The Elwood Home, designed by Fieldwork Architects, is one of four townhouses along the Elster canal, built on the traditional lands of the Yaluk-ut Weelam Clan. The homeowners looked to Melbourne studio Kett to fully furnish the home. Kett is headed up by designer Justin Hutchinson, and creates unique furniture collections that are honest in […] More
HEY house was designed by owners Pia and Richie Willemsen of Willemsen Architecture. The duo wanted a home for their young family, and the project took its name from the initials of their three children. Richie Willemsen said of the project, “I chose to owner-build because we wanted to push the boundaries of architecture, but […] More
In a first-of-its-kind transformation, ICS Australia has completed building works on a heritage-listed goods shed: the A Shed, located at Fremantle Ports in Western Australia. The 100-year-old warehouse was transformed by the state’s biggest brewer Gage Roads, with the $10 million conversion becoming its flagship microbrewery and an iconic destination in the city’s inner harbour.
Gage Roads Freo opened on January 20 2022 and operates as a brewery, restaurant and family-friendly venue with capacity for 1,500 patrons.
Occupying a total land area of more than 3,000 m², the dockside cargo shed takes full advantage of the building’s heritage features and frontage to the port. Refurbishment was undertaken to plans approved by Fremantle Ports in accordance with its heritage obligations. Fremantle Ports also provided guidance and assistance throughout the planning and build phases.
Industry leader Big River Group was chosen as the supplier of a vast range of formwork and building materials. With an operating history of over 110 years, Big River Group has established itself as a diverse manufacturer and distributor of timber and building products. It was able to offer a solution for the transformation, which included structural repairs to the shed’s timber frame and footings.
“We have supplied the project from the beginning of the build right through to the completion of the building phase in late 2021. We were able to supply cost-effective formwork products to the project through our engineered and dimensionally stable, LVL formwork and hardwearing formply Deckply and Armourform,” says Alex King, operations manager at the Big River Group’s Midland Timber and Prefab branch in Bellevue.
Further products that were supplied to assist in creating the durable skeleton of the redeveloped A Shed include Big River’s structural plywood products, Laminex Trade Essentials particleboard flooring, LVL13 structural beams, both BGC and CSR fibre-cement products, as well as internal pine framing solutions.
To assist in maintaining the original integrity of the 100-year-old structure, Big River Group locally sourced jarrah bushpoles, along with external pine framing and glulam beams. To further support the waterfront aesthetic, James Hardie Linea 180 mm fibre-cement weatherboards were supplied by the building solutions expert. More
The National Building Specification (NATSPEC) has launched its annual competition for 2022, directed at architecture students enrolled in Australian universities who can demonstrate the innovative or sustainable use of materials or systems. The NATSPEC Student Prize challenges students to explore the ways in which architects control and communicate the quality and performance of innovative design […] More
Schematic designs for a new Altona pier have been released to the public, featuring improved access and safety, and a modern Y-shaped design.
Delivered by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, the designs have considered community input following a consultation period in 2020, proposing a space with greater community space and multiple vantage points. Reportedly, more than 60 per cent of respondents selected the angled pier head as the preferred design of the three submitted.
The original timber pier was constructed in the late 19th century with significant rejuvination works carried out in the 1980s. The current structure is nearing the end of its life with signs of structural failure posing a risk to public safety.
View gallery
Schematic design of Altona Pier – outer pier and turning bay. Image:
Jackson Clements Burrows Architects
Unlike the existing pier, the new pier will be aligned to an adjacent street, providing what Parks Victoria has called an “improved visual connection to the iconic Altona foreshore.”
It will be delivered in conjunction with the Altona Foreshore Redevelopment – a Hobsons Bay City Council project designed to improve shade, vegetation and coastal habitat at the main beach entry alongside new shower facilities, bike parking and public art.
Parks Victoria said it aims to recycle and reuse as much timber from the existing pier as possible.
“The new Altona Pier design will improve the experience for anglers and pedestrians while also making it safer for all users,” member for Altona Jill Hennessy said.
The Victorian government is funding the transformation through its $24 million Piers and Jetties Stimulus Package, which will also cover the revitalization of the pier precinct and public amenities.
