Winning entry © Diller Scofidio Renfro

 

Diller Scofidio Renfro’s solid and compelling design for Adelaide’s new Museum of Contemporary Art prevailed over a strong field of five international teams. As a high-profile project, it could come as no surprise that the original RfQ drew 107 teams including over 500 firms—before the shortlisting process whittled a list of finalists down to six teams. This organization format occurred under the guidance of the professional adviser, Malcolm Reading Consultants.

 

All of the finalists had considerable experience in museum design; so this exercise would be interesting to see how much of each team’s history would appear in their final presentations. The size of the compensation package for each team—$80,000 upon design submission—although probably not sufficient to totally cover the cost of producing the required presentation materials, was certainly enough to guarantee a concerted effort by each team.

 

The shortlisted teams were:

 

Adjaye Associates and BVNwith McGregor Coxall, Steensen Varming, Plan A Consultants, Barbara Flynn, Yvonne Koolmatrie, Aurecon Group and Front Inc

BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and JPE Design Studiowith United Natures, Arketype, BuildSurv, Virtual Built, Future Urban Group, Lewis Yerloburka O’Brien, Marijana Tadic, Erica Green, Peter Dungey, Brian Parkes and Lindy Lee

David Chipperfield Architects and SJB Architectswith Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture and Arup Lighting

Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagotwith Oculus, Pentagram, Right Angle Studio, Klynton Wanganeen, Dustin Yellin, Studio Adrien Gardère, Australian Dance Theatre, Deloitte, Ekistics and Katnich Dodd

HASSELL and SO-ILwith Ali Cobby Eckermann, Arup, Australian Industrial Transformation Institute, Fabio Ongarato Design, Fiona Hall and Mosbach Paysagistes

Khai Liew, Office of Ryue Nishizawa and Durbach Block Jaggerswith Masako Yamazaki, Mark Richardson, Arup, Irma Boom, Taylor Cullity Lethlean and URPS

 

 

The composition of the jury was notable for its strong participation of local stakeholders. Only two international architects were impaneled, Toshiko Mori (Harvard GSD), and landscape architect, Walter Hood (Hood Design Studio, Oakland, California). The jury consisted of:

 

• Michael Lynch AO CBE (Chair),Chair, Sydney Community Foundation and Chair, Circa
• Lee-Ann Tjunypa Buckskin,Deputy Chair, Australia Council for the Arts, Managing Director, L-AB & Associates and Executive, Aboriginal Strategy, South Australian Film Corporation
• Beatrice Galilee,Daniel Brodsky Associate Curator of Architecture and Design, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• Walter Hood,Creative Director and Founder, Hood Design Studio
• David Knox,Deputy Chair, Economic Development Board of South Australia and Member, Adelaide Botanic Gardens Foundation Committee
• Toshiko Mori,Founder and Principal, Toshiko Mori Architect and Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design
• Lisa Slade,Assistant Director, Artistic Programs, Art Gallery of South Australia
• Sally Smart,Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne and renowned contemporary artist
• Tracey Whiting,Chair, Art Gallery of South Australia Board

 

 

The choice of the site was logical for such a program, as it was bordered on one side by the city, and on the other by the Botanic Garden. But to accommodate this strategy and free up the site, a large demolition program in two stages has to occur. The considerable expense this will entail only can attest to the importance which the City of Adelaide has placed on this project.

 

A general perusal of the entries indicates that the design strategies of the six firms had little in common with each other. And one wonders if the shortlisting process assumed this would be the case in the end. Without a jury report, but only a short summary about the winner, we cannot but imagine how the adjudication process might have evolved.

 

 

Winner

Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot with Oculus, Pentagram, Right Angle Studio, Klynton Wanganeen, Dustin Yellin, Studio Adrien Gardère, Australian Dance Theatre, Deloitte, Ekistics and Katnich Dodd

 

 

 
Images © Diller Scofidio Renfro

 

In a statement by the client, “The winning team’s concept design reconciled the brief for a dynamic people-friendly new place with a skilfully-organised gallery, while also incorporating a performance lab, a dramatic ‘Super Lobby’, floating top-floor sky galleries and a suspended rooftop garden. The garden, inspired by ‘Minkunthi’, the Kaurna word ‘to relax’, would display the planting of a pre-colonised South Australian landscape, linking the idea of the contemporary to Kaurna ecological and cultural history.”

