Take a stroll along Southbank Boulevard and in the future, you’ll find NGV Contemporary. This mammoth museum will showcase contemporary art, design, fashion and architecture in the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. And now, we know a little bit more about what this stunning museum will look like. The winning design by Angelo Candalepas and Associates will include an expansive rooftop terrace, arched entries and 13, 000 square metres of display space.
NGV Contemporary
In the future, you’ll find this museum at 77 Southbank Boulevard, behind NGV International on St Kilda Road. It will have a year-round program of major contemporary exhibitions of global significance.
Step through the dramatic arched entries, and feel amazed by the spherical hall, which will stretch over 40 metres upwards, through all the levels of the building. In this colossal hall, you will see large-scale artworks, as well as a spiral pathway that will take you through the building.
Journey through the building’s levels, and emerge onto a spectacular rooftop terrace. In this space, there will be a sculpture garden, as well as stunning views of Melbourne’s CBD, the surrounding parklands, and the Yarra Ranges.
The sheer scale of NGV Contemporary will allow visitors to see larger art pieces that cannot be displayed at NGV International or the Ian Potter Centre. Expect international blockbuster exhibitions, thematic presentations, a café, education studios, a lecture theatre, artist studios and scientific laboratories for art conservation.
“Melbourne is the cultural capital of this nation and NGV Contemporary marks its next great offering to the world,” said Angelo Candalepas, principal of Candalepas and Associates. “This building will be a beacon of the culture of our time.”
The Future
The gallery will be set inside an expansive, 18 thousand square metre public garden about the size of the MCG. This public garden will stretch from NGV Contemporary in the south all the way up north to the Yarra River. You’ll find immersive gardens, integrated artworks, creative performances, retail, hospitality offerings and more in this new public space.
Meanwhile, the new gallery is expected to strengthen public interest in the arts. Before the pandemic, NGV had over three million visitors a year across its two locations. When NGV Contemporary is complete, they expect this number to increase to four million visitors.
NGV Contemporary is currently expected to open in 2028.