Adit: Discovering a New Gem Part 1 Project 2021 William Xie University of New South Wales | Australia Since Broken Hill's mineral reserves have diminished in the 1960's, the prosperity and energy of the now heritage-listed town has declined at an alarming rate. The proposal of a new regional library and public plaza seeks to revitalise the civic heart of this regional town to bring back the energy that gave the town its lustrous history.'Adit', a mining term, is the name for the horizontal opening of a mine where miners enter. The new regional library creates a new 'mine' for the people to discover the most precious gem in the town, the relationship of the deep earth and open sky to the community. The value of Broken Hill is defined by this relationship rather than the material wealth of the Line of Lode, the remnant of the existing mine. The 'Adit' of the new library is through the existing Town Hall fragment, erected at the beginning of the town's mining boom.The regional library and public plaza proposes that architecture has the power to evoke a strong sense of belonging to a community such that it can give new meaning to the town by establishing a place that is welcoming for all. Tutor(s) Brendan Randles