Garden Island Contemporary

GARDEN ISLAND CONTEMPORARY 3 Cowper Wharf Roadway, 2023

Coco Xing from (Delos, Coco & Zexun)

Studio 3: Gadigal Contemporary

INDEX

Index Project statement Organisational chart Exhibitions timeline Site plan Main entrance view Ground floor plan Typical plan WIP plan Rooftop Plan Model image I Longitudinal section Short sections Elevation Model image II Dome insertion detail Façade detail Façade axonometric Theatre image Fragment axonometric I Fragment axonometric II Pergola Image Postscript

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pag. 2 pag. 3 pag. 4 pag. 5 pag. 6 pag. 7 pag. 8 pag. 9 pag. 10 pag. 11 pag. 12 pag. 13 pag. 14 pag. 15 pag. 16 pag. 17 pag. 18 pag. 19 pag. 20 pag. 21 pag. 22 pag. 23 pag. 24

PROJECT STATEMENT

When Anne D’Harnoncourt was director of the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, she insisted on making art museums a civil place. Not dissimilar to Gadigal Contemporary, we recognize the museum as a place of gathering that inspires and engages wider community through interdisciplinary collaboration in curatorial practices. This is realized through connecting a constellation of curators and artists within and beyond the scope of localism, whilst also challenging John Andrew’s utilitarian straitjacket in his architecture.

to react, build on, critique, reiterate, rethink, redefine, deconstruct, investigate, interrogate and eventually, come up with something different that enrich and broaden the discourses on their precedents. This is perhaps not dissimilar to MuHKA’s approach to “to look beyond traditional media”, and, through the power of digitization, to “exchange” and “transfer” embodied knowledge between different artistic or social disciplines.

This reactionary exhibition scheme challenged the split-level parking scheme, immediately addressing a change from the utilitarian vehicular occupancy to human-scale occupancy.

It is most directly reflected in the sectional conditions of the retrofitted museum – as a subtractive strategy to define the new section over the decorum of the old parking structure, the cutaways of the floor slabs staggered in a terraced progression across each floor, creating spaces that are similar in volume but different in spatial qualities. To challenge Andrew’s ‘unfinished’ envelope, we decided to create an explicit dialogue between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’.

For us, it represents the voice of the collectives rather than the voice of individual directorship or compartmentalized sectors. It strips-back cumbersome hierarchy and distills the minimal structure a contemporary museum needs to run effectively as an institution. It’s all about collaboration and balanced views, between exhibition and the space, curators and artists, artists and the public audience.

Garden Island Contemporary (GIC) is the name we gave to our institution, it hints at an unapologetic and almost immediate transition by taking over the title of a naval colonial gesture (Garden Island Parking) – now a museum dedicated to house only temporary exhibitions – dialectical in nature, GIC operates on the basis of periodic rotation and builds on Boris Groys’ concept in gradual accumulation of art projects overtime — we envisioned a sequence of continuous reactionary exhibitions between diverse groups of creators, commissioned and curated by the museum, spanning over a five-year period thematically titled ‘Nostalgia: Past, Present, Future’. Split into 10 six-months sessions, each consisting of 6 interdisciplinary creators addressing the overarching theme with their own creative mediums and specializations. This forms the foundation - a series of creative works, including but not limited to sculptures, performances, audio-visual displays, poetry, calligraphy, paintings…etc. that ultimately pose the titles, or, questions - for the next group of creators

We might have transformed Andrew’s ‘never-finished’ raw structure, maybe we manifested a discourse that is unprecedented in the realm of curatorial practice and exhibitions; or perhaps none of these, we just took over a naval possession, a military fortress occupied by the state authority, and turned it to a nice place for the public. It seems that we’ve done so little that it is indifferent to its old apparel, but in fact, vastly different.

-- We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather today. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and connections to the lands and waters.

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ORGANISATIONAL CHART Assistant to Director

Ateliers and public workshop

Artist Atelier Coordinator Public workshop Coordinator

Associate director Curators (tenure)

Exhibitions

Curators (collaborated) Artists Presentation Officer Educational Program Consultant

Outreach and Inquiry Program Consultant Archivist and researchers

Library and Archives Department General & Artistic Director

Library and resource specialist Documentalist Head of Research Registrar

Administrative Support The Theatre

Film Operator Performances Programmator

Project Manager Presentations Exhibition and Production

Technical Project Manager Presentations Production & Exhibitions Coordinator

Collections & Research Department Coordinator Communication & Marketing

Digital communication and contents

Museum Operations

Press Officer Graphic Designer Web Content Specialist Analyst Facilitating and Maintenance Department

Business Support

Public Relations and Fundraising employee HR officer Accountant Business Development IT Support Logistics and Hospitality

Event officer Amenities Manager Food and Beverage

One director, a small group of specialized curators and a dedicated team we to back the technical With Gadigal operation Contemporary, wish up to emphasize theand the administration We built with 39 people collective identity ofneeds. the museum asaateam constellation of distributed across 5 departments in a largely horizontal curators and artists/we recognizes the museum as a microstructure with minimum vertical hierarchy.

Both the community that inspires and empower wider community, departments have only 6to staff, yetindividual’s highly rather than drawing attention the streamlined practices of an specialized responsive in their designated directorship or and seriously compartmentalized sector.roles.

It stripsback cumbersome hierarchy and distilled the minimal structure 4 a contemporary museum needs to run effectively as an

EXHIBITIONS TIMELINE

While the timeslip exhibits the initial plan for the first five years, for future operation, it could be a remastered exhibition loops or retooled with the same selections of artists, even a new collection of artists for next five year.

The idea was come from the biennale, but it is not same with biennale.

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SITE PLAN

As the original building is situated in a location of significant military relevance site and facing the sea with its back to the cliffs, which is long and narrow from south to north. Two buildings are independent and closely connected by a central footbridge and a park on the rooftop. Also, the top floor serves as a park connecting the neighbourhoods on the cliffs.

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MAIN ENTRANCE VIEW

The central ramp is wrapped by a light steel octagonal extension, further pronounced by the presence of the new ETFE dome facing the street – together with the operable awnings and glass panels on the western facade. The huge rock placed to notify the passenger and show where is the main entrance.

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GROUND FLOOR PLAN New Demolished Existing

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1. Main entrance 2. Main Lobby 3. Exhibition 4. Theatre 5. Library entrance 6. Circulation ramp 7. Auxiliary 8. Back of house

The strategy of plan making is to keep the looseness in the centre of each building, which is the exhibition area. And increase the functional tensity in the end of two buildings.

It creates a clear function distribution and aligenment once the vistor enter the building. Where come from the main entrance could take the same repetition of route order of a lobby, exhibition and amenitites.

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TYPICAL PLAN New Demolished Existing

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2.

1. Library 2. Workshop

At the southern end, it is formalized as a cylinder volumetrically, a protruded balcony and a series of railed curtains complete the gestalt of a circle spatially – this is the library/theater space which transcends into an amphitheater on the roof. At the northern end, the old ramp has been reused as a workshop which could be independent or connected to the museum part.

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WIP PLAN New Demolished Existing

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1. Library Office 2. Museum Office 3. Cafe & Bistro 4. Back of house

The rooftop of the north building is redefined by this double-heighted pergola — semi-enclosed by polycarbonate roofing and slim sliding screens abutting the slim truss frames that lightly span across the heaviness of Andrew’s concrete bays — creating a dialogue that is obviously new vs. old, light top vs. heavy bottom. Wherea the office has been palced on the south.

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ROOFTOP PLAN New Demolished Existing

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1. Amphitheatre 2. Roof-top garden

The rooftop garden maintains the original garden setup and the opportunity to the neighbour. The new addtions to the rooftop is the amphithatre which continues the language of the library insertion underneath. The path has been changed to suit the current situation. The elevator could be used during operating hours.

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MODEL IMAGE I

The added translucent lift shafts twinning the original fire stairs become the inverted reciprocal of the ‘light top, heavy bottom’ image of the building, establishing a transversal relationship between what has been “introduced” to the building and what the building once was.

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LONGITUDINAL SECTION New Demolished Existing

The northern end formalized as a large, accentuated pitched roof suddenly joining an array of portal frame trusses sharing the same structural language that appears in the under insertion. The demolishing of the original floor plate forms a laddered double height spaces in each buildings to create spacious area.

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SHORT SECTIONS New Demolished Existing

South building

North building

The baseball field fence like framework enclosed the amiphitheatre area and extruted from the rooftop to emphasize the insertion. The continuation of the trussed roof from the pitched roof in north building has minimised and smoothed out the original height difference between the north and south buildings.

