Evelyn Reynolds

The WA government will reintroduce its Medium Density Housing Code, after it deferred gazetting the codes in August 2023.
Originally introduced in February 2023, the new code would deliver more housing diversity through “deemed to comply” planning assessment pathways for terrace-style houses.
It would also improve housing design, with requirements for minimum living and garden sizes, and requirements for optimal orientation for energy efficiency and access to natural light, as well as incentives to retain existing trees.
The code was the result of three years of research and testing which was undertaken by many WA architects.
The code was scheduled to be gazetted on 1 September 2023, however, the government deferred the gazettal under mounting pressure from the cost of construction.
The new code will also be accompanied by a number of planning reforms including an online lodgement and tracking system, a new significant development pathway for projects valued at $20 million or more in the Perth and Peel metropolitan areas or $5 million or more in regional areas, and reforms to the Development Assessment Panels.
“I did not take the decision to defer the Medium Density Code lightly and as Housing Minister I must do everything I can to boost housing in Western Australia,” said WA planning minister John Carey.
“We have engaged with and listened to industry and understand that retaining many of the existing R Code provisions for single dwellings in most residential developments will reduce further pressure on the housing construction sector.”
The Australian Institute of Architects and Association of Consulting Architects (ACA) have advocated for the implementation of the Medium Density Housing Code since its gazettal was deferred.
“Much of the discussion to date on the new Code has been about improving the quality of design, and that’s important. But it’s only half the story. The other side of the conversation, and something not widely understood, is the diversity of housing – and choice – the new Code enables,” said Institute’s WA chapter president Sandy Anghie.
The ACA’s WA vice-president Kate Fitzgerald added, “There are many architecture businesses, planners and developers with innovative homes designed and ready to go under the new Code. Without the Code, these projects would not have been able to proceed – meaning homes can’t be delivered in a market where we desperately need more homes and greater diversity.”
The amended State Planning Policy 7.3 will be released in early-March 2024. More

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced that professor Lesley Lokko, the acclaimed Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator, author, racial advocate, and curator, will receive the Royal Gold Medal 2024 for architecture – she is the first woman of African descent to receive the prestigious award.
Lokko has devoted her career to amplifying under-represented voices and exploring the complex correlation between architecture, identity and race. Her contributions have had a profound, global influence on architectural education, dialogue and discourse.
The RIBA Honours Committee 2024 praised Lokko’s perseverance and determination to “democratize architecture” as a “clarion call for equitable representation in policies, planning, and design that shape our spaces.”
RIBA president Muyiwa Oki said Lokko is a fierce champion of equity and inclusion. “Lesley Lokko’s progressive approach to architecture education offers hope for the future – a profession that welcomes those from all walks of life, considers the needs of our environment, and acknowledges a broad range of cultures and perspectives,” he said.
“A visionary agent of change, Lesley has dedicated her life to championing these values, not only through academic endeavors, but through her work as an author and curator. She remains a humble revolutionary force, with her ambition and optimism etching an indelible mark on the global architectural stage.”

View gallery

Lokko has devoted her career to amplifying under-represented voices and exploring the complex correlation between architecture, identity and race. Her contributions have had a profound, global influence on architectural education, dialogue and discourse. Image:

Debra Hurford-Brown

In 2021, Lokko founded the African Futures Institute (AFI) in Accra, in Ghana. The institute was established to create a new model of education, research and public dialogue. Operating as a pan-African think tank, the institute provides advanced education and research to address contemporary obstacles associated with race, environmental justice, and emerging urban structures.
Before launching AFI, Lokko took on various teaching positions across the world, with the objective of reframing architecture courses to democratize, decolonize and progress architectural education. Some of her notable academic roles include founder and director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg and dean of The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at The City College of New York.
In 2023, Lokko was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her contributions to both architecture and education. That same year, she was curated of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Titled The Laboratory of the Future, the exhibition placed Africa at its centre and included its first ever educational component.
On being named the recipient of the 2024 RIBA Gold Medal, Lokko said she was shocked. “It came as such a surprise to me. This was never on the cards. I’m delighted to be considered alongside some of the great past winners of the Royal Gold Medal. Although this is a personal award, this isn’t merely a personal triumph, this is a testament to the people and organisations I have worked with that share my goals,” she said.
“I came into architecture seeking certainties, looking for answers. Instead, I found questions and possibilities, far richer, more curious, and more empathetic ways to interpret and shape the world. Architecture gave me language, in all its forms — visual, written, built, performed — and that language, in turn, has given me such hope.”
The Royal Gold Medal 2024 will be presented to Lesley Lokko in London on 2 May 2024. More

