Evelyn Reynolds

The National Gallery of Victoria has announced a new series of major commissions that will showcase significant work of internationally renowned female designers and architects.
The five-year series, made possible through a significant contribution from cosmetics retailer Mecca, aims to champions and elevate women in art and design.
The gallery made the announcement on International Women’s Day in 2022 and also revealed Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao has been commissioned for the inaugural exhibition, which will be be unveiled in September. The gallery intends to reveal commissioned designers each year coinciding with International Women’s Day.
“Tatiana Bilbao’s is a compelling voice from outside of the traditional canon of architecture, offering a unique perspective on both its history and its future. A woman from North America, an advocate and a spokesperson for change, Bilbao creates work that is as intellectually rigorous as it is visually dynamic,” said Tony Ellwood, director of the NGV.
Bilbao established Tatiana Bilbao Studio in 2004, based in Mexico City. Her work spans a number of typologies from institutional to residential and low-cost housing, as well as urban planning and landscape design. She has been an advisor in the Ministry of Development and Housing of the Government of the Federal District of Mexico City.
Her studio focuses on challenging historical conventions and making spaces more inclusive and people-oriented. She often collaborates with other architects, artists, communities, as well as business people to enrich the culture and built landscape of Mexico.
She presented at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and her has also been collected by the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Collage by Tatiana Bilbao.

Bilbao often uses collage, drawing and model-making in her work and her commission for the NGV will create a large-scale installation that will combine textiles and architectural structure.
“I am deeply honoured and grateful to have been chosen for the Women in Design Commission by the NGV and Mecca. This is contributing in many ways to advance the discourse of the importance of opening channels for people that have been left out of opportunities. When chosen, I took this responsibility very seriously and I am truly thankful for the opportunity.”
The Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission will provide a platform for topical and world-premiere works. “The ongoing Women in Design Commission will highlight the ground-breaking work of women in this field from Australia and around the world, as well as strengthening the NGV Collection for future generations,” Ellwood said.
The contribution from Mecca is the biggest the company has made to any Australian cultural institution.
The 2022 Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission will open in September 2022 and close in March 2023. More

Methven predicts that in 2022 the focus for the bathroom, more than any other room in the home, will incorporate key wellness and self-care trends, with an emphasis on the importance of creating harmony. Focusing on quality items that last and provide comfort above all else will be the priority. Trends for 2022 dictate that […] More

Smart Design Studio has designed an “imaginative” revamp of a heritage-listed former apartment building for a private girls school in Sydney’s Darlinghurst. Wilkinson house at 215 Forbes Street was constructed in 1928 and originally designed by Emil Sodersten (who lends his name to the top award for interior architecture at the National Architecture Awards, of […] More

The site of the former Perth Girls School in East Perth is set to become a vertical residential community, under plans to redevelop the site submitted to Development WA.
The precinct designed by MJA Studio and Nic Brunsdon will see more than 700 residential dwellings across four towers including 500 build-to-rent apartment, 242 build-to-sell apartments and 100 affordable housing units.
The project will also see the former Perth Girls School buildings converted into office spaces for creative industries, restaurants and cafes, art gallery spaces, and a yoga studio in the turret.
A microbrewery and forecourt designed by Cast Studio (formerly David Barr Architects) and Benson Studio will also be created on the site.
The precinct will also include two park, each connecting to adjacent existing public parks. Mala Studio is the landscape architect for the project.
The site is bisected by an existing road – Bronte Street, with two 25-storey towers housing build-to-sell apartments on the south site, which also contains the former Perth Girls School buildings.

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The redevelopment of the former Perth Girls’ School site designed by MJA Studio and Nic Brunsdon.

“Designed as two ‘siblings’, rather than twins, both build-to-sell towers share common traits and mannerisms that help reflect the symmetry of PGS and it’s vertical rhythms,” the architects said in a design statement. “A palette of colours are considerately integrated between both the towers and the PGS, reflects existing colours found within the heritage buildings.”
Two towers housing build-to-rent apartments, 15 and 37 storeys respectively will be built on the north site.
The 15-storey build-to-rent tower to the north will be a breezeway typology, “conceived as a heavy limestone block, with a cleave through its centre, creating a dark, verdant, and lush environment,” the architects said. “It is a space for vertical and horizontal circulation, encouraging incidental interactions and pedestrian movement between floors. It is seen as counter to the hard, and ordered building edges, a more private and cool space bringing small increments of domestic living into this semi-public space.”

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The redevelopment of the former Perth Girls’ School site designed by MJA Studio and Nic Brunsdon.

The facade design of the taller build-to-rent tower will be an inversion of the southern towers. A supermarket will be semi-underground beneath the proposed park on the north site.
The two northern towers will be connected by a podium housing a “mobility hub,” which is currently proposed to contain 400 car parks over three levels owing to Perth’s car dependency, however, the spaces are designed to be adaptable and can be converted in the future into apartments, flexible working spaces, or indoor urban agriculture.
The project will be developed by Australian Development Capital with Assemble and Housing Choices Australia to deliver the build-to-rent and affordable housing. More

