[VIS] Adelaide Contemporary Art Gallery - Designs on Page 6

[Pants]

And the designs are in...

Adjaye Associates and BVN:









BIG and JPE Design Studio:









David Chipperfield Architects and SJB Architects:









HASSELL and SO-IL:









Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot:









Khai Liew, Office of Ryue Nishizawa and Durbach Block Jaggers:









From The Advertiser:

Six finalists revealed after international competition to design a world-class art gallery for the old RAH site


ROOFTOP lawns, a “mythical primal house” and a brown timber building are among six concept designs for a world-class cultural institution at North Tce’s old Royal Adelaide Hospital site.

The Advertiser can reveal the shortlisted designs for an international competition, commissioned by the former Labor government, for reader voting ahead of their public display from Monday and judging by an eminent jury.

Premier Steven Marshall says he wants to create on the 7ha old RAH site “one of the most significant new arts and cultural destinations of 21st century Australia”.

The Liberals took a policy to the March state election of creating a National Gallery for Aboriginal Art and Culture on the North Tce site, so have continued Labor’s design competition for an Adelaide Contemporary Gallery.

It is understood the competition winner will be considered as the design for the Aboriginal Art and Culture Gallery, given this will contain some contemporary indigenous art, along with designs released when the Liberals unveiled their plan in February.

The building will form the centrepiece of the Marshall government’s vision for the precinct as a new cultural landmark, showcasing the Aboriginal cultural collections held at places including the South Australian Museum.

“Our plan will provide a national focal point for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and cultures, as well as new spaces for major exhibitions, and the opportunity to unlock the hidden treasures of South Australia’s cultural institutions,” Mr Marshall said.

“This truly unique and groundbreaking precinct is destined to become a beacon of artistic, cultural and architectural excellence internationally, as a culmination of the long-held plans of the South Australian Museum and the Art Gallery of South Australia to better showcase their collections.

“The precinct is envisaged as an important economic driver for tourism and business investment, creating new jobs and inspiring spin-off business initiatives.”

The Liberal policy also includes a Contemporary Gallery but the priority is for the Aboriginal Art and Cultural Gallery.

The six short-listed teams include groups from countries including Denmark, the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, along with Australian partners.

The competition jury includes former Australia Council general manager Michael Lynch, former Santos chief David Knox, Harvard University Graduate School of Design architectural Professor Toshiko Mori and Art Gallery of South Australia chairwoman Tracey Whiting.

3D concept models will be on public display at the Art Gallery from Monday and the winning design will be decided by the jury when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Liberal plans for the old RAH site also involve an international centre for tourism, hospitality and food services, along with an innovation incubator and start-up hub.

THE SIX CONTENDERS

Adjaye Associates (London) and BVN (Sydney): Building is conceived as a “mythical primal house”, featuring a grand atrium surrounded by balconies and rooms which “connect with framed views towards ritualised landscapes and distant Kaurna dreaming tracks”.

BIG — Bjarke Ingels Group (Copenhagen) and JPE Design Studio (Adelaide): “A seamless merging between the city and the garden with a diversity of pragmatic yet exciting spaces ... experienced in the ebbs and flows of hard and soft-scape on its rooftops”.

David Chipperfield Architects (London) and SJB Architects (Sydney): “A timber structure forms three linear, staggered bars that, together with the landscape, both mediate and link city and garden”.

HASSELL (Melbourne) and SO-IL (New York): “Through sensitivity and lightness, the building will restore the parkland to a state of balance between nature, art and people.”

Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York) and Woods Bagot (Adelaide): “A flexible matrix of unique but interconnected gallery spaces ... Bisecting the galleries, a radically welcoming super lobby links the city to the gardens and art to the world”.

Khai Liew (Adelaide), Office of Ryue Nishizawa (Tokyo) and Durbach Block Jaggers (Sydney): A large roof to create a comfortable, shaded place, with “openness on all sides so breeze and nature flow through”. Designed as a place “where people gather and spend time, meet art and use freely as they imagine”.

A DECADE OF INDECISION

June 2007: New hospital announced for corner of North Tce and Port Rd. Then health minister John Hill says a large chunk of the old RAH site is likely to be handed to the Botanic Garden.

December 2013: Slash architects is selected as the winner of state government design competition with a site concept that features a school, student accommodation, gallery and open space. Also short-listed were a series of unique and bizarre plans, including artificial mountains and wetlands.

