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    WAF recognises Australian designers in drawing prize

    The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has announced the category winners for the 2022 awards for architectural drawing, which included some submissions from students of architecture at Australian universities.
    The Architecture Drawing prize was established in 2017 to celebrate the art and skill of architectural drawing, awarding prizes in three categories: hand-drawn, hybrid and digital. This year, the prize attracted 138 entries, with submissions received from architects, designers and students around the world.
    The winner of The Architecture Drawing Prize 2022 hybrid category was “Fitzroy Food Institute” – a collaboration between Samuel Wen and Mike Ren, students at the Melbourne School of Design. The hybrid design details a dumpling institute that “deviates from the traditional orientalist attitude towards Chinese culture, while also examining ideas of globalisation and automation,” the statement read.
    Juror Ken Shuttleworth, founder of Make Architects and one of the eight judges for the prize, said the subission was a “conceptually original and genuinely delightful entry”.
    “Fitzroy Food Institute stands out for its well-considered and subtle use of colour,” said Shuttleworth on behalf of the jury. “It’s a very accessible drawing looking over a shared meal at a table; yet it is full of architectural interest featuring not only a plan, but sections and elevations as well as detail.”

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    “Mnemosyne”, 2523 mm x 1189 mm, Rhino and Photoshop. On exhibition at the World Architecture Festival, Lisbon. Image:

    Meichen Duan, Shirley Ziyun Guo and Ionna Petropoulou

    “Mnemosyne” by students at the University of Melbourne Meichen Duan, Shirley Ziyun Guo and Ionna Petropoulou, was also shortlisted for the Architectural Drawing Prize in the digital category. Created using Rhino and Photoshop, Mnemosyne is a “dramatic art institute” situated at the former Cable Tram Engine House.
    Shortlisted drawings will be exhibited at Sir John Soane’s Museum in London from 8 February to 7 May 2023 and the overall winner for 2022 will be announced at the Museum’s Architecture Drawing Prize exhibition preview. More

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    Meet the jury of the 2023 Australian Interior Design Awards

    Architecture Media has announced the jury for the 2023 Australian Interior Design Awards.
    Established in 2004, the awards recognise and celebrate interior design excellence, backed by the peak body representing designers, the Design Institute of Australia.
    The jury comprises eminent designers working with a convenor appointed by the Institute.
    Jurors for the 2023 Australian Interior design Awards are: Melissa Bright (Studio Bright); Jeremy Bull (Alexander and Co); Maria Danos (Maria Danos Architecture); Brian Donovan (BVN); Stuart Krelle (Luchetti Krelle); Rosie Morley (Fender Katsalidis); Georgie Shepherd (Georgie Shepherd Interior Design); Aaron Wooster (Smart Design Studio) and Geraldine Maher (chair, Maher Design). The sustainability advisor is John Gertsakis (Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence).
    The program includes seven primary entry categories: retail design, hospitality design, workplace design, public design, installation design, residential design, and residential decoration. Entrants also have the option to submit for the emerging interior design practice category and the award for sustainability advancement.
    Category winners will also be considered for the top prize, the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design.
    Any Australian-based design professional is invited to enter into the awards (including interior designers, interior decorators, interior architects, architects and all other design professionals) and projects can be located anywhere in the world. Entries are encouraged from individuals, groups, partnerships and those working in larger practices.
    Projects must have been completed between 1 September 2021 and 31 December 2022 and may not have been previously entered into this awards program.
    Entries to the Australian Interior Design Awards 2023 are open now and close on 17 February 2023. The shortlist will be published online on 22 March 2023. Awards and commendations will be revealed at the gala presentation dinner on 2 June at Melbourne’s Plaza ballroom.
    The Australian Interior Design Awards is presented by Design Institute of Australia (DIA) and Architecture Media’s Artichoke magazine. The 2023 awards are supported by Dulux, Space, Subzero and Wolf, Laminex, Elton Group, and Roca.
    Click here to enter. More

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    Urban forest proposed for Melbourne’s Arts Precinct

    The City of Melbourne will transform an under-utilised section of road in Melbourne’s Arts Precinct into a “sustainable and resilient” green space.
    Between Grant Street and Southbank Boulevard, the Dodds Street Linear Park is an opportunity to introduce a new green zone into the densely populated inner-city precinct, providing space for locals and visitors to sit and relax in a sanctuary of native plantings.
    The project, estimated to cost $6.5 million, will create 3,200 square metres of open space, introducing native grasslands, wildflowers, trees, paved bluestone pathways, and community gathering spaces.
    Environmental portfolio lead Rohan Leppert said city greening is “essential” to support urban forests, increasing canopy cover and keeping the city cool in a warming climate. Inbuilt rain gardens and remediated soil will help to encourage biodiversity and ensure the park’s sustainability.

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    The Dodds Street Linear Park is an opportunity to introduce a new green zone into the densely populated inner-city precinct. Image:

    Courtesy of the City of Melbourne

    “[The park] has been designed with accessibility in mind to ensure people of all abilities feel welcome to explore the city’s world-renowned creative offerings,” a spokesperson for the City of Melbourne said.
    Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Dodds Street Linear Park will “breathe new life into this under-explored part of the city – increasing foot traffic in the area, while providing locals and visitors alike a place to dwell while visiting our spectacular Arts Precinct.”
    Capp added the park’s design will reflect the precinct’s significance on an artistic stage, and public artwork has been commissioned for the space.
    Dodds Street Linear Park is part of stage two of the Southbank Boulevard transformation, creating five new public spaces and neighbourhood parks, along with new tree plantings and bike lanes.
    Works will commence early January and are anticipated to take 12 months. More

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    Architects appointed to redesign Caulfield Racecourse grandstand