The Australian Institute of Architects has awarded architect and public servant Fiona Gardiner the 2022 Paula Whitman Leadership in Gender Equity Prize.
Gardiner was CEO and director of heritage at the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and is now adjunct associate professor at University of Queensland School of Architecture.
“Fiona Gardiner is a pre-eminent and respected role model for women who has consistently demonstrated relevant, sustained and active leadership,” said Catherine Baudet, jury chair and winner of the inaugural Paula Whitman prize.
Gardiner graduated from the University of Queensland in 1978 and later completed a master’s degree in conservation at York University. She championed the conservation of important Queensland buildings at a time when they were under threat from the state government led by Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
In 1983, she became the inaugural president of Women in Architecture, a group that raised the profile of female architects through exhibitions, events, and radio interviews.
“These early years of promoting women architects provided the foundations of an attitude that has been fostered since then and passed on to the many women who have encountered her,” Baudet said.
As a public servant, Gardiner created flexible work environment employees to accommodate family demands.
“Gardiner navigated a challenging working environment in the public service with professionalism and grace, showing the world that women were valuable team members and great leaders,” Baudet said. “She advocated for other women and worked to develop and implement non-discriminatory policies.”
She promoted the hidden heritage of Queensland’s female architects through exhibitions and protected their work through heritage listings. She also helped develop heritage policies at state and local government levels.
Gardiner was awarded a Public Service Medal in the 2019 Australia Day Honours for “outstanding public service through management of cultural heritage in Queensland.
The jury for the 2022 Paula Whitman prize comprised Kylie-JoAnn Hughes (Chair of the National Committee for Gender Equity), Erin Crowden (Past EmAGN President and Senior Architect at Proske Architects), Leanne Haidar (SJB Architects and past SONA President), and Alison McFadyen (Parlour Representative and Associate Director at Stallard Meek Flightpath). More

A new supporter program, the Parlour Collective, will create long-term funding security for the gender equity organization and professional opportunities for its supporters. Celebrating its 1oth year in 2022, Parlour promotes gender equity in architecture and across built environment professions. The Parlour Collective will enable those who join it to increase and share knowledge, demonstrate […] More

A vast $119 million school accommodating 2,700 students has been completed in the regional Victorian town of Shepparton.
Greater Shepparton Secondary College designed by Gray Puksand consolidates four existing schools – Mooroopna Secondary College, McGuire College, Wanganui Park Secondary College and Shepparton High School – into a single 22,000 square metre campus.
“The overarching concept for the Campus sees a little town, within its own bigger town. With students joining together from four schools, it was integral we sought to create a sense of community and a ‘home’ for varied groups to join as one,” said Gray Puksand partner Stephen Turner, who led the design of GSSC.

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Greater Shepparton Secondary College by Gray Puksand. Image:

Courtesy Gray Puksand

The spatial arrangement of the school is centred around a central hub, the Enterprise and Innovation Centre, which houses precincts for technology, performing and fine arts, and sciences. The centre allows students to connect to industry, tertiary institutions and trade organizations beyond their schooling years.
Three neighbourhoods, each with three “houses” are connected to the Enterprise and Innovation Centre. Each neighbourhood contains a library, canteen, tiered assembly area, as well as outdoor learning spaces including a rooftop terrace.
“The roofs – when combined on scale – create a silhouette of a town, composed together to see the oscillating features of the built form, acting as orientation points for the entire town,” Turner said.
“Students have their own front door to their own house. It’s their ‘home at school’, a part of their own smaller ‘neighbourhood’ where they can feel a sense of belonging. This was a central component of the design to soften the student experience of suddenly being a part of such a large school that many aren’t, or weren’t, used to.”
A second central hub at the school contains the physical education centre, which includes two multi-sport courts, fitness and weights room, movement studio, game strategy hub, multi-purpose learning studios and amenities.
The design palette of the school buildings draw inspiration from the surrounding region’s mineral geology, agricultural plains and riverbeds. The colours of the exterior are designed to reflect the ever-changing colours of the surrounding terrain and foliage. The campus also features artwork from Yorta Yorta artist Tom Day and Bangerang artist Rebecca Atkinson. More

The Australian government has launched the national competition to design a $316.5 million Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural precinct in Canberra.
The project, to be named “Ngurra,” will create a National Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Centre – a new home for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) – and National Resting Place to house and care for repatriated ancestral remains.
The word Ngurra is used in a number of Aboriginal languages to mean home, camp, a place of belonging and a place of inclusion.
The precinct will be located on the land of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, inside the Parliamentary Triangle on one of the main axes of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin’s design for Canberra. It will also be co-located with the the Tent Embassy, National Library of Australia, Questacon, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery of Australia, and the High Court of Australia.
“This competition will ensure Ngurra has an iconic design fitting for the location while encompassing the importance of the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to this nation,” said Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt.
“We also will be looking for the best design to complement existing national institutions in the Parliamentary Triangle.
“Consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will take place as the design of the precinct progresses to ensure it is fit for purpose and a welcome addition to our national landscape.”
AIATSIS Council Chairperson Jodie Sizer said the winning design “must suit its location, and reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ aspirations, achievements and deep connection to Country.”
AIATSIS has also outlined key themes for the design of the Ngurra Cultural Precinct:

Renew – Reflect deep and enduring respect for heritage and meaningful understanding to advance the cultural values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Restore – World-leading example of climate-positive design, living place that gives back more to nature than it takes.
Replenish – Unlock meaningful economic opportunities and foster innovation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples nationwide.
Reflect – Welcome all Australians to learn, celebrate, and embrace our common future, and to move forward on a shared journey of global significance.

Stage one of the competition open to eligible Australian architectural, urban design and landscape design firms to submit expressions of interest.
Proponents of the competition strongly encourage the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as part of multidisciplinary teams, however, it is not a requirement.
The competition excludes architects not registered to practice in Australia and multidisciplinary teams located outside Australia.
Stage one submissions close on 1 April. The first stage of competition endorsed by Australian Institute of Architects.
Four participants/teams will be invited to participate in stage two competitive design process. Shortlisted teams will be paid an honorarium of $100,000 to participated in the second stage of the competition.
The jury comprises Indigenous architect Michael Mossman; architects Greg Burgess, Shaneen Fantin and Andrew Smith; as well as prominent Indigenous Australians: musician Clint Bracknell, journalist Stan Grant, academic Marcia Langton, filmmaker Rachel Perkins; and finally former politician Amanda Vanstone. More