The Robin Boyd Foundation, in collaboration with NMBW Architecture Studio and Cibi, will host an exhibition that explores mid-century Japanese architecture and design culture in deference to Boyd’s fascination with Japan. The When Robin Boyd Went to Japan exhibition is inspired by a period in which Boyd was frequently visiting, observing, thinking and writing about […] More

The University of Newcastle has unveiled a concept design for a proposed student accommodation complex at its city campus in the heart of Muluubinba/Newcastle. The concept by Architectus proposes a nine-storey building on the corner of Worth Place and Civic Lane in the Honeysuckle precinct near the Coquun/Hunter River waterfront. The complex will accommodate up […] More

A proposal that involves the establishment of three towers and a public green square at the southern end of Naarm/Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market (QVM) is one step closer to becoming a reality, following Heritage Victoria’s decision to grant permit approval for the heritage aspect of the plan.
The QVM holds great cultural and historical significance for Melburnians. A much-loved food and retail market has operated from the site since the 1870s. Prior to that the land was used as Naarm/Melbourne’s first official cemetery, established in 1837. Despite the cemetery having closed in 1917, it is estimated that there is still 6,500 to 9,000 burials present on the site.
In June 2023, plans for a mixed-use redevelopment on the southern side of site were revealed, with the project estimated to cost $1.7 billion. Designed by NH Architecture, Kerstin Thompson Architects, 3XN Australia, Searle × Waldron Architecture, Openwork, McGregor Coxall, Lovell Chen and Urbis, the vision for the project is to create an activated southern precinct, to be known as Gurrowa Place. Under the plans, three towers would be constructed providing a mix of student accommodation, residential apartments, and work spaces.
The same month plans were released, Heritage Victoria received a heritage permit application regarding the project, specifically concerning the conservation and adaptive re-use of several stores on Franklin Street, the transformation of the existing open-air carpark to create 1.8 hectares of public open space, and the creation of two towers into the airspace above the Franklin Street stores.
Heritage Victoria granted the heritage permit on the grounds that a significant portion of the application lies outside their jurisdiction. While the permit states that the towers are the “most impactful” part of the proposed development, only Towers One and Two partially pertain to the Heritage Act 2017. This is because they have been created with a partial cantilever that extends into the airspace above the Franklin Street stores canopy. Furthermore, a section of the basement in both buildings falls within the extent of registration.
In their assessment of the application, Heritage Victoria concluded that the “cantilever of Towers One and Two over the Franklin Street Stores canopy will have a limited impact on the cultural heritage significance of QVM when considered in the context of the place in its entirety.
“The proposed conservation works to the Franklin Street Stores are a positive heritage outcome and will remove unsympathetic accretions, reconstruct removed elements and return the stores to an earlier and more appropriate appearance.
“Replacement of the existing carpark with public open space (Market Square) represents the former use of the place as a cemetery, is more respectful of the estimated 6,500 to 9,000 burials still remaining at the place and will be carried out in a way which will not substantially disturb the subsurface area.”
Tower Three and the Queens Corner Building were excluded from the heritage permit application as they have no relevant heritage requirements.

View gallery

Under the plans, three towers would be constructed providing a mix of student accommodation, residential apartments, and work spaces. Image:

NH Architecture, Kerstin Thompson Architects, 3XN Australia, and Searle × Waldron Architecture.

The City of Melbourne stated the precinct would be complementary to a number of nearby projects recently completed or soon to be delivered, including “heritage shed restoration, the new Munro library and community hub, hospitality and retail offerings in the Munro development and Mirvac’s build-to-rent project on Therry Street.”
​The heritage permit, will now be assessed separately by the state planning department. The permit will expire if construction on the project has not commenced within two years of the permit issue date. Additionally, the permit will no longer apply to the site if the project is not completed within six years of the permit issue date.
For project updates, visit the City of Melbourne website. More

The 2024 Australia Day Honours list has acknowledged and celebrated the contributions and achievements of 1,042 Australians. Among them are six architects who have made significant advancements in the field of architecture.

View gallery

Maggie Edmond. Image:

John Gollings

Gold Medallist, Maggie Edmond, has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for “significant service to architecture, to tertiary education, and to professional organizations.”
Edmond’s distinguished career as an architect and urban designer spans more than five decades. In 1969, she began working as an architect, and in 1974, she became the principal at Edmond and Corrigan, where she still works. She is the recipient of 35 awards the Australian Institute of Architects, including the Walter Burley Griffin National Award for Urban Design in 1995. In 2023, Edmond was retrospectively awarded the Australian Institute of Architects 2003 Gold Medal with Peter Corrigan at the National Architecture Awards.