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ELEVATION New Demolished Existing

The facade changes differentiate the functions inside. The wavy fences for rooftop garden contrast to the bracing of pergola. the empetiness of some bays on the ground floor emphasizes insertion and entrances. The obvious extrusion of insertions work as the anchor points of the whole building.

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MODEL IMAGE II

While the library insertion has a soft boundary inside of the building, the outstanding part become the strongest presence to show the strategy. The extened balcony allows the metal meshed curtain to be the significant notice to the users where is the library entrance. The semi-circle shaped stand work as the background of the stage on the rooftop’s amphitheatre .

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DOME INSERTION DETAIL 1 2 3

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1. White ETFE Roofing 2. Steel dome arch bolted to tension ring 3. Steel tension ring 4. Customised curved sliding glass panel 5. Steel meshed balustrade 6. Grated metal flooring 7. Reinforced concrete floor slab 8. Steel flooring frame bolted to I beam 9. Steel column 10. Steel tensile 17

FAÇADE DETAIL 1 10.700

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3 4

8.100

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6 5.500

7 8

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2.920

1. 1° Slope grind on existing concrete 2. Awning rail bolted on existing concrete edge 3. Canvas awning 4. Fence string 5. Curtain string, support bolted on I beam lintle 6. Awning support, bolted on existing concrete slab 7. Cable management shelf 8. I beam lintle bolted on existing concrete beam 9. Double glazed sliging door 10. Gutter 18

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FAÇADE AXONOMETRIC New Demolished 1

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1. Exhaust pipe 2. Sliding window 3. Steel mesh balustrade 4. Cut on existing floor 5. Wires collector/Lighting 6. Spotlights hanger 7. Balustrade bolted to concrete 8. Curtain 9. Sliding door 10. Awning 19

Existing

THEATRE IMAGE

The theatre belongs to the library, which is the place to spreads the museum’s values. It has the flexibilities of arrangements. Double height brings lots of opportunities.

It may be a lecture to hold a talk or speech, a cinema for selected movies or documentaries, a stage for shows, even a open space for celebrations.

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FRAGMENTS AXONOMETRIC I New Insertion Existing

The northern end insertion is anchored by a series of light timber studs composing a quadrilateral with one wedge protruded out as a balcony to the cliff side. The reason why we called it an auxiliary is because as a insertion, it appears on every floor, but the functionality could be ambiguity while in use. It may be a shop, a temporary office or even a pop-up store for specific exhibitions.

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FRAGMENTS AXONOMETRIC II New Insertion Existing

This is proprietary insertion for the exhibition areas. The connection stage between two split level may not exists on every floor, but it could be a selection to stand out the current exhbition. It works as a stage, even seatings for medias. The pipe goes through the exhibition areas from the bottom to the top insert the collection of the new cables may need for the museum.

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PERGOLA IMAGE

The pergola works as a greenhouse to hold the final exhibitions, or permanant collections. It has its openess, lightness and brightness that is different to the other exhibitions spaces. The amiguity of shading system may be vague, but it provides opportunities response different climate and lighting conditions.

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POSTSCRIPT

While we are designing this project, I am always asking myself, what could we provide to the curators and visitors via architecture. When I read through Anne D’Harnoncourt’s article during the research stage, she said architecture itself brings the limitation of spaces for curations and exhibitions. Architects can’t anticipate future art or future collections either. Build a museum and there it is, it’s impossible to ask for indefinite flexibility either too costly or always unsatisfactory.

It looks we create too much ambiguity and vagueness in the design decisions that we made, but always, I believe the ‘almost’ could bring more opportunities and flexibilities. This scale of building is a big challenge for us and also it is the first time for us to deal with such a huge building, we probably only made a little step to push it further. We chose a conservative way to reform it, which we retain a lot, demolish less, and bring a few additions.

Perhaps that is why we could insert ambiguity to our projects to keep everything minimal and not exceeding, to answer Anne’s concerns.

If you ask me to redo this project again, will I choose an exactly different design strategy to the current one. I may say yes or no. Because ambiguity for me could make life better, just like someone who usually need to wear glasses with mild myopia, take off the glasses and walk on the street to see the world in a blurry way. It brings confidence from the unclear future.

Again, the answer to the question is always has its uncertainty. And the part in uncertain will always help us to improve.

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GARDEN ISLAND CONTEMPORARY Coco Xing & Delos He & Zexun Li Guillermo Fernandez-Abascal

Studio 3: Gadigal Contemporary