Northern Territory Government, Department of Infrastructure, Planning & Logistics (DIPL)
Concept Design for Various Major NT Art Galleries
Rossi Architects were engaged by DIPL to develop several early concepts for both a new art gallery for Darwin and a new National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs. The concepts were developed to test and compare the feasibility of the various locations proposed.
Working closely with DIPL we developed aspirational design concepts for a new major gallery on Herbert Street and at an alternate location on Civic Park to assist in building momentum to get these projects off the ground.
Key to the designs of both projects was the consideration of the climatic conditions and broader contexts of the sites. The concept design for the National Aboriginal Art Gallery was developed to give priority to the ANZAC Oval adjacent and to take consideration of Alice Springs’ extreme weather.
The Darwin art gallery concept utilised large tropical vine screens to provide shade, amenity and to blur the line between the surrounding landscape and the gallery itself. Key to the design was also the consideration of access from all sides in a way that still provided a formal sense of entry, fitting for Darwin’s premier art gallery.