View gallery

Helen Lochhead. Image:

Jessica Lindsay

Architect, former National Trust of Australia (NSW) board member and academic, Helen Lochhead was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to architecture and urban design, to building regulation reform, to tertiary education, and to professional organizations.”
Lochhead has served in various roles at the Australian Institute of Architects, including as the institute’s national president between 2019 and 2021. She has been an ongoing board member of the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat since 2018, and was appointed chair of the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016, 2018 and 2020. She is chair of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment, and an emeritus professor of architecture and urbanism.
Also appointed as a Members of the Order of Australia (AM) was John Taylor for “significant service to architecture, heritage conservation, and to professional organizations,” and Margaret Ward for “service to the building industry.”
Two architects were awarded the Medal of Order of Australia (OAM) including Paul Hede, of Victoria, and Peter Hodge, of Western Australia – both for their “service to architecture, and to the community.”

View gallery

Dillon Kombumerri. Image: Supplied

Architect, Dillon Kombumerri was awarded a Meritorius Award for “outstanding public service to the field of architecture and design and relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and cultural practices.”
Kombumerri is principal architect at the Government Architect NSW office. Hailing from Yugambeh and Quandamooka Country, Kombumerri was the University of Sydney’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander architecture graduate in 1990. In October 2023, the University of Sydney awarded him an honorary doctorate of architecture in recognition of his contributions to Australia’s built environment. More

Hassell has collaborated with the European Space Agency and Cranfield University to create a concept masterplan that would enable a permanent human settlement on the moon. Developed with anthropologists, psychologists, roboticist and astronauts, the concept explores how a permanent community of around 150 people could be established in reduced gravity in a lunar environment. The […] More

Creative Victoria has awarded Sibling Architecture a grant of $189,680 to undertake research on the design of sensorial sensitive environments, a subject on which the firm has devoted years of passionate investigation.
The funding will enable the practice to carry out in-depth research on their chosen topic and then later present the findings at a major Melbourne-based event in 2025. The research project is the latest in a series of concerted, ongoing efforts made by Sibling Architecture to study the interaction between those with diverse needs and abilities, and their environment and stimuli.
The firm completed an addition at the Wangaratta District Specialist School (WDSS) in 2023, which saw the integration of calm/focus areas, sensory spaces, social areas, and support facilities for students with intellectual, and in some cases, physical disabilities. They also upgraded the headquarters of Arts Project Australia, a creative social enterprise that supports artists with intellectual disabilities by promoting their work and advocating for their inclusion in contemporary art practice.

View gallery

Wangaratta District Specialist School by Sibling Architecture. Image:

Derek Swalwell

Amelia Borg, co-director of Sibling, said the latest research venture will be carried out in stages, with a major emphasis on consultation and active listening throughout the process.
“The first stage will involve a post-occupancy evaluation of the WDSS and the Arts Project Australia. During this stage, we will engage with the users and staff to determine how the buildings are being used,” Borg said. “Then the second phase will entail prototyping and designing spaces according to the findings, followed by the overall presentation of the results.
“Anecdotally […] we have learned that the spaces [at WDSS] are being used as we intended, which is great, but, we’re also eager to build on that initial dialogue and understand whether there are elements that we could add or different experiences that we could create.”

View gallery

In the group sensory room at Wangaratta District Specialist School, a poly-pipe lighting installation demonstrates Sibling Architecture’s experience in exhibition design. Image:

Derek Swalwell

Borg said designing sensorially sensitive spaces can be a “balancing” act for architects and designers as it involves catering to needs across a wide spectrum.
“Part of the whole challenge is that some users may be hypersensitive – meaning that they may find too much stimulation overwhelming or distracting – and the reverse can be true as well – where some users may crave a stimulating environment with more input. That’s one facet of the research we will be conducting: the balance and the different sort of strategies that can be employed in both scenarios,” she said.
The grant follows an earlier grant the firm received in 2018 from Creative Victoria to conduct a small research project, titled New Agency, which explored the topic of ageing populations and how various spaces, such as homes and public places, can better accommodate ageing bodies through different methods of design arrangement. The outcome of that research was presented in an exhibition at RMIT Design Hub. The recently secured funding will also explore similar themes of accessibility, however, it will zero in on how individuals with different neurodivergent challenges might experience a space.
The funding from 2018 enabled the practice to carry out their research on a small scale, however, since they have been granted a larger sum this time, it will enable them to broaden the scope and scale of their research, resulting in potentially further-reaching, positive outcomes.
The research findings will be presented in Melbourne in 2025, in a format yet to be determined. More