d+a | Issue 128 • 2023

27 section perspective The project rises 20m from the Sydney Harbour to the Art Gallery road where the original building is situated. Three limestone-clad art pavilions trace the topography, gently stepping down towards the water. The structures are made from 250m of rammed earth wall spread over two levels with material sourced from across New South Wales. ebb and flow A civic plaza (the Welcome Plaza) connects the original building and the new buildings’ Entrance Pavilion. This outdoor area, sheltered by a wavy roof made from 108 sheets of foam-cast glass, is where many activities can spill, and where visitors and school groups can gather and meet. Inspired by the waves at the harbour, the sinuous roof was in-laid with ceramic fritting that informs the shadows based on the changing light quality. Past the Entrance Pavilion is an atrium, which is an important point of distribution to various other spaces. Like the curving lines of the site, the designed pathways are experienced as organic trajectories. The internal art experience starts with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander gallery at the entrance level, where a glazed wall facing the original historic building and a window with a view to the harbour remind visitors of the setting. +16.43 -2.50 (SEAWATEREQUIPMENT) +0.00 +4.50 (LL3) +3.50 (MANEOUVREAREA) +9.70 (LL2) +16.00 (LL1) +22.40 (LL0) +1.35 (LL4) 5894 +16.465 +16.58 +16.43 +9.70 +16.00 +9.70 +1.15 +16.72 (Facing page from top) A roof terrace outside the Entry Pavilion; Installation of Francis Upritchard’s ‘Here Comes Everybody’ 2022 in the Entry Plaza, sheltered under an awning of corrugated glass. (Above) One of the interstitial spaces featuring works by (left to right) Ugo Rondinone, Frank Stellaand Sol LeWitt. Photo by Zan Wimberley project name Sydney Modern location Sydney building area 40,000 sqm (Art Gallery after expansion) year of completion December 2022 architect/design firm Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA executive architect Architectus, Sydney, Australia contractor/builder Richard Crookes Constructions landscape architect McGregor Coxall and Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN)