Top global architectural practices shortlisted for Adelaide Contemporary competition

Six of the world’s most adventurous international architecture firms - including the practice behind Denmark’s distinctive LEGO House - have been chosen as finalists to design the proposed Adelaide Contemporary art gallery.

With 107 teams made up of 525 individual firms from five continents having registered their interest in the first stage of the competition, the South Australian Government and competition organiser Malcolm Reading Consultants have announced the six shortlisted teams in the competition to design the new attraction.

The Adelaide Contemporary - conceived as a sister museum to the Art Gallery of South Australia - will include a 15,000 metre²contemporary art gallery, a public sculpture park and a meeting place for the city.

The competition brief required proposals that "integrate art, education, nature and people" and create an architectural landmark on the city’s North Terrace adjacent to the historic Botanic Garden.

The shortlisted teams were unanimously selected by a jury chaired by Michael Lynch, former Chief Executive of the Sydney Opera House. They each comprise a pairing of an international practice and an Australian practice as lead consultants:

• Adjaye Associates (UK) and BVN with Steensen Varming, McGregor Coxall, Barbara Flynn and Yvonne Koolmatrie
• Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark) and JPE Design Studio with United Natures, Arketype and BuildSurv
• David Chipperfield Architects (UK) and SJB Architects with Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture and Arup
• Diller Scofidio and Renfro (USA) and Woods Bagot with Oculus, Pentagram, Katnich Dodd, Rider Levett Bucknall, Arup, WSP, Deloitte, Kaldor Public Art Projects, Klynton Wanganeen, James Sanders, Dustin Yellin, Right Angle Studio and Garry Stewart
• Hassell and SO-IL (USA) with Fabio Ongarato Design, Mosbach Paysagistes and Fiona Hall
• Khai Liew, Office of Ryue Nishizawa (Japan) and Durbach Block Jaggers (Australia) with Masako Yamazaki, Mark Richardson, Arup and Irma Boom

The global call for interest was designed to encourage Australian as well as leading international practices, and a condition of the competition was that an Australian practice must be involved for stage two.

Commenting on the shortlist, Nick Mitzevich, Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia stated “this is an extraordinarily rich list of diverse creative partnerships of architects looking to complement their talents by working with both peers and smaller talented practices “The six teams all showed a strong connection with Adelaide – and understood that our aim is not to create an off-the-peg architectural icon but a piece of Adelaide, an entity that will be sustainable and polymathic in the way it enhances the social, cultural and architectural fabric of the city.”

Teams will now proceed to the second stage of the competition, when they will each receive a $90,000 honorarium to produce concept designs.

A site visit has been organised for January and concept designs will be revealed in a public exhibition in Adelaide and online in April 2018.

The jury will meet in May and a winner will be announced in June.

Competition Director Malcolm Reading advised “now we look to stage two of the competition and the brief for this unique art destination, which asks for a memorable building, physically and emotionally woven into the place and community.”

Finalists will now receive a further briefing and create concept designs that will be revealed to the public and stakeholders in an exhibition in April in Adelaide.

The competition jury will meet in May 2018 to make its final decision.

Images:  Bjarke Ingels Group's design for Denmark's Lego Museum (top, courtesy of Malcolm Reading Consultants) and an early concept for the Adelaide Contemporary art gallery (below).

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