A forest of periscopes for the NGV.
In 2017 we were one of five firms shortlisted for the National Gallery of Victoria's annual Architecture Commission - a competition that invites architects to propose a temporary intervention in the Grollo Equiset Garden at NGV International. Our proposal, Up Periscope!, took as its starting point the physical, sensory experience of being inside a gallery - the cool splash from the Waterwall, the strain of the ears to overhear another visitor, the craning of the neck to take in the stained glass ceiling - and asked whether those bodily moments of connection could be amplified rather than left to chance.
The result was a dense cluster of periscope-like tubes positioned throughout the courtyard, drawing visitors in to listen, peek, sneak, sit and explore. Each tube was capped with a different lens, inspired by Leonard French's stained glass ceiling inside the gallery, and fitted with viewfinders broadcasting looped, edited and surveillance footage from elsewhere in the NGV - the entry hall, the back of house, the quiet galleries. Sound artist Simon Maisch developed a soundscape woven through the structure, drawing on the murmurs and acoustics of the gallery itself. The periscopes connected the inside of the building to the outside, and gave visitors a new way to experience both.
Made to be made.
The structure was conceived to be both playful and buildable. The tubes were prefabricated rotomoulded plastic - 100% Australian-made, 100% recyclable, and a by-product of the gas industry - selected for their seamless cast, translucent waxy character and ability to integrate lighting throughout. Water ballast inside each tube held the structure in place, using the rotomoulding technology itself as the foundation system and avoiding any need to penetrate the existing bluestone. A blue outdoor carpet flowed across the ground plane, giving the impression of periscopes peeking out of the ocean and concealing the AV, electrical and irrigation services beneath.
The one that got away.
The proposal was developed in close collaboration with our nominated contractor, fabricator, structural engineers, sound artist and lighting designer - a small consortium brought together to test the design against real construction costs and methodologies. Up Periscope! was not built, but the project remains one we are fond of for what it demonstrated: a way of working that pulls collaborators in early, treats budget as a design driver, and sees a temporary installation as an opportunity for serious thinking rather than a side project.
