The NGV Contemporary Design competition called for a landmark building that delivers best-in-practice gallery design.
The universal concepts of Time Gravity Light are embedded in all aspects of our design vision and have informed the way we have shaped and moulded the building and spaces within. These three concepts are all interconnected in the universe. Gravity warps and ripples in space and time, allowing for our day/night cycle, curved starlight, the orbit of celestial objects, and even time travel. Light travels through the fabric of space and time and can be warped and curved when influenced by massive objects.
Expand ContentThe concept is inspired by the sedimentary build-up of the earth, its layers and compression over time by gravity. The form we proposed was sliced to create a layered stratum of gallery floors. The building skin was wrapped, bent and folded to draw the Melbourne light into the building’s interior spaces while offering unique views of the Arts Precinct, city and gardens beyond. The circulation experience was designed in four-dimensions: to emphasize the feeling of movement, changes in time and the seasons felt throughout the building. The shimmering outer surface of iridescent glazed ceramic tiles is evocative of freshwater middens.
The Arrival Gallery would be the new living room of Melbourne. This vast hybrid public space is suitable for international events and artworks of varied scales. Open on three sides, a unique structural solution characterises the expansive column-free room, with mezzanines and balconies at upper levels. The visitor has an intuitive experience circulating between the Arrivals Gallery, large column free galleries, smaller galleries of different heights and characters.
Our NGVC was conceived to maximise flexibility and allow for multiple configurations, with mezzanines that offer different vantagepoints for the public. These mezzanines, easily concealable, offers a secure and safe “behind the scenes” experience during every stage of the exhibition, an opportunity for the gallery to reveal its operations as a dynamic and engaging cultural vessel.
Our shortlisted proposal is the result of a collaboration between Bates Smart and Smart Design Studio, together with studioplusthree, Taylor Cullity Lethlean, engineering firms Arup and Eckersley O’Callaghan and Studio Ongarato.
