Glimpsing the radical

As Professor Philip Goad made his way through the Gallery with fellow jurors Nici Cumpston OAM and Teresa Moller, he noticed glimpses of the National Sculpture Garden out of the windows: 'It might be a tall window or a horizontal panorama but these are fantastic moments. In old fashioned gallery design terms, windows are often used to overcome gallery fatigue. But I think in opening up some of these glimpses, Madigan [lead architect for National Gallery building] and his team really also understood the responsibility of the building to connect out into the larger landscape of Canberra.'

As Chair of Architecture at the University of Melbourne and a recognised authority on Australian architecture, Goad has a deep understanding of the significance of the Sculpture Garden in the context of the Gallery. A contributor to the Gallery’s recent 40th anniversary publication Vision: Art, Architecture and the National Gallery of Australia, Goad first visited as a student over 20 years ago. 'To be asked to help in choosing how to refresh and celebrate the Garden today has been a huge privilege,' he says. 'I was also part of the Brief Development Panel and I was brought in partly, I think, because I’d written on the building and Garden but also because I have an interest in twentieth century heritage as it applies to buildings and landscapes.'

The architectural significance of the Gallery is well-established but according to Goad it wasn’t love at first sight. 'I think now, 40 years on, people have come to love it but everyone fell in love with the Garden before they fell in love with the building. The Garden, when it opened, was so radically different. The idea of a coordinated use of First Nations planting in the national capital was unheard of then. Everyone loved the radical nature of the Garden more than the radical nature of the building.'

As the Garden has grown, so too has the respect for the building it surrounds and the opportunity to ‘complete’ the Garden and enhance what is already there strikes Goad as one of the most exciting and important parts of the project.

Goad acknowledges that while Harry Howard and his team had yet to develop a complete understanding of the diversity of Australian flora, the ‘story’ they gave the Garden has provided a fundamental structure on which to build further. 'I think that’s what CO-AP Holdings’ design does. It’s the next iterative step. We also know so much more about being on Country than we did forty years ago and that’s a huge positive too.'

In their presentation, the CO-AP Holdings team spoke of their connections to Canberra and the Garden and Goad was impressed by how fully committed they were to understanding what already existed, what they might improve and how they might gently enhance what is already there. 'But at the same time what they’re proposing is quite extraordinary because there is the introduction of a whole series of new landscapes and accompanying biodiversities, the introduction of an entirely new entry sequence, a whole new way to rethink the [staff] carpark, and a fantastic idea for a new pavilion in the garden. And it was all done with a very careful sense of modesty, even humility I’d suggest, and taking extreme care as they did it.'

Goad found CO-AP Holdings’ design proposal for the new pavilion and their material choices to be a particular revelation. 'Its roof is an incredibly large plane of polished stainless steel and it’s such a smart connection back to the existing building, without mimicking it. In heritage terms, you don’t want a replica, that’s not what being respectful is necessarily about,' he explains. The long-term sustainability of the stainless steel was important to Goad, who also noted its reflective quality.

'There is a dialogue, I think, between the pavilion’s design elements, the plants and the shape of their leaves, the marsh pond, the sky and the reflections offered by metal and water. The pavilion will by no means disappear because it will have a certain ethereal quality, a certain light. It’s a complete counter to the Gallery building, which is like a giant collection of massive stones or boulders.'

CO-AP Holdings’ understanding of the existing footprint of the building and the garden, like the proposed site for the pavilion, is also important to Goad. 'Again, in heritage terms, I think what they’ve done is take cues from the existing building and fragments in the landscape and gently enhance them.'

Transforming Parkes Place East into a paved plaza is another example of this approach. 'It’s such a simple gesture but it will transform this space. Traffic has always taken precedence and that was part of the time—the 60s and 70s were about circulation efficiencies and functional drop-offs. This proposal recognises that the front of the building can also be a landscape. The reflective pool is a fantastic addition too, because you’ll be able to see the reflections of the sculptures and the trees, but also the building itself.'

From a competition process perspective, what struck Goad about the winning scheme is that it demonstrates that you don’t always have to demolish something.

'We might be entering a different stage of thinking about care for buildings, care for Country, care in just being gentle in how we make change, and that can be exciting. It's so important for the Gallery to be seen to be leading that process too, so that it becomes a benchmark.'

In reflecting on his involvement in this process, Goad also notes the way the Gallery’s collection has also played its part. 'I think Australian artists have tried to understand [our connection to the landscape] for many years. First Nations artists have always known it well and artists like Fred Williams or Nicholas Harding, these great paintings that we saw during the competition process, you just feel that they all get it. The Gallery is in a unique position to show the imaginings of other people who have got it also—today—and the new Sculpture Garden will do the same.'

Further information on the National Gallery Sculpture Garden Design Competition is available here.