Six of the world's best architect teams will deliver their unique vision for Adelaide's North Terrace on Monday.

The results of the Adelaide Contemporary design competition will be unveiled at the Art Gallery of South Australia next week.

Just under five months ago – and a whole different government ago – six design teams were selected as finalists from 107 entrants (incorporating 525 individual firms from five continents) to proceed to the next round of the competition. 

Under the stewardship of competition organiser, Malcolm Reading Consultants each of the six teams have developed a vision for how a 15,000 square meter and 20,000 square meter cultural building should be conceived on the site of the former Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Lego Museum by Bjarke Ingels Group. Image: courtesy Malcolm Reading Consultants

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture by Adjaye Associates. Image: courtesy Malcolm Reading Consultants

Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Museum of Art by SO-IL. Image: courtesy Malcolm Reading Consultants

Detail of The Broad Museum by Diller Scofidio and Renfro. Image: Nick Felton

The six finalists will exhibit scale miniatures of their designs, alongside moving image or fly-throughs of their buildings as well as a comprehensive written statement about the intent and intended outcomes of their design on the cultural landscape of our city.

The culmination of this design competition presents a singular moment for Adelaide as the city and state considers what to do with the decommissioned hospital site.

Former director of the Art Gallery, Nick Mitzevich told ArchitectureAU back in December that the importance of this moment in our State’s history was at the forefront of the brief to the design teams.

“The six teams all showed a strong connection with Adelaide – and understood that our aim is not to create an off-the-peg architectural icon but a piece of Adelaide, an entity that will be sustainable and polymathic in the way it enhances the social, cultural and architectural fabric of the city.”

Access to view the competition is best achieved via North Terrace, through the Melrose Wing of the Gallery and descending the stairs at the Reko Rennie wall installation near the Colours of Impressionism pop-up shop.

The six design competition teams:

1. Adjaye Associates (UK) and BVN with Steensen Varming, McGregor Coxall, Barbara Flynn and Yvonne Koolmatrie
2. Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark) and JPE Design Studio with United Natures, Arketype and BuildSurv
   
3. David Chipperfield Architects (UK) and SJB Architects with Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture and Arup
   
4. Diller Scofidio and Renfro (USA) and Woods Bagot with Oculus, Pentagram, Katnich Dodd, Rider Levett Bucknall, Arup, WSP, Deloitte, Kaldor Public Art Projects, Klynton Wanganeen, James Sanders, Dustin Yellin, Right Angle Studio and Garry Stewart
   
5. Hassell and SO-IL (USA) with Fabio Ongarato Design, Mosbach Paysagistes and Fiona HallKhai Liew, Office of
6. Ryue Nishizawa (Japan) and Durbach Block Jaggers (Australia) with Masako Yamazaki, Mark Richardson, Arup and Irma Boom

Disclosure: Joshua Fanning is on the board of the Art Gallery of South Australia.