arts hub.

The project has developed as a close creative partnership, exploring bold possibilities in adaptive re-use while responding to the realities of climate, community and culture in the Northern Rivers.

We recently had photographer Clinton Weaver document the rich character of The Joinery as it stands today - capturing the texture, history and atmosphere of the existing buildings, while offering a glimpse of what is still to come.