Evelyn Reynolds

Perth Concert Hall celebrated its 50th anniversary on 26 January, marking half a century of some of the highest quality performances in the country, and arguably, the world.
Built in 1973 and designed by local architects Jeffrey Howlett and Don Bailey (Howlett and Bailey Architects), it was the first concert hall to be built in Australia after World War II. The hall, which seated 1,891 people, is the primary venue of the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, but it has hosted a suite of events and performances, from classical ensembles to jazz musicians, comedians, and celebrity chefs.
Highlights over the years have included the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as global artists like Billy Joel, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Sting.
Renowned for its enduring high standards of acoustics, Perth Concert Hall was voted in 2011 as the best venue of 20 major Australian concert halls in a Limelight magazine survey performers and critics. In 2016, the building received the Australian Institute of Architects’ National Award for Enduring Architecture, for its brutalist mid-century architecture.
“What appears to be quite a simple, white, off-form concrete, post-and-beam construction is, upon closer inspection, understood as being completely innovative for 1973. The building is actually hung from itself, creating enormous free spans and all from one beautifully poured material,” the jury said.

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Perth Concert Hall by Howlett and Bailey Architects. Image:

Courtesy of The City of Perth

The Perth Concert Hall was built at a cost of $3.2 million (a remarkably modest budget compared to the Sydney Opera House, which was built for $102 million and completed in the same year). Its auditorium features a 3,000-pipe organ specially commissioned by Ronald Sharp, who was also responsible for the organ in the Opera House).
In 2022, With Architecture Studio and OMA were appointed to design the redevelopment of the building, which will improve accessibility and better preserve the heritage features. The redevelopment is due to begin in 2024.
Culture and Arts Minister David Templeman said the red carpets and winding staircase of the heritage-listed concert hall hold “special memories” for many Western Australians.
“There are too many highlights to mention but I recall the Peony Pavilion taking place inside the hall as part of Perth International Arts Festival in 2000, and Perth Festival’s contemporary music hub set up in the hall in 2020,” Templeman said. “I remember seeing Billy Joel perform a magnificent concert at the Concert Hall which had the crowd whipped up to a frenzy… Here’s to another 50 years of artist and audience enjoyment at our wonderful world-renowned Perth Concert Hall.” More

The opening of All Zone’s colourful temporary pavilion at Queen Victoria Gardens came with it a comparably vibrant program of talks, live music events and workshops. ArchitectureAU rounds up the top architecture and design events to explore from 1 February to 6 April.

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Mtalks BLACKitecture: Material Agency. Image:

Jon Clements

BLAKitecture: Material Agency
Monday 6 February, 6:30 pm–7:30 pm
MPavilion’s sixth annual BLAKitecture forum brings into focus Indigenous voices in a conversation about architecture, considering how the application of materials in the built environment contributes to the commodification of Country. In collaboration with program consultant Sarah Lynn Rees, this MTalk will consider the ability of materials to embed culture and knowledge, and suggest how Australian architecture might move to a regenerative model of consumption. More here.

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MTalks Labour in Architecture: The Future of the Profession. Image:

Courtesy of Architectural Workers – United Voices of the World (UVW SAW)

Labour in Architecture: The Future of the Profession
Tuesday 4 April, 6:30 pm– 8 pm
In collaboration with Matthew Borg (OVGA), Rory Hyde (University of Melbourne), and Professional Architects Australia, this talk look at how the industry can move forward to an empowered, future-proof profession. The panel considers the historically exploitative workplace culture in architecture and related design fields, where “passion” is used to rationalise underpayment and overworking. In light of emerging movements around the world to counter the worsening plight of architectural workers, Professional Architects Australia presents a talk between local and international practitioners, advocates and academics. Guest speakers will open the conversation to the audience to share their experience. More here.

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MTalks Future Homes: Melbourne’s Liveable Apartments. Image:

Illustration by Board Grove Architects

Future Homes: Melbourne’s Liveable Apartments
Tuesday 28 March, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Presented by the Office of the Victorian Government Architect with Andrew Mackenzie (Uro Publications), this talk examines the Victorian government’s Future Homes initiative for family-friendly homes that enable ageing in place. Th initiative incorporates high-quality, liveable, and sustainable design principles into housing models that will be rolled out through pilot councils across Melbourne. Exemplar designs by four architecture firms – appointed through a competition launched in 2020 – are now released for public consideration and available for public purchase now. More here.

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MTalks Propelling or Pathological? Heritage in Urban Design. Image:

Derek Swalwell

Propelling or Pathological? Heritage in Urban Design
Tuesday 6 April, 5:30pm–6:30pm
Kerstin Thompson (Kerstin Thompson Architects) has curated a panel discussion with Christine Phillips (RMIT), Dan Hill (Melbourne School of Design) and Felicity Watson (Wyndham City Council), facilitated by Stuart Harrison (Harrison and White, and host of Restoration Australia), that will consider our built heritage and how it can be interlinked with urban design imperatives and opportunities. Thompson’s practice, along with BVN, received the 2022 Urban Design Award at the Melbourne Awards for Queen and Collins. In this talk Thompson poses the question, what might it be like to have the spheres of heritage and urban design more productively entangled. More here.

