Overview
If dropping by your local car wash makes you want to unleash your inner kidult, then you'd better get yourself to the National Gallery of Victoria's Grollo Equiset Garden from October 14. That's when M@ STUDIO Architects will be setting up a pretend car wash, which you'll be welcome to treat as one giant playground. Their brilliant idea is called Haven't you always wanted...?, it's the winner of the 2016 NGV Architecture Commission — and it's free to check out.
You'll be able to find your fun easily — just look out for the old-school, glittering sign. Head inside to discover a true-to-size car wash replica, based on an actual existing one in Blackburn. But you can forget your run-of-the-mill cement and nasty fluoro lights. Instead, you'll be surrounded by walls of cricket netting, looking up at a pretty translucent ceiling, frolicking in bright pink AstroTurf and kicking back on rubber speed bumps.
There'll be five 'bays' altogether, two hung with red plastic curtains and one equipped with a mist diffuser. So, though you probably won't be able to go for an all-out water fight, you won't escape totally dry (should that be your car wash wish). Plus, at night, the whole scene will light up, letting you have nocturnal adventures galore.
To celebrate this epic creation, the NGV is organising a slew of events. In what seems similar to the Queen Victoria Gardens' MPavilion, this outdoor structure will host talks, live music and performances over both spring and summer. But, if you're not in the mood for shows, you can head along to hang out with friends anytime.
"We are thrilled to be selected as the winner of the 2016 NGV Architecture Commission," said M@ STUDIO Architects. "Open competitions such as this provide a vital platform for architects to experiment and facilitate public discourse around the broader ideas that motivate the specific design explorations."
The annual NGV Architecture Commission invites architects to come up with clever, clever installation ideas for the Grollo Equiset Garden. Entries are judged for their originality, their new ideas concerning architecture and design, and their innovation in material use, fabrication, sustainability and recyclability.
Find Haven't you always wanted...? in the NGV Garden at NGV International from 14 October 2016 to April 2017. For more information, visit the NGV website.