Evelyn Reynolds

The ACT government’s Suburban Land Agency and Arts ACT have appointed NH Architecture as the principal design team for the redevelopment of Kingston Arts Precinct, following the completion of the Place Brief for the project.
The redevelopment aims to transform the precinct into a “world-class” culture and visual arts destination for Canberra.
The project will create retail spaces, accommodations for artists in residence, a series of new buildings for arts organizations and an open events space. It will also leverage the site’s existing heritage assets.
Kingston Arts Precinct occupies the site of the former Powerhouse, which was among the first permanent buildings in Canberra and was completed in 1915. The Fitters’ Workshop was completed the following year. The Powerhouse was decommissioned in 1957; in 1997, the ACT government ran an ideas competition for the redevelopment of the Kingston foreshore. The competition was won by architect Colin Stewart, and in 2007, the Powerhouse was transformed into the Canberra Glassworks, creating the first stage of what is now the arts precinct.
Previously, the ACT government had contracted Geocon to redevelop the precinct. In 2019, a $750 million plan designed by Fender Katsalidis and Oculus was unveiled but subsequently stagnated, and the government announced in November 2021 that the Suburban Land Agency would take over the project.
The redeveloped precinct will prioritize the local Ngunnawal culture as the central focus of site’s artistic, cultural and creative opportunities. It will bring together new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, Canberra Contemporary Arts Space, Canberra Glassworks, Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre, M16 Arts Space, Megan Print Studio and PhotoAccess.
The precinct will also integrate art with the building and landscape designs and host temporary installations to activate the site during construction.
“The Place Brief guides the SLA and Arts ACT, architects, landscape architects and urban designers in preparing the detailed design proposals for the precinct,” said ACT chief minister Andrew Barr.
“Over the next 12 months, the project team will develop a concept design for the new subdivision and arts buildings. Further engagement with the community and arts organizations will take place through different stages of the design to prepare submissions for formal approvals that will permit construction to commence.” More

Perth Unbuilt is an exhibition of unrealized designs by some of the city’s most prominent architecture studios.
On display at WA Museum Boola Bardip, the exhibition surveys a selection of designs that succumbed to the vagaries of political and economic forces.
Hassell’s speculative proposal for the redevelopment of East Perth Power Station is one such scheme. The proposal called for the former power station to be transformed into a gallery for exhibits of Australian Indigenous and contemporary art. The design is characterized by overhangs and cantilevers with “rotating and shifting planks” inspired by the cliffs of the WA coastline.

View gallery

Hassell’s scheme for East Perth Power Station. Image: Hassell

While an art gallery is not on the cards, the WA government is still looking to redevelop the site. In 2020, the government selected a proposal from broadcaster Kerry Stokes and mining magnate Andrew Forrest to transform the site into a residential, commercial, recreational and tourism precinct with a concept designed by Kerry Hill Architects and, later, Woods Bagot. But in March 2023, it too fell on the scrap heap.
Perth’s Swan River foreshore has also been subjected to many failed schemes. One of them, ARM Architecture’s early masterplan for Elizabeth Quay, was selected for the exhibition. Its design concept featured a swan-shaped island and was once dubbed “Dubai on the Swan” for the futuristic-looking towers with which it would have surrounded the waterfront.

View gallery

The circular scheme for Elizabeth Quay by ARM Architecture. Image:

ARM Architecture

In 2008, a change of government saw ARM Architecture commissioned (along with Richard Weller and TCL) by the incoming Liberal government to come up with a new scheme for the waterfront. The eventual built result is “a vibrant hard and soft landscape in a wonderful homage to Roberto Burle Marx and Rio’s Copacabana,” Nigel Westbrook writes in his review of Elizabeth Quay.

View gallery

An unrealized scheme for Perth’s Old Treasury Buildings precinct. Image:

With Architecture Studio

Perth’s Old Treasury Buildings heritage precinct was the subject of another unsuccessful scheme. The WA government originally appointed Peter Elliott Architecture and Urban Design, Donaldson and Warn, Sandover Pinder, and Palassis Architects to redesign and redevelop the precinct. The resulting plan would have refurbished the Old Treasury Buildings and created a new multi-storey office block, which would have faced Barrack Street. However, this too fell foul of political forces – though the project was later revived with a design led by Kerry Hill Architects as part of the Mirvac Fini consortium.
Perth Unbuilt is on exhibition at WA Museum Boola Bardip until 30 March 2023. More

Architectus and Henning Larsen have designed a 40-storey tower that will be covered in greenery as a “catalyst project” for the heart of Brisbane’s CBD.
It is the first development application within the Albert Street Cross River Rail Priority Development Area. If approved, the tower will sit on the corner of Albert and Mary Streets opposite a proposed station.
The mixed-use tower will accommodate workplaces, retail and hospitality venues, and a range of civic spaces. It will also create a highly permeable public realm and pedestrian experience on Albert and Mary Streets that will be comfortable year-round.
The project is an “opportunity to create a distinctive urban marker,” proponents said in the development application.
Dubbed the “Rainforest Tower,” the project will be part of a proposed Albert Street green spine. Cascading vertical greenery and varying floor plates at the lower storeys will create multi-level visual interest.

