The design competition
An international competition jury unanimously selected SANAA following an Australian and international architectural design competition that commenced in September 2014.
The Sydney Modern Project design competition was a two-stage invitational process endorsed by the Australian Institute of Architects.
Twelve renowned Australian and international architectural practices were invited to submit ideas to create an architecturally ambitious, intelligent, sensitive, sustainable and highly functional design.
Stage 1 submissions were judged anonymously and five finalists were selected to proceed to Stage 2 of the competition. The jury selected SANAA as the preferred architects based on a high-level concept developed during Stage 2 of the competition.
Stage one shortlisted architects
Candalepas Associates – Sydney
David Chipperfield Architects – London
Fender Katsalidis – Melbourne
Herzog & de Meuron – Basel
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA – Tokyo
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Tokyo
Kerry Hill Architects – Singapore
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos – Madrid
RPBW (Renzo Piano Building Workshop) – Genoa
RMA Architects (Rahul Mehrotra Architects) – Mumbai
Sean Godsell Architects – Melbourne
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects – New York
Extracts from entries for stage one
Click on one of the small images to view a slideshow from the competition submissions
1/60
2/60
Candalepas Associates – Sydney
1 of 4
3/60
Candalepas Associates – Sydney
2 of 4
4/60
Candalepas Associates – Sydney
3 of 4
5/60
Candalepas Associates – Sydney
4 of 4
6/60
7/60
David Chipperfield Architects – London
1 of 4
8/60
David Chipperfield Architects – London
2 of 4
9/60
David Chipperfield Architects – London
3 of 4
10/60
David Chipperfield Architects – London
4 of 4
11/60
12/60
Fender Katsalidis – Melbourne
1 of 4
13/60
Fender Katsalidis – Melbourne
2 of 4
14/60
Fender Katsalidis – Melbourne
3 of 4
15/60
Fender Katsalidis – Melbourne
4 of 4
16/60
17/60
Herzog & de Meuron – Basel
1 of 4
18/60
Herzog & de Meuron – Basel
2 of 4
19/60
Herzog & de Meuron – Basel
3 of 4
20/60
Herzog & de Meuron – Basel
4 of 4
21/60
22/60
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA – Tokyo
1 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
23/60
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA – Tokyo
2 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
24/60
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA – Tokyo
3 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
25/60
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA – Tokyo
4 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
26/60
27/60
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Tokyo
1 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
28/60
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Tokyo
2 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
29/60
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Tokyo
3 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
30/60
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Tokyo
4 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
31/60
32/60
Kerry Hill Architects – Singapore
1 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
33/60
Kerry Hill Architects – Singapore
2 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
34/60
Kerry Hill Architects – Singapore
3 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
35/60
Kerry Hill Architects – Singapore
4 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
36/60
37/60
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos – Madrid
1 of 4
38/60
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos – Madrid
2 of 4
39/60
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos – Madrid
3 of 4
40/60
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos – Madrid
4 of 4
41/60
42/60
RPBW (Renzo Piano Building Workshop) – Genoa
1 of 4
43/60
RPBW (Renzo Piano Building Workshop) – Genoa
2 of 4
44/60
RPBW (Renzo Piano Building Workshop) – Genoa
3 of 4
45/60
RPBW (Renzo Piano Building Workshop) – Genoa
4 of 4
46/60
47/60
RMA Architects (Rahul Mehrotra Architects) – Mumbai
1 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
48/60
RMA Architects (Rahul Mehrotra Architects) – Mumbai
2 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
49/60
RMA Architects (Rahul Mehrotra Architects) – Mumbai
3 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
50/60
RMA Architects (Rahul Mehrotra Architects) – Mumbai
4 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
51/60
52/60
Sean Godsell Architects – Melbourne
1 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
53/60
Sean Godsell Architects – Melbourne
2 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
54/60
Sean Godsell Architects – Melbourne
3 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
55/60
Sean Godsell Architects – Melbourne
4 of 4
Selected for Stage 2
56/60
57/60
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects – New York
1 of 4
58/60
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects – New York
2 of 4
59/60
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects – New York
3 of 4
60/60
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects – New York
4 of 4
Stage two shortlisted architects
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA – Tokyo
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Tokyo and Paris
Kerry Hill Architects – Singapore and Perth
RMA Architects (Rahul Mehrotra Architects) – Mumbai and Boston
Sean Godsell Architects – Melbourne
Extracts from entries for stage two
Click on one of the small images to view a slideshow from the competition submissions
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA – Tokyo
1/8
2/8
3/8
4/8
5/8
6/8
7/8
8/8
Kengo Kuma & Associates – Tokyo and Paris
1/8
2/8
3/8
4/8
5/8
6/8
7/8
8/8
Kerry Hill Architects – Singapore and Perth
1/16
2/16
3/16
4/16
5/16
6/16
7/16
8/16
9/16
10/16
11/16
12/16
13/16
14/16
15/16
16/16
RMA Architects (Rahul Mehrotra Architects) – Mumbai and Boston
1/16
2/16
3/16
4/16
5/16
6/16
7/16
8/16
9/16
10/16
11/16
12/16
13/16
14/16
15/16
16/16
Sean Godsell Architects – Melbourne
1/8
2/8
3/8
4/8
5/8
6/8
7/8
8/8