The Victorian government has unveiled the designs for a new gallery which has been labelled Melbourne's answer to the Eiffel Tower.
The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Contemporary will be the gallery's third site and Australia's largest gallery.
The winning design was put forward by Angelo Candalepas and Associates.
It features 13,000 square metres of display space, and an expansive rooftop terrace with views of the Melbourne CBD.
"What we would like to do, is present to the world through the efforts of this great state, something that engages in the imagination … for the benefit of everyone in the world," Mr Candalepas said.
Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson called the design "iconic" and "breathtaking".
"This is going to be an absolute game changer for our state," he said.
"It's [going to] put us on the world map as being a destination for great creative and cultural events.
"As the Eiffel Tower is to Paris … National Gallery of Victoria Contemporary will be to Melbourne."
He said the state was forecasting about a million visitors a year, saying it would "drive incredible levels of visitation".
NGV director Tony Ellwood told ABC Radio Melbourne "infrastructure has held us back in this country, because we haven't had the right heights, we haven't had the right weight bearing loads – this building address all of that.
"We've often said we need something that defines our city architecturally – I think this building will do that," he said.
Council and architecture community split on new design
However, the reception of the new gallery's design has been mixed.
Associate professor in Architectural Practice at the Melbourne School of Design, Peter Raisbeck, said the design was an "older and conservative idea of architecture".
"It's not going to challenge the pre-conceived notions of the general public and what they might have about art," he said.
"We've got something in concrete and stone with some sunlight on it, and that's about it."
The new gallery is part of a $1.7 billion redevelopment of the Southbank precinct, the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation, which also includes upgrades to the Arts Centre Melbourne, as well as Arts Centre Melbourne's new Centre for Creativity.
Dr Raisbeck said his biggest concern with the designs was the wind.
"How windy it's going to be in that particular environment? And … how pleasant would it be in that garden?" he said.
Melbourne's Lord Mayor Sally Capp has welcomed the new design, calling it "a monumental city-shaping project for Melbourne".
The council did express concern at a February meeting about some aspects of the design, including "the building envelope including the height and building projections of the new NGVC building at 77 Southbank Boulevard and associated visual, amenity, urban design and infrastructure impacts".
Councillor Rohan Leppert, the deputy portfolio lead for the city planning portfolio, said the design was "certainly spectacular" but expressed concern about the "canyon-y" interface to the west and whether it would cast excessive shadow on Southbank Boulevard.
He said he wanted to see the plans for the building, not just the artist's rendition of the potential site.
Construction is expected to start in the next 12 months, with the building expected to be completed by 2028.
