Home Property Australia ‘Intimate intensity’: Investa and Gwynvill recognised for best public art project

‘Intimate intensity’: Investa and Gwynvill recognised for best public art project

  • October 04, 2022
  • by Property Australia

Vault of Heaven & Seeds of Cosmos, the centrepieces of Sixty Martin Place in Sydney, has won top honours in Australia’s most prestigious property awards.

The inaugural Rider Levett Bucknall Award for Best Public Art Project recognises the creation of beautiful spaces through artworks and installations.

Owners Investa and Gwynvill commissioned two artworks from acclaimed Australian artist Lindy Lee in celebration of the building’s prominent address and award-winning architecture. Lee’s artworks, ‘Vault of Heaven’ and ‘Seeds of Cosmos,’ evoke the drama and grandeur of the foyer at Sixty Martin Place.

The sculptures were created to honour Martin Place’s municipal and ceremonial significance as a cultural gathering place. The works also enhance the premium building’s attributes and have a relationship to the historic St. Stephens church next door.

The artworks were created to represent the concept of a forum or medium for open sharing of ideas. The pieces are intended to attract visitors inside on a journey through the space, directing them to the lobby’s ‘Civic Room,’ a common area for gathering, discussion, and debate.

Lee is a Chinese-Australian artist who has had several national and international exhibitions. Ms Lee’s work focuses on humanity’s close interaction with nature and the universe, as well as the interconnectedness of the material and the metaphysical.

The ‘Vault of Heaven’, a 17-meter-high artwork within the Civic Room, is linked to the stained-glass windows of St Stephen’s Church.

60MP Lindy Lee A18I6209‘Vault of Heaven’ artwork

The ‘Seeds of the Cosmos’ installation is a collection of ovoid sculptural shapes positioned near the Martin Place building entrance. Each piece in the series is patterned by perforated interconnected concentric circles and comes in a variety of sizes.

60MP Lindy Lee A18I6180Lindy Lee with their ‘Seeds of the Cosmos’ artwork 

The RLB Prize for Best Public Art Project dates to 1991, when Adrian Mauriks received the inaugural award for his bronze sculpture, Aspiration, from the Property Council, RLB, and the Art Gallery of NSW.

RLB NSW Managing Director Stephen Mee said this award “recognises the role of art to tell stories of place, to create destinations, emotional connections and meeting places”.

“2022 marks the award’s revival, as we remake our cities in a post-pandemic world. We are looking for fresh perspectives to attract people to physical spaces and art shows us that our buildings can be canvases upon which we create new economic and social value,” Mee said.