Dangrove by Tzannes

Built on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation

Alexandria, New South Wales

Jury citation A private art storage facility in an inner-city Sydney suburb, Dangrove constitutes a masterful arrangement of sublime spatial sequences. This exquisitely robust space is industrious and functional at the ground level and transitions to a series of connected curation and evaluation spaces on the upper level.

The arrival and procession through the building is an experience of immense theatre.

Designed to house an expanding and internationally significant contemporary Chinese art collection, the interior of this state-of-the-art facility is formed through the combination of muscular and controlled formalism, and a calm and ordered material palette. It deftly and expertly blends pragmatic storage, technical facilities, and exhibition and event spaces.

A hierarchy of experiences has been created by these spaces, their interrelationships and the dramatic use of filtered natural light. Every aspect of the interior has been considered as a space of beauty, regardless of its role. Details are extraordinarily precise, creating a space that is technically and functionally flexible.

This is an interior that is designed to serve its current use explicitly; however, it will easily adapt for public use should the opportunity arise in the future.

— Dangrove will be reviewed by Laura Harding in a future issue of Architecture Australia.

Architect Tzannes; Project team Alec Tzannes, Chi Melhem (project directors), Jonathan Evans (sustainable design and design review), George Korban (project architect), Neil Haybittel, Derek Chin, Luke Novotny (architects), William Blake, Lily Tandeani, Tony Lam (designers), Kate Nason, Sarah Reid (graduates of architecture), Elanor Hyland-Falle (lighting and furnishings); Acoustic consultant Acoustic Studio; Builder Infinity; Building surveyor SDN Land Surveyors; Electrical, ESD, lighting, mechanical and services consultant Steensen Varming; BCA consultant Philip Chun; Facade consultant Surface Design; Flood assessment WMA Water; Fire consultant Red Fire Engineers; Hydraulic consultant Warren Smith and Partners; Landscape consultant Oculus; Life cycle analysis The Footprint Company; Quantity surveyor Bylett and Associates; Engineer TTW; Town planner BBC Consulting Planners; Traffic consultant Thompson Stanbury Associates