Hunt launched for Adelaide Contemporary architect

An international design competition has been launched for a new art gallery in Adelaide, South Australia.

It comes four years after a previous ideas competition for the site was won by Slash Architects from the neighbouring state of Victoria. The practice won AUS$200,000, but its proposal got no further.

The new two-stage competition is looking to find an architect-led team for the building which will go on the former Royal Adelaide Hospital site on the city’s North Terrace boulevard near the botanic garden and Art Gallery of South Australia.

The Adelaide Contemporary International Design Competition, run by Malcolm Reading Consultants, is open to international practices, with a requirement that they team up with Australian firms at stage two.

Up to six teams which make it to the second round will receive an honorarium of AUS$90,000.

Proposals must combine a contemporary art gallery with a public sculpture park and an accessible meeting place, combing art, education, nature and people.

The former Royal Adelaide Hospital site is slated to undergo a transformation into a mixed-use urban quarter, led by Renewal SA, the Government of South Australia’s regeneration agency.

The Adelaide Contemporary is a key element in the emerging vision. Sited on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people, it will place Aboriginal art and culture “in conversation with” work from European and Asian cultures.

Jay Weatherill, Premier of South Australia and Minister for the Arts, said: “The global search for a high-calibre, innovative design team to drive this project forward is an exciting first step in a cultural project that aspires to transform the way we look at ourselves.

“The resulting design concept will form the basis for a business case to government on the future of an inspiring arts and cultural project to enliven the east end of Adelaide and integrate the former Royal Adelaide Hospital with the Botanic Garden.”

The core scheme is approximately 15,000sq m, but will need to be scalable and it must exemplify sustainable principles.

The deadline for the first round is November 24. Entrants must provide information on their company, proposed team composition and relevant experience as well as project understanding and approach.

The jury will be chaired by arts administrator Michael Lynch, former boss of Sydney Opera House, London’s Southbank Centre and the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.

More details here.