Project Aspirations | Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation
Located at 77 Southbank Boulevard, Melbourne, NGV Contemporary will be dedicated to showcasing contemporary art, design, fashion and architecture of local, national and international significance.

PROJECT ASPIRATIONS

Rethinking how we engage with art

NGV Contemporary will be a place to explore new possibilities for the presentation and interpretation of art and design. It will celebrate what art and design can be, reward curiosity and open new ways of thinking about ourselves and the world in which we live.

Conversations and collaborations

NGV Contemporary will be a gallery that embraces change. It will take its lead from contemporary practitioners. It will be generative, dynamic and alive, rich with collaboration and encourage conversations to flow across boundaries as artists and designers respond to the world around them. The gallery will work with, and for, artists and designers, researchers, educators and students, government, industry bodies and the community.

Traditional Owners and First Nations Peoples

The NGV acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung People as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the NGV is built, and all First Nations Peoples living and working on this land. We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders – past, present and future.

The NGV is committed to engaging with the Traditional Owners of Southbank and First Nations Peoples working across the creative arts. Engagement with Traditional Owners and First Nations Peoples on the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is already underway.

From the intimate to the epic

NGV Contemporary’s primary function is to give people an extraordinary experience of contemporary art and design. Major exhibitions, large-scale commissions, thematic shows, collection displays and solo presentations will offer a wide range of experiences. It will be a place to discuss, debate and reveal contemporary issues. It should also uplift and inspire — even wow – from the moment visitors walk in the door.

A civic and social space for all

NGV Contemporary will be open, inclusive, active and create spaces for a profound civic life. It will be a place where the social character of cultural experience can happen and encourage audiences to recognise the vital part that art and design play in shaping the world.

Beyond galleries – education, hospitality, retail and more

NGV Contemporary will be a purpose-built home for Victoria’s growing collection of contemporary art and design, and will provide a generous and holistic gallery experience that encompasses hospitality, retail, learning, participation, social interaction and relaxation. NGV Contemporary will connect artists, designers and audiences in a dynamic and evolving dialogue, now and into the future.

Connected to the wider precinct

NGV Contemporary will be a new landmark for Melbourne, presenting an extraordinary opportunity to re-envision the ways in which the gallery connects to the wider Melbourne Arts Precinct. The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project will unite Melbourne’s creative heart, improve connections between Southbank and the city and increase visitation across the precinct. It is an opportunity for the precinct to come together into a dynamic whole – a long-held aspiration for this corner of the city.

Sustainability

As a gallery of the 21st century, NGV Contemporary will plan for a resource-constrained world and a changing climate. Material choice and smart systems that produce energy and conserve water will ensure the gallery is resilient and adaptive.

MELBOURNE ARTS PRECINCT TRANSFORMATION

The precinct and NGV’s enhanced presence

Melbourne Arts Precinct is home to one of the highest concentrations of arts, cultural and creative organisations anywhere in the world, and welcomes millions of visitors to more than 3000 performances and exhibitions each year.

The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is a city-shaping State government initiative that will cement Melbourne’s position as a global creative city, enhance our thriving creative and visitor economies, and benefit artists and creatives, visitors, residents and Melbourne’s international reputation. Exciting new attractions such as NGV Contemporary will drive further visitation to and engagement with the creative industries and cultural institutions.

A new garden for Melbourne

The cornerstone of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is an expansive 18,000 square metres of new elevated public gardens designed by Hassell (AUS) and SO – IL (USA), with horticulture and planting design experts James Hitchmough and Nigel Dunnett (UK).

From NGV Contemporary in the south to Birrarung (Yarra River) in the north, this new public space will bring the excitement, colour and inspiration from inside theatres and galleries into the outdoors. Immersive gardens with integrated artworks, creative activations and performance and gathering spaces will complement the precinct’s new and existing facilities and bring the new public spaces to life.

Further information on the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation click here

Competition Objectives | Competition Advisor | Jury | Delivery Agency

The competition is now closed

COMPETITION STRUCTURE

The NGV Contemporary Design Competition incorporated a two-part Expression of Interest (EoI) and a two-part design competition. Thirteen teams were longlisted to progress to EoI Part B, eight teams progressed to Stage One, and four teams participated in Stage Two.

Competitor teams participating in the second stage of the design competition undertook more fully developed design concepts. At the completion of the second stage the Jury provided their advice for Victoria Government consideration with a successful design team and preferred design announced in March 2022.

STAGE TWO SHORTLIST

023 John Wardle Architects
John Wardle Architects, OCULUS, Pierce Widera, Searle x Waldron Architecture, Greenshoot Consulting, Hecker Guthrie, Hodyl & Co, Atelier Ten, WSP, Steensen Varming, Fabio Ongarato Design, Phillip Chun, L’Observatoire International, Mott MacDonald

057 Field
Architectus, Edition Office, Durbach Block Jaggers, Openwork, Daniel Browning, Karen Milward, Lovell Chen, WSP, Finding Infinity, Surface Design, Speirs Major, Art Processors

066 Angelo Candalepas and Associates Pty Limited
Angelo Candalepas and Associates, Aspect Studios, Carr Interiors, Andy Fergus Design Strategy, BoardGrove Architects, Richard Stampton Architects, Steensen Varming, Mott MacDonald, TTW, Affinity Fire Engineering, Freeman Ryan Design, AX Interactive, Art of Fact

083 Open Weave
Grimshaw, Winwood Mckenzie, Baracco Wright, McGregor Coxall Australia, Foolscap, Relative Projects, 20-20 Studio, Flux Consultants, AECOM, Eckersley O’Callaghan, 2X4 Inc, Paul Memmott

TIMELINE

Design Competition Stage One closed on 12 August 2021
Design Competition Stage Two closed on 11 November 2021
NGV Contemporary design team announced in March 2022