Evelyn Reynolds

The Northern Territory government has abandoned its plans for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia (ATSIAGA) in Mparntwe/Alice Springs after more than nine years of back of forth, citing a lack of commitment from the federal government.
The project was first announced in 2017, with the Northern Territory government pledging $69 million, and the federal government to contribute $80 million.
A statement from Northern Territory treasurer and infrastructure minister Bill Yan said they had been “left with no choice.” The communique stated that repeated attempts had been made to secure federal endorsement of the gallery in Alice Springs CBD ahead of a November deadline to begin construction.
The project has evolved through several iterations by a design team comprising BVN, Susan Dugdale and Associates (SDA), Aspect Studios and Clarsen and Clarsen. The first scheme, unveiled in July 2023 under the name the National Aboriginal Art Gallery, proposed a building with a four-level atrium to be built on Anzac Oval. The plans prompted mixed reactions, with some community members pushing for an alternative site outside the town centre.
A revised five-storey design for the National Aboriginal Art Gallery was revealed in November 2023, featuring updates to the facade and atrium. In March 2024, the Northern Territory government lodged a development application for this design.
The latest version, exhibited publicly in July 2025, proposed a scaled-back three-storey gallery – a revision that the NT government said would make the project more “affordable and achievable.” Under this scheme, the gallery was renamed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia (ATSIAGA), with a new proposed location at the Wills Terrace car park.
Minister Yan said the nearly ten-year saga had to end, stating that despite repeated assurances, financial support from the federal government had not been secured.
“I won’t have NT taxpayers burdened with yet another project blowout and potentially significant penalties if it continues to be delayed,” he said.
According to a National Indigenous Times article, Yan’s federal counterpart, Catherine King, told the publication the “project is unable to progress” following the NT Government’s withdrawal of funding. King added that the “Commonwealth is disappointed that this project cannot go ahead.” More

The Australian Design Centre (ADC) has announced the winners of the 2025 Make Award, Australia’s most significant non-acquisitive prize celebrating innovation in contemporary craft and design. With a $35,000 first prize and $10,000 second prize, the biennial award honours excellence across disciplines including ceramics, glass, jewellery, textiles, metal, furniture and fibre.
Now in its second iteration, the 2025 Make Award attracted 197 entries from artists, craftspeople and designer-makers across the country.
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Taking out first prize was Cinnamon Lee for NOCTUA — a hybrid object that fuses jewellery and lighting. At once brooch, sculpture, lamp and performance, NOCTUA pairs the permanence of metal with the ephemerality of light. The wearable brooch component pays tribute to the unassuming Bogong moth, evoking both natural beauty and theatrical transformation.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the 2025 Make Award. This recognition holds great significance – not only as a celebration of my contribution to contemporary craft and design, but also as an acknowledgement of a long and evolving practice,” said Lee.
Second prize was awarded to South Australian designer Jake Rollins for SOFA1, a striking piece constructed from 3,744 golf balls and tensioned cord. Part of his GolfWeave series, the work uses triaxial weaving techniques to craft a sculptural, human-scale seat — an unexpected yet functional fusion of craft and engineering.

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Highly commended went to artist-jeweller Roseanne Bartley for A Poetry of Rings: The Mulga Alphabet. Working with Mulga (Acacia aneura) wood for the first time, Bartley hand-carved a series of rings that reflect cultural significance while expanding her material and technical language.
An exhibition of all 36 finalist works is now on display at the Australian Design Centre in Darlinghurst running from 10 October to 19 November 2025. More

Internationally acclaimed designer Nipa Doshi has unveiled an ambitious new body of work at NGV International, as the 2025 recipient of the Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission. The annual series invites globally renowned designers to create groundbreaking new works for the NGV Collection, highlighting the contributions of women in contemporary design.

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Mumbai-born and London-based, Doshi is celebrated for her refined aesthetic that draws deeply on her Indian heritage. She is one half of the acclaimed Doshi Levien studio, founded in 2000 with her husband Jonathan Levien.
For this commission, Doshi presents A Room of My Own, a handcrafted, multi-dimensional cabinet inspired by kaavad – portable Indian shrines. Acting as both shrine and dressing table, the cabinet honours the women who shaped her life. Hidden within its doors are abstract portraits of influential female figures, from a 1970s Indian actress to a nurse who once cared for her.
Accompanying the cabinet is Doshi’s debut typeface, hand-painted at large scale across the gallery walls. Evoking architectural diagrams, the letters, numbers and symbols extend her spatial thinking into the graphic realm. A moving-image work animates this typeface alongside footage of the cabinet, interweaving memory, imagination and personal narrative.