    Woods Bagot and Ralph Wheeler Architects have been appointed to redevelop the Caulfield Racecourse grandstand as the “cornerstone” of the wider Caulfield masterplan announced 2019. Works on the grandstand form part of the wider $570-million masterplan at Caulfield Racecourse, as the most significant upgrade in the club’s 150-year history. The new grandstand will serve as […] More

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    Unwanted construction materials find second life through new app

    A new app by an existing materials consultancy, launching on 15 December, aims to create a trading market place for construction materials destined for landfill.
    Created by Revival Projects, the app will empower the design and construction communities to afford their unwanted construction materials a second life.
    The practice received the best event award at Melbourne Design Week 2022 for its Zero Footprint Repurposing Hub in Collingwood – a free storage space for the design and construction communities to keep salvaged construction materials before repositing them back into new projects.
    The app, “Revival Cooperative”, is the next phase of the company’s mission, providing a platform for users to explore construction materials commonly deemed as “waste”, and finding them a new home.
    Revival Projects founder Robbie Neville said his ambition for the app is to “introduce some cohesion among the industry and community to adopt a more sustainable approach to the materials we don’t need.” The app will be free to use and available nationally for domestic and commercial users.

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    Revival Projects recently deconstructed two fire-damaged sculptures in Docklands. Every last stick from the sculptures has been salvaged. Image: Supplied

    Revival Cooperative will be similar in function to Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace; however, no commercial exchange will take place on the app. “Nothing is bought or sold on the platform,” said Neville. “Its purpose is purely with the hopes of building a community of people that are motivated to avoid landfill.”
    Items listed will have one of three possible statuses: “proposed”, “ongoing”, and “ready for collection”, and anyone who expresses an interest in an item – be it pallets, cladding, timber, tin roofing – will receive updates on the item’s status. Browsers will receive automatic notifications based on their searched items, alerting users to when an item is uploaded with a keyword that meets their checklist.
    Revival Cooperative will be applicable on a domestic scale, disrupting the “hard rubbish” culture of leaving materials on the curb side. On a more ambitious level, “It’ll provide a mechanism for the broader design community to take accountability for the volume of material that they send to landfill,” said Neville. “I hope it will change the juncture at which we determine something as waste.”
    Neville has also suggested renaming demolition plans to “existing material management” or “existing resources management plans” to reimagine the way demolition by-products are conceived.
    “The app is the tool to help us benefit from the amazing variety, diversity and creativity that’s in our communities and our industries. The community’s hungry for sustainable alternatives,” he said. “You don’t decide what’s waste; your community does.”
    The Revival Cooperative app will be free to download form the Revival Projects website from 15 December. More

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    Colourful pavilion to invigorate Western Sydney community

    Construction has begun on a vibrant new pavilion and public domain for a Western Sydney community. Designed by Chrofi and JMD Design, the project will be the first in a series of neighbourhood spaces for the Mount Druitt and Blacktown area, providing much needed community infrastructure. The Mount Druitt town centre was the first entirely […] More

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    Winning design revealed for Powerhouse Ultimo

    The winning architectural design has been revealed for the Powerhouse Ultimo renewal after it was unanimously selected from a national design competition launched earlier this year.
    The design team – comprising Architectus, Durbach Block Jaggers Architects, Tyrrell Studio, Youssofzay and Hart, Akira Isogawa, Yerrabingin, Finding Infinity and Arup – was selected from a shortlist of five finalists to deliver the $500-million transformation.
    The design includes an improved urban domain on the 2.4-hectare site, expanded museum exhibition spaces, rooftop gardens and a multistorey annex along Harris Street. A new urban space will link the museum with the city by reorienting it to the elevated walkway The Goods Line, and connecting to adjacent precincts, creating a major public square to support outdoor programs.
    The new Powerhouse Academy will provide a rooftop “camp” for secondary and tertiary students as an “immersive learning experience in the heart of the city,” arts minister Ben Franklin said.
    Director First Nations at Powerhouse Emily McDaniel said the design is a “bold, defined approach to Country-centred design that is sensitive to the heritage of the site, and inspired by the memory of local sandstone escarpment.”

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    Winning design for the Powerhouse Ultimo renewal by Architectus, Durbach Block Jaggers Architects, Tyrrell Studio, Youssofzay and Hart, Akira Isogawa, Yerrabingin, Finding Infinity and Arup. Image:

    Courtesy of Powerhouse Museum

    The competition jury included architect Wendy Lewin (chair), NSW government architect Abbie Galvin, Central District commissioner Peter Poulet, Walbanga and Wadi Wadi woman and film producer Alison Page, Create NSW chief executive Annette Pitman, and Powerhouse chief executive Lisa Havilah.
    According to Havilah, iconic objects from the collection – including the Boulton and Watt steam engine, Locomotive No. 1 and the Catalina flying boat – will be presented in the renewed Powerhouse Ultimo.
    Lewin said the jury was “confident” with its decision, which will deliver a “truly exceptional building” that ensures the longevity of the Powerhouse Museum for future generations.
    The Powerhouse Ultimo renewal is part of the New South Wales government’s record investment in cultural infrastructure, and marks the first major investment in the museum since 1988. The design competition saw more than 100 registrations of interest received from across Australia.
    Following the announcement, the architects will develop their concept plans. A detailed State Significant Development application is expected to go out for public submission in early 2023, with construction anticipated to begin in December 2023. More

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    All eight proposals for The Fox: NGV Contemporary are on exhibition

    The National Gallery of Victoria has opened an exhibition of the architectural schemes submitted for the competition to design Australia’s largest gallery of contemporary art and design. The Fox: NGV Contemporary will be a key part of the Victorian government’s $1.7 billion transformation of Melbourne Arts Precinct. The design competition, held in 2021, was open […] More