Woods Bagot and Diller Scofidio + Renfro have just been announced as the winners of the international design competition for the cultural landmark destination, Adelaide Contemporary.
The Adelaide Contemporary International Design Competition was an open international two-stage design competition, with six design teams having been selected from 107 entries, with plans to develop a concept design for the new arts and cultural centre. Adelaide Contemporary has been articulated by South Australia Premier, Steven Marshall, as ‘a unique and ground-breaking precinct destined to become a beacon of artistic, cultural and architectural excellence internationally’.
The winning team’s concept proposal turned the brief for a dynamic people-friendly new place, right on its head. The winning concept design for Adelaide Contemporary included a skilfully-organised gallery incorporating a performance lab, a ‘Super Lobby’, a floating top-floor sky gallery and a suspended rooftop garden. The completed building is set to be a matrix of unique spaces welcomed by its gardens. The garden design itself was inspired by ‘Minkunthi’, the Kaurna word which meaning, ‘to relax’.
“The project will be uniquely Adelaide but with a global reach celebrating the city’s world-class cultural offerings,” Charles Renfro expressed, on behalf of the design partnership.
“From its vibrant festival scene to its diverse art collection distinguished by its outstanding holdings of Aboriginal work. Our approach will coalesce museum, city, and gardens into a new arts centre that welcomes everyone, that provides a curatorial toolbox which anticipates the future of culture,” Mr Renfro said. The nine-person international jury found that the concept resonated with Adelaide and its history of festival culture.
Adelaide Contemporary places the idea of the ‘contemporary’ within an expanded time frame, combining the rich history of Aboriginal culture with the breadth of the Art Gallery of South Australia’s collection. Nik Karalis, Woods Bagot’s Chief Executive Officer has also described the win as ‘immensely affirming’, particularly for the global studio which originally had its grounds in the city, nearly 150 years ago. Karalis described the strength of the design partnership ‘as the main factor in the quality of the winning design outcome’.
“Adelaide Contemporary will be a key cultural institution for the state of South Australia and we’re thrilled to bring this relationship to a project of such significance,” Mr Karalis said.
Combining curatorial experimentation with new modes of education anchored by the Gallery of Time, Adelaide Contemporary is set to be a cultural incubator for South Australia, and the rest of the world.