National Gallery of Australia Sculpture Garden

The two-stage competition will select a design team to revitalise the 3ha landscaped garden which surrounds the National Gallery of Australia and is one of the country’s largest and most distinct sculpture gardens.

The $60 million project aims to deliver an ‘innovative new public place for ‘experiencing art, education, cultural and social events, while respecting the garden’s original design intent and heritage values.’

National Gallery director Nick Mitzevich said: ‘The National Sculpture Garden is a major part of the National Gallery identity and a treasured site for many of our visitors.

‘Considered a striking example of Australian landscape design, the original design was never fully completed and has not seen significant investment over many years. We are launching this major project to revitalise and bring the garden into the 21st Century.’

Completed in 1982, the National Gallery of Australia is a large 23,000m² Brutalist complex designed by Edwards Madigan Torzillo and Partners and located on a prominent waterfront site close to the Capital Hill.

The museum overlooking Lake Burley Griffin is surrounded by the Harry Howard and Associates-designed 1981 National Sculpture Garden which features a series of ‘outside rooms’ plantings showcasing a series of sculptures made by Australian and international artists including Antony Gormley (pictured) and Emile Bourdelle.

The latest competition seeks ‘unique and imaginative’ conceptual designs to create a new resilient landscape designed to mitigate climate change and enhance the site’s existing mature trees and other plantings. Proposals will be expected to consider ‘sustainability, accessibility and embedding First Nations principles.’

Judges will include Mitzevich; Barkandji artist, curator and writer Nici Cumpston; the Chilean landscape architect Teresa Moller; and Philip Goad, chair of architecture at the Melbourne School of Design at the University of Melbourne.

Shortlisted teams, due to be announced in June, will be invited to further develop their concepts between and an overall winner will be announced in October.