Evelyn Reynolds

The disused rail yards in Sydney’s Redfern is set to be transformed into a new mixed-use precinct under plans developed by Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW).
On 26 July, TfNSW released a rezoning proposal to provide 110,000 square metres of residential and commercial space and in it the acreage for technology and innovation industries as well as new public space and social housing.
The land, owned by the Transport Asset Holding Entity, has inaccessible public for around a century and presents an opportunity to create a new multi-use precinct.
An urban design framework for the Redfern-North Eveleigh Precinct, developed with Bates Smart and Turf Design Studio, reveal a vision to create a residential, entertainment and technology hub on the edge of the CBD.
The draft masterplan targets the “Paint Shop” area, one of three sub-precincts within the Redfern-North Eveleigh Precinct, named after the 135-year-old red brick workshop where trains were overhauled until 1988.
TfNSW envisions the Paint Shop precinct will act as a gateway to Sydney’s emerging tech precinct within Haymarket and Central Station.

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Concept designs for the Paint Shop precinct in the Redfern-North Eveleigh Precinct. Image:

Bates Smart

The plan involves the adaptive reuse heritage workshop buildings, like the eponymous 6,000-square-metre “Paint Shop” building, to create 450 new affordable and diverse homes in buildings up to 28 storeys.
The state government has set a target of 30 per cent diverse housing, half of which must be social and affordable housing, which Minister for Cities Rob Stokes said is “triple the Greater Cities Commission’s baseline target”.
“The Redfern-North Eveleigh precinct is a ten-hectare parcel of inner city public land that has been off limits to the public for more than a century and provides the perfect place for a new city-shaping precinct,” Minister Stokes said.
“We’re transforming the old rail yards by restoring and protecting their heritage value, building new homes and offices while creating more than 14,000 square metres of public space, including a new town square and public parkland.”
The revitalisation will follow the upgrades to Redfern station, which will help to create a connected centre and mixed-use development for living and working.
The rezoning proposal is on exhibition for public comment until Thursday 25 August 2022. Detailed planning on the Paint Shop precinct cannot be completed until the rezoning process has been carried out. More

Construction has begun on the refurbishment of Arts Centre Melbourne’s Theatres Building, part of the Victorian government’s $1.7 billion transformation of Melbourne Arts Precinct.
The Theatres Building, originally designed Roy Grounds, is home to the State Theatre, Playhouse and Fairfax Studio, renowned for its illuminated spire.
NH Architecture and Snøhetta has designed the refurbishment of the arts spaces, adding new scenery lifts, a loading dock, green room, stage door, studio and function space, and a new western entrance to 18,000 square metres of added public parkland.

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Reimagining of the Theatres Building. Image:

NH Architecture

Arts Centre Melbourne Reimagining project director Chris King said the Theatres Building has “great bones” but deteriorating assets that no longer reflect the requirements of its users.
Respecting the original heritage architecture of Roy Grounds and interiors by John Truscott, the design will retain the heritage-listed design features while improving lighting, acoustics, accessibility, circulation and digital streaming technology.
The State Theatre will have dedicated wheelchair positions for the first time in the theatre’s history, serviced by two DDA-compliant lifts for greater accessibility. There will also be 68 new enhanced amenity seats with wider row and seat options.
Chair of the Arts Centre Melbourne Andrew Myer said that reimagining the Arts Centre is a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity. The transformation will be carried out in phases, with works on the Theatres Building expected to be completed by early 2023, preparing for major works to deliver the broader Melbourne Arts Precinct transformation.
The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is the largest cultural infrastructure project undertaken in the country, and will also include a new contemporary art gallery for the National Gallery of Victoria.
The State Theatre will close for auditorium and stage house refurbishment in 2024 and reopen in December 2026. More

The draft plans for Hornsby Town Centre, in the Upper North Shore Sydney region, are now on public exhibition, designed to address future housing shortages and reduce urban sprawl. Prepared by Cox Architecture, the masterplan reveals a proposed revitalization of the town centre to make it greener, more liveable, and more accessible for the community. […] More

Glenn Murcutt’s self-proclaimed “most significant” project has been added to the NSW State Heritage Register. Simpson-Lee House II has been recognized as historically significant in the development of Australian modernist architecture in the latter half of the 20th century. Heritage NSW executive director Sam Kidman described the project as a home that signalled an important […] More

Entries have opened for the 2022 Circle Awards, which recognizes businesses, organizations, projects and people leaving positive impact on the environment and society. Opened on 20 July, this awards program accepts entrants from 14 categories including architecture and construction, as well as transport, local government, fashion, food and wellbeing within Australia and New Zealand. The […] More

Designs have been released for a $24 million redevelopment of the Neutral Bay Public School campus, which proposes to increase its core facilities and outdoor play space. A masterplan by Desinginc was submitted to North Sydney Council in July and includes designs for seven new high-tech learning spaces, a new library, canteen and staffroom, with […] More

Dean Norton established his eponymous studio with the desire to have freedom in his design work. To have full creative expression and control, to design functional pieces that are artistic statements and stories, and to not be limited by a client brief or budget.
British-born and Melbourne-based, Dean studied graphic design and interior design at the University of the Arts London, after which he worked on retail and commercial projects, including custom furniture and fixtures for high-end clients. “I loved designing custom pieces because we didn’t have a limited budget and the brief was to stand out, so I could express myself creatively,” he says. He decided furniture design provided the creative freedom he was seeking and launched his own studio in 2017, debuting the Moodlum collection in 2018. “The idea of Moodlum was for each piece to merge with a space and complement the room’s style and atmosphere,” Dean says.
Moodlum established a minimalist language that is consistent throughout Dean’s work: well-resolved geometric shapes, continuous curves and no visible fixings. With this foundation, Dean focuses on form and experiments with materials, before considering construction and production. “It’s more freeing, because I’m not limiting myself creatively with the complexities of construction,” he explains.
The original Mood tables are powdercoated in white or black, with a tabletop in smoke-grey mirror or back-painted frosted glass. He has since expanded the range of finishes, imbuing the minimalist table and its environment with a different aesthetic, feeling and effect. The Mood coffee and side tables in zinc, for example, reflect the colours and tones of their surroundings, while the wood and resin finish emphasizes the table’s natural timber grain. Dean also develops custom pieces and finishes for interior design commissions, including a chrome side table for Aesop’s Karrinyup store.
Dean has designed several pieces as thematic responses to exhibitions, and emotive reactions to Melbourne lockdowns. Containa explores confinement and protection, featuring a wood-turned form encased within a frosted glass shell, while Daylight is a light therapy lamp intended to boost wellbeing and creative energy. He entered Daylight and the Float glass tables into the VIVID 2021 Emerging Designer Awards, for which he won the Judges’ Choice Award.
The National Gallery of Victoria’s acquisition of Dean’s graphic illusion Concave Convex Mirror in 2021 affirms his approach to design and creative expression: “[Having my design] in an art gallery is a dream come true as I see my work as artistic statements. They are creative pieces and I want them to have an ongoing creative story.”

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