View gallery

Proposed “Rainforest Tower” by Architectus and Henning Larsen. Image:

Architectus and Henning Larsen

“The terraced landscaping on the ground plane and podium facade will contribute to making these future spaces more vibrant,” proponents said.
The concept for the tower was inspired by a study trip to Mount Glorious, which is north-west of Brisbane, and reflects the story of the rainforest Binbilla – the area on the Brisbane CBD peninsula’s southern tip.
“The design of the project has been done in close dialogue with Blaklash and the Fulcrum Agency who are facilitating a dialogue and feedback process with the Traditional Custodians of the land,” proponents said.
“The Albert Street Tower will connect to country by creating comfortable habitats for native flora and fauna up through the building.”
The base of the tower references the creek bed through the materiality of the ground floor. Lower levels evoke the rainforest understory, while the highest levels represent the canopy.
Proponents said they envision an “inclusive and magnetic destination of global standing, embracing the youthful Brisbane culture and unique sub-tropical climate.” More

The board of DevelopmentWA has approved Woods Bagot’s design for a 21-storey mixed-use tower in the Perth City Link precinct. Perth City Link is a 13.5-hectare precinct that will reconnect the CBD and Northbridge for the first time in 100 years by sinking the railway line and bus station underground. The precinct spans from Yagan […] More

A state significant development application for a historic site in Sydney’s The Rocks precinct. Nestled between Cambridge, Argyle and Harrington Streets, the site at 35-75 Harrington Street has multiple street frontages, with strategic views overlooking Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour and the Harbour Bridge. The application is for the demolition of the Clocktower Square building […] More

In early March, as part of The Architecture Symposium: Ideas from the Fringe, Rufus Black, vice chancellor of The University of Tasmania, gave a provoking address to the audience, stating that the architectural profession is simply not ambitious enough when it comes to reducing our impact in the destruction of the planet, “Architects Declare isn’t […] More

The City of Melbourne will soon introduce draft guidelines for voluntary design competitions as part of its Design Excellence Program.
The draft guidelines are part of a package of measures endorsed by councillors, which include a continuation of the Melbourne Design Review Panel, following a 12-month trial, and updated terms of reference for the Design Excellence Advisory Committee.
The endorsement of the draft competition guidelines mean that they will now proceed to community consultation.
The guidelines, prepared by the council’s City Design studio, outline equitable and transparent processes for all participants as well as remuneration and intellectual property requirements.
In its report to councillors, the City Design studio said that design competitions are “a design excellence procurement strategy to test ideas and potential teams, grow partnerships with designers and developers and lift design quality across the City of Melbourne.”
“In Melbourne, the worst design outcomes occur on the largest development sites,” City Design stated. The studio also said that design competitions could improve equity of access to city-shaping projects.
“The majority of city shaping projects are designed by a small cohort. Five architecture firms account for 25 percent of planning applications referred to City Design.
“This limits design diversity and innovation, and opportunities to invest in and nurture Melbourne’s design talent pool.
“Design competitions are a proven mechanism for enabling design diversity and quality.”
The draft guidelines outline a two- or three-stage competition structure with two options for the first stage: an expressions of interest option for the assessment of proposed teams, relevant experience, capability, and task appreciation; or, the second option, a blind expressions of interest with design ideas.
Where appropriate, a third stage of interviews would also be employed.
City Design also proposed a voluntary 18-month design competition pilot program to trial incentives and establish a pathway for mandatory design competitions.
The pilot would include three projects – a City of Melbourne development, a private development and a state significant site – which would be determined through an expressions of interest process. More

The City of Melbourne’s Future Melbourne Committee has unanimously voted in favour of a proposed student accommodation tower designed by Jackson Clements Burrows. The purpose-built student accommodation tower has been approved for an amalgamated site at 166-176 Bouverie Street and 183-187 Grattan Street in Carlton, near the University of Melbourne. It is designed to cater […] More