An evocative reimagining of The Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang’s Temple of Boom is the NGV Architecture Commission for 2022, an annual series that invites Australian architects to create a work of site-specific, ephemeral architecture for the NGV Garden.

A global architectural icon, The Parthenon is an apex symbol of Western civilization, democracy and perfection. Temple of Boom celebrates these interpretations, while simultaneously expanding our understanding of the iconic Parthenon building and the enduring beauty it emanates.

Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang invite audiences to reflect on the conversations that are enabled when this ancient building is viewed in new and surprising contexts. In particular, the projects ask us to consider the effect of time on all architecture. Temple of Boom reflects the slow yet unstoppable processes of change that transform all cultural, geological and ecological systems. The geological forces that shape the world, layers that accumulate as cities grow over generations, the rise and fall of monuments set against a backdrop of social, political and cultural change.