VEIL ON THE EDGE

shortlisted competition entry for temporary garden pavilion

in collaboration with Louise Allen
2022, NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA ARCHITECTURE COMMISSION

https://architectureau.com/articles/shortlist-revealed-2022-ngv-architecture-commission/

The year past is the year of being locked down, distanced from the natural and the wilderness. A glimpse to the outside, we feel the need to escape, to an oasis. The site harbours a secret garden, one designed for the public but towering above, inward facing and perhaps exclusive. We seek to foreshadow this boundary in accentuating this threshold.

Hovering above the street, the continuous billowing veil of the curtain signals the edge between the city and the rooftop garden behind, invoking curiosity from street passersby. In the discovery of the garden, the veil twists into a long gallery suspended above the existing landscape, immersing participants in heightened experiences, of tree canopies, the sky and the planted ground.

We know we are not alone, yonder past the memory of the curtain, the facet of the domestic interior, the threshold between the isolated apartment and the wider city as we gaze beyond – that veil on the edge.