The 2018 NGV Architecture Commission by Melbourne architecture practice MUIR and landscape architecture studio OPENWORK has commenced installation in advance of its public unveiling this November at the NGV International. Entitled Doubleground, the winning proposal for the fourth annual competition is a collaboration between the two practices, inspired by key architectural elements of Sir Roy Grounds’s iconic NGV International building in the year of the building’s fiftieth anniversary.

Doubleground will transform the NGV’s Grollo Equiset Garden with a site-specific work of temporary architecture by literally raising sections of the landscape and creating chasm-like passageways for visitors to explore between the tilted embankments.  Architect Amy Muir’s design drew on memories of visiting the NGV as a young child to create a digital collage that uses architectural components from NGV International for the design blueprint.

Including a canyon-like corridor, which references the triangular patterns of the NGV’s façade and glass wall of the Great Hall, the installation will also feature a decking area that recalls Grounds’s timber design for the Gallery foyer and a bamboo garden inspired by the building’s original Bamboo Court courtyard.