The garden at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has been transformed into a maze-like series of open-air passageways, corridors and rooms as part of the 2017 NGV Architecture Commission.
Designed by Retallack Thompson and Other Architects, Garden Wall comprises over 119 white walls clad in transparent woven mesh that, together, form 168 metres of passages. Located in the NGV’s Grollo Equiset Garden, the commission is a reinterpretation of the function of the wall within an architectural space.
“Shifting in nature from translucent to opaque, from ephemeral to monolithic, the wall recedes into the background or commands attention depending on time of day, quality of light, movement of people or angle of view,” reads a statement from the architects.
Each of the rooms frame particular features found in the garden, including Henry Moore’s bronze sculpture Draped seated woman (1958).
“By enclosing certain parts of the garden and excluding others, extending pathways while complicating passage, Garden Wall provides an opening for discussing architecture’s political dimensions and the global proliferation of walls, borders and barriers,” say the architects.
The NGV Architecture Commission is an annual competition that asks architects to consider innovative ways to activate the NGV’s Grollo Equiset Garden with a work of temporary architecture. Last year’s commission was a bright pink reinvented car wash installation, designed by M@ Studio.
As part of the inaugural NGV Triennial, the 2017 commission will be open until 15 April 2018.