February 2014: In the shadow of an election, the Liberals propose to keep much of the site as a private hospital. Labor pledges that, if returned, it will use the old RAH site to build a new public high school.

June 2015: Labor backflips on the school promise, relocating it.

October 2016: Then-premier Jay Weatherill announces plans for “thousands of jobs” and “an estimated $7.5 billion of economic activity” in a deal to develop the site with Commercial and General. The plan includes more botanic gardens, university space, a hotel and 1200 private apartments.

September 2017: Then-Labor state government will manage the redevelopment after C & G deal falls through.

February 2018: Ahead of winning March state election, Liberals release old RAH policy, including plans for a National Gallery for Aboriginal Art and Culture.

[SRW]

At first glance, BIG/JPE wins for me. All the rest are pretty straightforward monolithic civic buildings you'd expect to find in any city of the world. BIG/JPE's most responds to and interacts with the site of the Botanic Gardens. It's also experiential. I see most potential for it to become a 'must see' destination.

[Pikey]

BIG/JPE by the length of the back straight. Hell, the length of the entire circuit.

It's the most landmark design of the them all, Adjaye Associates and BVN a distant second, the remainders are very underwhelming.

[Pants]

I’m a bit surprised at how underwhelming they all are. They’re good enough, but I thought we were looking for a Bilbao-type put-Adelaide-on-the-map landmark here, which people would want to visit just to see the outside, let alone what art’s on display.

It might look like a glorified Pizza Hut, but I actually really like the Adjaye and BVN entry. Not for a landmark building though. Adjaye’s Ghana Museum on Slavery would actually be a better fit:



I agree that BIG and JPE is the best of the lot and has the most potential, but while it might win the competition, I think the prospects of the final built-form looking like this are fairly remote due to the change in brief for the building. I imagine that if the focus is now going to be on aboriginal art, they’ll go for something with earthier tones, rather than something which integrates the surrounding green, as nice as it is.

[rev]

The JPE design, but even that could be improved.

[Outsider]

The Bjarke Ingels proposal strongly recalls their unbuilt design for a museum of the human body in Montpelier, from a few years back.

https://www.dezeen.com/2013/11/20/the-m ... dy-by-big/

[how good is he]

Agree the best is BIG/JPE. With this one you could also incorporate the sculpture park on the rooftop lawns as you walk along the roof-top path. The original Labour/C&G proposal was also a good design (which hasn’t been shown). It looked like a suspended light box floating above North Tce. I think it also had a large underground area to maximise the collection of art that could be displayed while minimising the visual impact and footprint of the structure.
Is it clear what the Liberals position is on a new contemporary art gallery? They want a National Aboriginal gallery but is a contemporary one likely to be combined with this, built separate from it or built at all?

[Algernon]

Another vote for the BIG/JPE here, but the Pizza Hut is also quite good.

The Chipperfield/SJB looks like some doctor's house on Grand Designs Australia and needs a fire.

[GrowAdelaide]

BIG/JPE - it's an "I wanna go there!" design

[Nort]

BIG/JPE is the best of the bunch, but I also feel like it might be a bit underwhelming from ground level. That first shot from the air looks amazing but hardly anyone will ever actually get that view.

[Nathan]

I think it's important to have a look at the models and see more detail than a couple of renders each before making any calls. The experience of moving through the interior spaces of the gallery is hugely important, perhaps moreso than external appearances. I certainly want to see more of the Khai Liew/Ryue Nishizawa entry — I've been to a few galleries designed by Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA, and they've all been incredible spaces inside.

[[Shuz]]

TBH I prefer the Adjaye Associates and BVN design. The built form appears to provide amazing viewing experiences inside, whilst still being sympathetic, yet modern and a landmark design compared to the rest of the old RAH site. The use of materials and colours is a winner too.

[Waewick]

TBH I prefer the Adjaye Associates and BVN design. The built form appears to provide amazing viewing experiences inside, whilst still being sympathetic, yet modern and a landmark design compared to the rest of the old RAH site. The use of materials and colours is a winner too.

I'm with you on that one, I also likes the Khai Lew proposition as well.

[Jaymz]

Yep, another vote for the BIG/JPE design here.

I like the greenery and the way it blends into the surrounds, while also being an interesting looking building at the same time.

[CDJ]

Another vote for BIG/JPE - miles ahead of the others. Dare I say it could have a bit more height to it to give more visual impact But incredible design anyway. I find all of the others a bit underwhelming.