Tokyo-based SANAA has designed a new addition to the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) in Sydney. As the firm's first building in Australia, the project will transform the flagship art museum and connect through an outdoor public art garden overlooking Sydney Harbor. The new building is designed to contrast the Gallery’s 19th-century neo-classical building as a light, transparent and open addition.
Dubbed the Sydney Modern Project, the $344 million (AUD) transformation includes the development of SANAA's new standalone building. The project aims to give prominence to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, as well as revitalizing the Gallery’s existing building. Doubling AGNSW’s total exhibition space, SANAA’s building responds to the site’s topography with a series of pavilions that cascade down towards Woolloomooloo Bay.
The building will feature galleries specifically designed to accommodate art of the 21st century. Works by Indigenous artists will be part of the entry in a dedicated gallery, and the project is made to celebrate both Australia’s heritage and its emerging contemporary culture. The new building will also include a large underground art space repurposed from a decommissioned WWII naval oil tank to display large-scale contemporary works.
Kazuyo Sejima, co-founder of SANAA, said, “It has been a wonderful honor to design such an important public building in Sydney with Michael Brand and his team. We hope the Sydney Modern Project will be a special place for visitors to experience the shared joy of art and ideas in this unique and beautiful setting. This is our first building in Australia, and we are delighted it is being realized.”
Sydney Modern Project is being delivered by Infrastructure NSW on behalf of the Gallery and the NSW Government, while Richard Crookes Constructions is the building contractor. Construction is currently underway and scheduled for completion in late 2022.
News via Art Gallery of New South Wales
