Adelaide’s Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre takes shape
Diller Scofidio and Renfro and Woods Bagot unveiled their design for the Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre in early 2021, drawing inspiration from temporary shelters known by various names such as “wurlie” and “humpy.” To be built on Kaurna land at the former Royal Adelaide Hospital site, the centre promises to be one of South Australia’s leading tourism attractions.
Woods Bagot principal Rosina Di Maria said the architecture would evoke a sense of welcome to all visitors, and particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from across Australia. “The Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre will be a place for all Australians to remember ourselves, to learn the truth telling of our past, and to re-imagine ourselves together to create new memories as a connected community,” she said.
The New York and local architecture practices are working in close collaboration with the Aboriginal Reference Group, comprising representatives from the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation, the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute and a range of other institutions. The project’s landscape architect, Oculus, is collaborating with Aboriginal landscape architect and visual artist Paul Herzich on a project where landscape and connection to Country are central.
A refined design with new outdoor galleries was submitted for planning approval in August. The final design calls for a building that “decisively originates from the earth with columns that appear to grow from out of the ground.”
