AG-NSW - Sydney Modern

By way of explanation, I took all these photograps. Some are photos of photos and models in the "Sydney Modern" exhibition, currently at the AG-NSW. Photo 4 was from outside the existing gallery.

Enlarge this first image. It covers an entire wall in the exhibit. The existing gallery is on the left, in the centre, a pale grey. To its right , a pale yellow, is the proposed new wing. Note that this plan bestrides the Eastern Distributor (or Cahill Expressway). It is a bridge of land. When the Cahill expressway bulldozed through The Domain in the late '50s it permanent;y split Macquarie's "demesne" from his Botanic Gardens. So the greenery to the left of the expressway is The Domain. The greenery to the right of the expressway is The Royal Botanic Gardens. I have chosen a shot which shows both the harbour bridge and the opera house, up in the top, right-hand corner.

The two images above, are computer-generated, from the exhibition. On the left, we are looking north down Art Gallery Road, from outside the current building. On the right, we are looking south up Art Gallery Road, from the pedestrain-crossing currently leading to the Wooloomooloo Gates of the Botanic Gardens. It covers a massive space.

To take this, I was standing where the new wing will be. It is a lovely expanse of land overlooking the Finger Wharf and the Garden Island Dockyards.

In the exhibit, there are models of the successful "concept plan". The concept is akin to a work of art. The architects concerned being keen that the physical surroundings enhance the experience. The successful concept was subitted by SANAA, an architectural and design firm based in Tokyo, headed by Kazuyo Sejima (right) and Ryue Nishizawa (left), with three partners Yoshitaka Tanase, Yumiko Yamada and Rikiya Yamamoto. Sydney-based landscape architectural practice McGregor Coxall is working with the Art Gallery of NSW and architectural practice SANAA to develop the landscape design concept for the Sydney Modern Project. McGregor Coxall is also working on the transformation of the hot-house pyramid in The Botanic Gardens for its Bicentennary next year.

AG-NSW - Ancient & Modern

Long-time followers of this blog will know how much I treasure the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AG-NSW). How I get a shiver down my spine as I walk up the steps to the entrance, through this glorious non-Sydney foyer, and then into the fabulously low-ceilinged ground floor.

Well, all that is about to change. The AG-NSW is adding a new wing. The way in which I have written that sounds too plebian. The AG-NSW is reinventing itself, sounds more accurate. I am a bit anxious about this. Positive, but tremulous. Not that this is going to happen tomorrow. They have taken a year to invite a dozen architects from around the world to present a concept plan, and to choose the successful concept. This is quite speedy, I suspect. Now, the winning architectural practice has to submit detailed plans and costings.

Today, I am featuring the building that houses the gallery at the moment. This is not going to be touched ... well except for where the two morph into each other. The way patrons will PERCEIVE this original building will be dramatically altered. And much, today, is all in the perception. For some reason, this new venture is called "Sydney Modern". I suspect it to be named AFTER someone. Probably a beneficiary of the Gallery, as so many of their new installations are so named. Tomorrow, detail about this new "wing".