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MMeets Experimental Architectural Writing. Image:

Les Anderson via Unsplash

Experimental Architectural Writing
Wednesday 22 March, 6:30 pm–7:30 pm
This MMeets workshop facilitated by Anna Kate Blair (Writers Victoria) explores how language can expand our relationship with architecture. The workshop will experiment with a range of creative literary techniques and strategies to expand your architectural knowledge and literary practice. Emphasising process over product, this workshop invites participants to look at a history of imaginative responses to architecture, and to share their own ideas and experiments. More here.

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MTalks The Afterlife of Concrete Image: Supplied

The Afterlife of Concrete
Tuesday 21 February, 6.30 pm—7.30 pm
Concrete is currently the largest contributor to construction and demolition waste in Victoria. In this talk, architects and landscape architects encourage audiences to think outside of the knock-down-and-rebuild model to think differently about how we value existing materials. Architecture Media’s Emily Wong (Landscape Architecture Australia) joins Millie Cattlin, Runjia Chen and Amy Seo and Shahar Cohen of Second Edition for a deep-dive into the process of demolishing and recycling concrete, offering insights in how we might use concrete in more creative and sustainable ways. More here. More

Two architects have been recognised among 1,047 recipients in the 2023 Australia Day Honours List, celebrated for their meritorious and conspicuous contributions to the country.
Former NSW government architect Christopher Johnson was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished services to urban design an architecture, to planning form and compliance, and to the community”.
Johnson was government architect for 10 years from 1995 to 2005. He was also the chief executive for Urban Taskforce Australia from 2011 to 2019. He has held a number of advisory roles, including as a member of the Australian Building Codes Board and of the Complying Development Committee for NSW Department of Planning.
Johnson has been a judge on design excellence panels and a coordinator for charity fundraising for the St Vincent’s Prostate Cancer Centre and Warrah Homes. He has authored a book titled Mid-Rise Urban Living (2021), making a case for the mid-rise as an essential component of growing cities, and he has been an advisory consultant for urban planning since 2019. Johnson is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and a former member of the Planning Institute of Australia.

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Eli Giannini, director MGS Architects. Image:

Courtesy Eli Giannini

Elisabetta Giannini has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) “for significant service to architecture, and to the arts.”
Born in Rome, Italy, Giannini moved to Australia when she was 15 years old. She studied at RMIT before landing her first job at Williams and Boag Architects in 1983. Giannini has been a registered architect since 1985, and after completing her registration, she moved to Godrey and Spowers in 1987 before becoming a director at MGS Architects – a position she currently holds.
Giannini was president of the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects and National Councillor from 2002 to 2004, and was deputy chair of the National General Equity Committee from 2014 to 2016.
Giannini has been a member of the editorial panel for Architect Journal, and the recipient of numbers RAIA awards as design principal of MGS, including a National Architecture Award or McIntyre Drive apartments, and for Public Architecture for Bendigo Library.
Governor General David Hurley said it was “encouraging” to see an increased diversity among this year’s Order of Australia, with a 48 percent female representation for the General Division recipients.
“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today’s Honours List,” he said. “The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring.” More

Do Ho Suh Experience Do Ho Suh’s first solo exhibition in Australia at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia this summer. The South Korean-born artist is known for large-scale sculptures and architectural installations that address the complex relationships between bodies, memories and spaces. Media include sculpture, drawing and printmaking that span three decades of practice. […] More

Indian modernist architect Balkrishna Doshi has died at his home in Ahmedabad aged 95.
Doshi was the first India architect to be awarded Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2018. He was also awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Gold Medal in 2021.
Doshi was born in Pune, India, in 1927, and undertook his architectural studies at the Sir J.J. School of Architecture Bombay. He moved to Paris in the early 1950s and worked with Le Corbusier before returning to his homeland to oversee Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh and Ahmedabad projects.
In 1956, he founded his own practice, Vastushilpa, which has completed more than 100 projects, including the School of Architecture (1966, now part of Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT)), the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board in Jabalpur (1979) and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore (1992), and his own studio, Sangath (1980).