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“I am truly honoured to be the recipient of this very prestigious and generous award and see it as an opportunity to create exceptional new work, bringing together all the different aspects of my design practice. The creative freedom offered by the commission allows me to make work with a strong narrative, resulting in a collectible piece that embodies my values as a woman in design,” said Doshi.
Doshi is the fourth recipient of the Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission, Australia’s first and only initiative of its kind.
Nipa Doshi: Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission 2025 is on display at NGV International until 1 April 2026. More

A proposal for a new $590 million mixed-use development rising from the former State Savings Bank of Victoria at 623 Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD, opposite Southern Cross Station, has been greenlit for development.
The 42-storey tower scheme has been designed by Plus Studio for developer Sterling Global, who purchased the 2,000-square-metre amalgamed site in 2023. It includes 320 residences, half of which are two-bedroom apartments, serviced by various amenities, including a pool, gym, yoga studio and bathhouse, outdoor terraces, private lounge, dining and bar spaces, and a library and games room.

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According to a media release, the site’s two heritage-listed buildings, the 1924 State Savings Bank of Victoria and the Batman’s Hill Hotel, will be retained, restored and integrated into the development, with the original banking chamber refurbished to accommodate a future restaurant.
The proposal includes a total of 900 square metres of retail and hospitality fronting Collins and Spencer streets, as well as 2,700 square metres of office spaces across five levels.
Plus Studio director Ian Briggs said the vision for 623 Collins was to create architecture that serves both the site’s rich history and Melbourne’s future growth.
“Our design approach has been to connect the building closely with its context – a podium that contributes to the streetscape, planted terraces that articulate the transition between heritage and new, and a tower that takes its place on the skyline with clarity and restraint.”

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Interior design office Fiona Lynch has led the development of the interiors. According to the communique, “Her artful aesthetic shapes the project’s material palette, establishing a refined design language that carries from arrival through to the residences above.”
Plans for a $520 million, 42-storey hotel-and-apartment proposal on the same site, designed by architecture practice Carr, were approved for development in 2024. More

Renderings for a forthcoming hotel and residential development in Melbourne, designed by Kerry Hill Architects (KHA), have been unveiled.
The $300 million hotel is being developed by Orchard Piper alongside The Carter Group, with Como Hotels and Resorts newly appointed as operators. The hotel will be Como’s second hotel in Australia, following the opening of The Treasury in Perth, also designed by KHA, in 2015.
The project, known as the Carter Building, is designed to unite a hotel, spa and private serviced residences in one building, and is located on St Kilda Road – near Albert Park Lake, Fawkner Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens – in the city’s inner-south.
Orchard Piper director Luke McKie said, “Melbourne has seen an influx of new hotels in recent years, but few are in truly great locations. This property is perfectly situated for the city’s major events and will mark a return to a more understated and timeless luxury experience, one that’s not influenced by the latest trends.”

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Occupying the building’s first nine levels, the hotel will comprise 102 rooms, including several custom-designed family suites, and be serviced by a full-floor wellness centre, function room, fitness centre and indoor lap pool. These facilities will also be accessible by the building’s 54 private residences. A restaurant, cafe and bar will also be open to guests, residents and locals.
A media communique from Como notes that the building’s “bluestone facade pays homage to Melbourne’s architectural heritage, while the interiors create a sanctuary of understated luxury, showcasing KHA’s signature contextual approach to design.”

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Construction of the Carter Building commenced in August, with the new hotel slated to open in early 2028. More

Melbourne Walk, a new mixed-use development in the heart of Melbourne city’s retail centre, has officially opened – marking the first new development in Bourke Street Mall in more than 50 years.
Melbourne Walk, formerly known as The Walk, stitches together multiple buildings and 6,295 square metres of retail via a series of pedestrian connections across a 3,600-square-metre site bounded by Bourke Street, Little Collins Street, the Causeway and Union Lane, which was once home to eight separate buildings.
Buchan led both the architecture and interior design for the entire project, including the hotels, for client Steadfast Capital. Buchan senior associate Hayden Djakic said the development “leverages its premium position on Melbourne’s established north-south pedestrian ant trail.”
Four heritage-listed facades have been retained and restored – including Diamond House and the Public Benefit Bootery on Bourke Street, and the Allans and York buildings on Little Collins Street – in a move the architects said was intended to preserve the “sense of a collection of buildings” while consolidating the block into a unified whole.

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Djakic noted that the “new facades take cues from their historic neighbours, reinterpreting materials and geometry,” and reinstating the “distinctive blade signs that were a lost feature [on facades].”
According to the architects, the notion of separate buildings is reinforced internally through a network of new arcades and laneways that allow natural light to reach in and through the site. Union Lane, they noted, remains true to its service-lane origins, while food and beverage shopfronts along the Causeway support its revival as a “foodie” destination.

