Vault, Public sculpture at Southbank, Melbourne, Australia

Vault is a yellow abstract sculpture by Ron Robertson-Swann, built from thick flat polygonal sheets of prefabricated steel joined so the mass appears to move. It stands outside the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Southbank, Melbourne, and is painted bright yellow.

The work was commissioned by Melbourne City Council in 1978 and first installed at City Square. However, it was removed just three months later in 1980 after public controversy.

The sculpture had no official name for over two years, so it collected nicknames: Robertson-Swann called it The Thing, the steelworkers Steelhenge, and newspapers the derogatory Yellow Peril, which stuck. Its yellow and angular forms were later echoed in Melbourne buildings such as Storey Hall and the Adelphi Hotel.

The sculpture is located outside the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and is easily visible from street level. You can view it freely at any time without needing to enter a building.

The construction workers who built the piece initially called it Steelhenge before sculptor Ron Robertson-Swann officially named it Vault in 1980. This informal name reflected how workers viewed the massive steel structure during its assembly.