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.
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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.”
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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
The jury for the 2024 ArchitectureAU Award for Social Impact has been revealed. The program honours projects that are public-spirited, prioritize empathy over aesthetics, and have made valuable societal contributions. The 2024 jury includes David Fisher of Housing Choices Australia, Maryam Gusheh of Monash University, Kieran Wong of the Fulcrum Agency, Linda Cheng, of Architecture […] More
Seoul-based Korean architect Minsuk Cho and his firm, Mass Studies, have been revealed as the designers of the 23rd Serpentine Pavilion.
The pavilion, titled Archipelagic Void, will be unveiled at London’s Serpentine South Gallery on 5 June 2024. Its features include five “islands” centred around a singular circular void. Mass Studies envisions a void defined by a series of smaller, adaptable structures, dotted around the void’s perimeter. The structures will form a constellation-like arrangement, enabling the park’s natural ecology to emerge from the apertures between the structures.
The central void is reflective of a “madang” – a small courtyard found in traditional Korean houses – used to accommodate everyday activities and large collective events. Around the void, each structure will be realized as a “content machine” with each structure to be individually named and each serving a unique purpose.
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Serpentine Pavilion 2024 designed by Minsuk Cho, Mass Studies. Design render, exterior view. Photo © Mass Studies. Image:
Image courtesy of Serpentine
The Serpentine South Gallery will provide entry to the pavilion outdoors, while the auditorium will serve as a gathering area. A small Library will feature to the north of the Pavilion, offering a moment of pause. The Tea House will honour the Serpentine South’s historical role as a tea pavilion. The Play Tower, the most open space, will feature a netted structure.
The Serpentine South Gallery will provide entry to the outdoor pavilion, while the auditorium will serve as a gathering area. A small library will be situated to the north of the pavilion, offering visitors a moment of reprieve and the Tea House will pay homage to the pavilion’s historical function as a tea pavilion. Finally, in the Play Tower, the most open space, will feature a netted structure. When these structures are integrated with the Archipelagic Void structures, ten distinct volumes are created – five covered, and five open, in-between areas – each surrounding the void. Highlighted by varying natural light conditions, these flexible spaces will host live programs and presentations.
The 23rd Serpentine Pavilion will be on display from 7 June until 27 October 2024. More
The jury responsible for selecting the winning design for a new mixed-use facility at the Suttons Beach precinct on Queensland’s Redcliffe Peninsula has been revealed. A national competition to design a new mixed-use hub at the site of the former 1937 Suttons Beach Pavilion was announced in October 2023 – commissioned by the City of […] More
Development Victoria and the Australian Football League (AFL) have entered a joint venture agreement to explore redevelopment opportunities at two waterfront sites in Naarm/Melbourne’s Docklands. The agreement relates to 140 and 160 Harbour Esplanade, with both sites being considered for a potential mixed-use development with commercial, residential, and entertainment offerings. Development Victoria purchased the leasehold […] More
Each of the 10 finalists’ designs from the Propositions: 2023 Tapestry Design Prize for Architects (TDPA) are set to be exhibited in large-format sample for the first time in 2024. The prize invites architects from around the world to design a tapestry for a hypothetical site, which in 2023 was the Bundanon Art Museum by […] More
Development WA has lodged a development application for a $100 million, 29-storey, mixed-use building in Boorloo/Perth, comprising 219 build-to-rent dwellings.
A previous housing scheme, designed by Klopper and Davis Architects, was proposed for the 3,099-square-metre site at 195 Pier Street, in 2019. Although development approval for the build-to-sell project was granted that same year, the current application is for a build-to-rent development instead.
The new proposal, designed by Hassell and Plan E Landscape Architects, would see the supply of mixed housing options, including 30 percent available for social housing tenants selected from the state government’s social housing waitlist, 20 percent would be made available to affordable housing tenants, and the other 50 percent would operate as market rate build-to-rent dwellings. Ten of 219 residences would be dedicated to specialist disability accommodation.
The design team have adopted a “blind tenure model” in designing the apartments, meaning that every apartment has been designed to the same specifications and finishes. This design strategy abolishes overt physical differences between housing types, in a move that seeks to eliminate potential stigma against social housing tenants on low incomes.
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The building features a landscaped podium on level seven and an activated ground level. Image:
Hassell Architects and Plan E Landscape Architects
The building will feature a landscaped podium on level seven, containing several communal offerings, such as a shared kitchen, workshop, laundry and outdoor area. An activated ground floor has also been proposed with a commercial tenancy, a cafe and a co-working space.
Hassell’s design report states the facade of the building has been designed to reference the precinct’s connection to print media as Pier Street was once the home of the Government Print Hall, and the nearby Stirling Street is where many esteemed newspapers such as The West Australian, The Sunday Times and The Australian, were printed.
“The tower form conceptually represents the printed media output part of the process and is therefore inextricably linked to the podium. The narrower east and west elevations are conceived as book or newspaper covers, complete with spine and paragraphs of text that run up the entire height of the tower,” the design report states.
“The transition into the broader north and south elevations is reinforced by the guilded page edges, which are expressed as vertical gold fins that are dense at the corners and increasingly spaced apart towards the centre of the main elevations. The north and south elevations are therefore conceived as pages between the covers and reveal the lives and stories of residents.”
In November 2019, the Western Australian Planning Commission granted approval to subdivide the land into two lots, with the approval valid until 4 November 2024. If the current application is approved, plans state the development will occur in two stages. The initial stage will concentrate on the proposed build-to-rent development on the northern block, which covers an area of 1,841 square metres. The remaining 1,258 square metre southern block will be allocated for future development.
The development application is on public exhibition until 5 February 2024. A decision regarding the development is anticipated to be announced in March 2024. If approved, construction will commence in mid-2024, with the project expected to be complete in 2026. More