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Sangath (1980). Image:

Courtesy of Vastu Shilpa Foundation

He also designed several low-cost housing projects, including Aranya Low-cost Housing at Indore (1989), and the Co-Operative Middle Income Housing in Ahmedabad (1982)
Doshi stated in 1954, “It seems I should take an oath and remember it for my lifetime: to provide the lowest class with the proper dwelling.”
In 1962, after teaching in the USA, he worked with Louis Kahn on the Indian Institute of Management project in Ahmedabad.
The 2018 Pritzker Prize jury, of which Australian architect Glenn Murcutt was chair, said in their citation, “Balkrishna Doshi has always created an architecture that is serious, never flashy or a follower of trends. With a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to his country and its people through high quality, authentic architecture, he has created projects for public administrations and utilities, educational and cultural institutions, and residences for private clients, among others.”

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Aranya Low Cost Housing. Image:

Courtesy of Vastu Shilpa Foundation

Doshi was recognised globally as the recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, a Global Award for Lifetime Achievement for Sustainable Architecture from Institut Francais d’Architecture, Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France, and the Indian Prime Minister’s National Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design.
He was also a gold medallist of the Indian Institute of Architects and the Academy of Architecture of France, and an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
On news of his death, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet, “Dr. BV Doshi Ji was a brilliant architect and a remarkable institution builder. The coming generations will get glimpses of his greatness by admiring his rich work across India. His passing away is saddening. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti.” More

The Australian Tapestry Workshop (ATW) director of 14 years Antonia Syme has notified the board that she will be retiring from her post in April 2023.
Since 1976, the Australian Tapestry Workshop (ATW) has collaborated with artists and architects on the generation of contemporary tapestries. Today, it is one of the few remaining workshops dedicated to hand-waving tapestries worldwide.
Syme was instrumental in the establishment of the International Tapestry Design Prize for Architects, for which she was awarded the William J. Mitchell Prize for contributions to Australian architecture in the international arena.
ATW chair Su Baker honoured the outgoing director for her contribution to the organisation, acknowledging her “ground-breaking” leadership and “big picture vision” she brought to the job over a decade and a half.
“Her legacy is a vibrant, robust and contemporary organisation that is known around Australia and the world for innovation, creativity and excellence,” said Baker.
Baker said the former Victorian Tapestry Workshop was shaped under Syme’s stewardship into the organisation it is today, which celebrates deep connections with international workshops such as the Gobelins Manufactory in Paris and Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh.
Syme built enduring relationships with overseas institutions and helped to bolster the profile of the tapestry organisation. She also established a successful Artist-in-Residence program, small tapestry prizes, exhibitions, weaver exchanges with the UK and France, and a vibrant arts program.
The ATW said her tenure has been marked by a focus on working with living artists, with a particular emphasis Indigenous artists.
Syme said the ATW is a “unique and vital part of Australia’s cultural fabric” that continues to evolve with the times. She said it has been a “privilege” to work with a talented group of staff and board members and thanked the donors for their ongoing support.
The recruitment of a new director will begin forthwith. More

Planning approval has been granted to two projects designed by SJB in Richmond, Melbourne, that will create a “community-focused precinct”. The City of Yarra issued the planning approval to Sydney-based developer Fortis for the two adjoining sites at 8 Brighton Street and 5 Wiltshire Street, which collectively occupy 15 lots. The consolidated site will establish […] More

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has unveiled designs for the redevelopment of Ryde Hospital, which will include a major expansion and upgrade of services to meet the health needs of the Ryde region communities.
Silver Thomas Hanley (STH) was engaged by Health Infrastructure NSW to deliver the multi-staged hospital redevelopments for the Northern Sydney Local Health District.
“This $479 million redevelopment will significantly improve access to healthcare for the local community, ensuring more people can get quality care close to home,” Perrottet said.
The upgrades include a new and expanded emergency department and intensive care unit, new theatres, a purpose-built ambulatory care centre, new paediatric short stay unit, and expanded medical imaging.
Member for Ryde Victor Dominello said the designs incorporate a significant amount of community recommendations following extensive community engagement. “The feedback has informed key design considerations such as heritage, the environment and green space to create a welcoming environment for patients, staff, and visitors,” said Dominello.

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STH was engaged by Health Infrastructure NSW to deliver a the multi-staged hospital redevelopments for the Northern Sydney Local Health District. Image:

Silver Thomas Hanley

Key themes raised by respondents, including a connection with the Blue Gum High Forest, links with public transport, and the provision of green space and landscaping, have been factored into the concept design. The retention and preservation of onsite heritage buildings such as Denistone House and The Stables are also central to the design.
HPAC has been appointed early-works contractor for the redevelopment, with work scheduled to commence in the coming months. This will include internal refurbishments for the first phase of the redevelopment, as well as the demolition of three buildings at the rear of the site, and general site preparation earthworks. Main work is expected to begin late 2023.
The government is seeking community feedback on concept design until 2 February.
STH is progressing the detailed design phase of the project, and a final state significant development application will be submitted in mid-2023 for approval of final designs and main construction works.
The project is part of the NSW Government’s record $11.9 billion investment in health infrastructure to 2025-26, which also includes the $265 million Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital redevelopment and the Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice in Manly. More