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A new nine-metre-tall arcade that links Bourke Street to Little Collins Street has also been established. According to the architects, this new arcade takes on similar proportions to the neighbouring Royal and Block arcades. Features such as gold-tinted skylights in faceted shapes serve as a homage to Diamond House’s history as a hub for jewellery businesses.
Within the site is a dual-branded hotel, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo, which are both part of the Intercontinental Hotel Group but each designed with distinct identities. Collectively, they accommodate 452 suites across nine levels atop a three-level retail podium.
The project officially opened to the public on 8 September. More

Guided by curatorial committee Sarah Lynn Rees, Carroll Go-Sam and Dillon Kombumerri, the Melbourne edition of The Architecture Symposium 2025 explores best practice when designing for First Nations clients, communities and Country through the presentation of ten projects.
Scheduled for 21 November at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s Clarendon Auditorium in South Wharf, the symposium will feature 13 speakers reflecting on their work and experiences. The event will also examine how the industry is faring in terms of education, advocacy and policy making.
The symposium comes at a time of growing momentum to integrate Indigenous perspectives into architectural thinking and practice. In recent years, a wave of built projects has demonstrated increased collabotation with First Nations communities and a stronger focus on the inclusion of Indigenous histories and knowledge. The program provides an opportunity to take a pulse check on the profession’s progress – considering how far the industry has come, and how far it still has to go.

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Projects to be presented include the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence by ARM Architecture; the UTS National First Nations College by Greenaway Architects; the Glen Waverley Civic Precinct by Winsor Kerr; the Blacktown Native Institute Masterplan Reference Design by COLA Studio; Mari-Mari-Ba by Deicke Richards; Djarragun College by People Oriented Design; Nungalinya by Incidental Architecture; and the Ieramugadu School Redevelopment, Roebourne by Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects.
These project reflections will be complemented by a series of focused discussions, including:

Reshaping education: The impact of First Nations Performance Criteria, presented by Michael Mossman of the University of Sydney
Cultural considerations: Rethinking briefs, competitions and guidelines, presented by Danièle Hromek of Djinjama
Beyond architecture: Facilitating agency and advocacy, presented by Kieran Wong of the Fulcrum Agency
So how are we doing? – a conversation between Carroll Go-Sam and Sarah Lynn Rees and associate editor of Architecture Australia Georgia Birks.

The Architecture Symposium is a Design Speaks program organised by Architecture Media and supported by premium partners Bondor Metecno, Vicostone and Planned Cover, and hotel partner Ovolo South Yarra. More information and tickets can be found on the Design Speaks website. More

Plans to transform a historic arthouse cinema on Oxford Street in Sydney’s Paddington into a mixed-use development have been lodged with the New South Wales Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI).
Led by developer WT Malouf, the state significant proposal for the Verona Cinema has been designed by local practice Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (TZG). Almost thirty years ago, the firm completed a conversion of the same cinema building, which was originally built in 1946 as an industrial facility and later became a four-screen cinema complex after it was acquired by Palace Cinemas in 1995.
The building remained unused for a decade after having closed its doors in 2010. Following the site’s acquisition by the current developer in 2021, plans to redevelop the building have passed through the hands of Scott Carver (now Studio SC), who developed an six-storey, mixed-use commercial and retail scheme for the site in 2022 and an eight-storey iteration in 2024.
The current proposal from TZG adds residential uses into the mix. Plans include a new cinema run by Golden Age, with multiple screens and creative performance spaces; approximately 60 metres of retail frontage for small-scale businesses along Oxford Street; and 53 apartments, including 15 affordable dwellings.

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According to a media release, “the development will retain the Verona’s iconic brick facade, recognising the building’s role in Paddington’s cultural life for nearly three decades.” The proposal includes an extension of this facade and a new entry, articulated in red hues. Above, the faceted residential facade is envisioned in a blond brick.
The release also notes that landscaped public connections between South Dowling and Verona streets will improve walkability and accessibility.
Tim Greer, director at TZG, described the project as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore this important part of Oxford Street.”
Director at WT Malouf Jack Joseph added, “At a time when Sydney is losing suburban cinemas, we’re committed to creating a bigger and better cinema experience for Paddington. Golden Age’s arrival will ensure Oxford Street continues to be a home for independent film, live performance and community events.”
CEO at Golden Age Cinema and Bar Barrie Barton commented, “Cinema can be more than just watching a film — it can be the beating heart of a neighbourhood … we’ve seen how a cinema can anchor dining, music and social life, and we’re excited to bring that same cultural energy to Paddington.
“Verona will be a chance to radically reimagine what a cinema can be for Sydney, not just preserving a much-loved institution but giving it new life in a way that reflects the city’s creative future,” he said.

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According to the media communique, the project has been designed in line with the City of Sydney’s Oxford Street Cultural and Creative Precinct strategy, and the NSW 24-Hour Economy Strategy, “contributing to the revival of Oxford Street as a safe, vibrant and connected cultural precinct that operates by day and night.”
“This development is about more than apartments,” Joseph said. “It’s about contributing to Oxford Street’s restoration as one of Sydney’s great cultural boulevards, where people come to live, create and socialise.”
The project is expected to be determined by the NSW DPHI in 2026, with construction planned to start later that year and be complete within three years. More