Minister for Ports and Freights Melissa Horne anticipates the revitalization will be a drawcard for Melbourne’s west, creating more vibrant public amenity for a region already popular with anglers and the beach-going community.
After the release of the detailed designs, construction is forecast to commence late 2022, with a finished pier anticipated for late 2023.
Altona is one of several piers around the Port Phillip Bay area being revitalized, with upgrades and rebuilds taking place in Rye, Portarlington and St Kilda. For more information visit the Parks Victoria website. More
The Australian Institute of Architects has issued a statement in which it describes housing as a “basic human right,” urging federal politicians to address the national affordable housing supply ahead of the federal election on 21 May.
The Institute said housing should be supported by a generational plan for affordable and social housing that will provide a national housing policy for 30 years. Institute president Tony Giannone said all parties should appoint a cabinet-level Minister for Housing to regulate and centralize supply.
“Adequate housing should be a right in a country as lucky as Australia, but it’s not,” Giannone said. “We need a national, centralized system to monitor housing supply and establish targets for social and affordable housing for those who need it.”
In its federal election policy statement, A Time For Action, the Institute identifies housing affordability as one of the two most critical issues facing the country at the present time.
“It is estimated that one in five First Nations households living in dwellings that do not meet an acceptable standard, and one in 28 are homeless,” the peak body for architects states in its call-to-action.
According to a survey carried out by the Institute, almost 9 in 10 of its members said the government needed to do more to address Australia’s rising housing stress.
“Despite this, the Institute believe neither of the two major political parties has committed to a plan to increase significantly the availability of social housing during the campaign,” the Institute said in a statement.
While the Australian Labor Party’s Housing Supply and Affordability Council is “headed in the right direction,” according to the Institute, more needs to be done to guarantee supply, quality and affordability on a national level.
The Institute said it approved of the Greens’ “ambitious” policy, targeting one million affordable public and community houses over the next 20 years, but voters still need to be convinced in its implementation plan.
Designing national minimum standards could help to promote planning code changes and regulate acceptable living conditions on a policy level, the Institute suggests.
“A decades-long, funded strategy will help to overcome the challenges of housing stress and unaffordability, and ultimately make Australia a better society where everyone has a home,” Giannone added. More
A small town in the Macarthur region of New South Wales will soon have a new performing arts centre, after it was approved by a state planning panel.
The 350-seat Wollondilly Performing Arts Centre in Picton, designed by Williams Ross Architects, forms part of the first stage of the Wollondilly Community, Cultural and Civic Precinct and will be a versatile, multi-purpose local venue capable of hosting dramatic theatre, music concerts, comedy, dance performance, cabaret, catered events, conferences and expos.
“The Performing Arts Centre will be able to host a range of live performances and functions, which will not only provide a space for people to gather and socialize but will support the stimulation of our local economy,” said Wollondilly mayor Matt Gould.
“It will provide an important space for the local arts sector and will hopefully inspire creativity and cultural expression in the years ahead.”
View gallery
Wollondilly Performing Arts Centre by Williams Ross Architects.
The design of the facility will create a strong presence on corner of Menangle and Colden streets in Picton, taking its cues from the form of nearby post office. It will also celebrate the creative culture of Picton through a series of illuminated art boxes on the Colden street facade.
The theatre itself and the foyer spaces will present a double height glazed facade to the street. The design also includes sustainable elements such as rooftop solar, rainwater harvesting and energy efficient equipment.
Wollondilly Council appointed Williams Ross Architects and Tract Consultants in May 2020 for the design of the Wollondilly Community, Cultural and Civic Precinct. Stage two of the project will consist of a new Council Services Centre, more parking spaces and new public spaces.
It will accommodate council staff and the council is also looking to share the proposed building with state government agencies. The existing council administration building will be demolished and replaced with multiple buildings with public open space in between.
A Child Services Building, also part of the community, cultural and civic precinct, has already begun construction. More
Brickworks’ new Bowral Highlands brick range by Austral Bricks is inspired by the rolling hills and heritage towns of the Southern Highlands region in New South Wales. The bricks’ rugged materiality is drawn from the natural Australian landscape, comprised of clay sourced from the Southern Highlands. As an ode to the bricks’ origins, each colourway […] More