 

The chip-like façade treatment, reminiscent of that used by architects such as Frank Gehry and others, is a successful tool for enlivening an extended surface of a foregound building. Moreover, the floating-like appearance of the structure produced by a platform, ostensibly supported by glass, serves as an open invitation to the public on all sides. They recognized all of the multi-functional programs that go into today’s modern museums and emphasized them accordingly. Organizationally, the building fulfilled the programmatic requirements logically, and all of these factors taken together no doubt led to the jury’s ultimate decision.

 

 

Finalist

Adjaye Associates and BVN with McGregor Coxall, Steensen Varming, Plan A Consultants, Barbara Flynn, Yvonne Koolmatrie, Aurecon Group and Front Inc.

 

 

Images © Adjaye Associates

 

Upon seeing David Adjaye’s Adelaide entry at first glance, his African American History Museum in Washington, DC had to come to mind. Here his envelope covering the top and sides gives more the impression of shelter than the extroverted look the community was probably looking for in this museum. Of special note were the openings punched in the façade, almost providing the impression of looking out through a picture frame to nature—an interesting approach from the inside. But some of the spaces, including the stairs in a large hall, seemed to remind one more of an older traditional museum, than would be a fit for a museum in the ‘contemporary’ genre.

 

 

Finalist

BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and JPE Design Studio with United Natures, Arketype, BuildSurv, Virtual Built, Future Urban Group, Lewis Yerloburka O’Brien, Marijana Tadic, Erica Green, Peter Dungey, Brian Parkes and Lindy Lee

 

 
Images © BIG

 

A little risky. That might be a summary of BIG’s strategy for this museum. What first came to mind was the smaller version of Steven Holl’s Kansas City Art Museum addition, with pavilions popping up out of the ground at different intervals. The emphasis was certainly on ‘green,’ as visitors and the local community were invited to stroll on the undulating rooftop of the museum. One downside of this strategy: one had to traverse the entire length of the facility to reach a destination, no matter how far removed that might be from the entrance.

 

 

Finalist

David Chipperfield Architects and SJB Architects with Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture and Arup Lighting

 

 

 

Images © David Chipperfield Architects

 

As can usually be anticipated, the David Chipperfield entry was very straightforward and easily readable. The very linear plan was somewhat reminiscent of Renzo Piano’s addition to the Chicago Art Institute. But here, it somehow seemed to lack the intimacy of the Chicago wing, at least in some of the renderings. And maybe the shed-like structure was what was rather surprising, and unanticipated here.

 

 

Finalist

HASSELL and SO-IL with Ali Cobby Eckermann, Arup, Australian Industrial Transformation Institute, Fabio Ongarato Design, Fiona Hall and Mosbach Paysagistes

 

 

Images © SO-IL

 

At first glance, at least from above, the Hassell/SO-IL entry seemed to have a lot of possibilities. For those familiar with Rafael Viñoly’s Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, this could have appeared to be a larger version of that museum. But instead of the interior atrium acting as a connecting point for the various galleries, we find the surrounding structures part of a progressing museum circulation plan, with only the entrance and exit attached to the atrium. Had this been able to go through design development, it could have been a serious contender.

 

 

Finalist

Khai Liew, Office of Ryue Nishizawa and Durbach Block Jaggers with Masako Yamazaki, Mark Richardson, Arup, Irma Boom, Taylor Cullity Lethlean and URPS

 

 

 

Images © Ryue Nishizawa

 

Aside from a few interesting touches, the Khai Liew/Ryue Nishizawa entry seemed to lack a formula for attracting the public on a consistant basis. The shelter like feature outside the entrance was not matched on the inside by a similar deft touch one might have anticipated. The long stairs works as a dated gesture, as did some of the other features, which tended toward brutalism. Had this been a design with the deft touch of a Tadao Ando, then it might have been taken more seriously.