Evelyn Reynolds

Emma Williamson, co-founder of The Fulcrum Agency, says architects are uniquely placed to contribute to the national conversation in the lead up to the Voice referendum on 14 October.
In 2021, eight new performance criteria focusing on the engagement of First Nations Peoples and understanding and respecting Country were added to the National Standard of Competencies for Architects.
“The connection to Country framework that’s being adopted is really important,” Williamson said, “but having deeper and more sophisticated conversations might see the response to design [that includes] deeper, earlier engagement and doesn’t end up being a public artwork response.”
“And [a successful] referendum would reinforce that and open the door for deeper and better conversations.”
Williamson is among a group of architects who have banded together to encourage their peers to show their support for the Voice on social media.
“Within the profession, probably the majority of people are in support of the Voice, because we’re already professionally working within this framework that recognizes the Indigenous occupation of the land prior to colonial settlement,” Williamson said.
“This is an opportunity to do a very small thing, which is to state why are you voting “yes” because those declarations are examples of simple ways that people have considered what’s important to them.
“The Indigenous population is only 3 percent so it’s the non-Indigenous population that really need to do the work now.
“I recognize the incredible toll that it’s taken on First Nations people to do all of the work to this point and I think we all need to pitch in to do some of the lifting.
“All of us if we believe in this need to consider how we can have a small amount of influence on that.”
Carey Lyon, director of Lyons Architecture said that architects have a responsibility to engage in “the most important public debate to be had in Australia for many, many decades,” adding that a “yes” vote would be “the most practical way for design professionals to, in the future, acknowledge what First Nations, Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to say about their built environment.”
Jefa Greenaway, Victoria’s first Indigenous registered architect, said, “This is a nation building opportunity. It is time for architects and the design profession to step up.”
“Australia has the oldest continuous culture in the world – this is an extraordinary fact,” added Rachel Nolan, founding director of Kennedy Nolan.
“I feel so lucky that we are being offered an opportunity to walk and work together and have this Voice embedded in our Constitution.”
For information and resources see the Voice and Uluru Statement from the Heart. More

The 2023 Australian Good Design Awards have awarded four architectural design projects with their highly esteemed Best in Class accolade.
From a community-minded residential precinct to a spooky tour, a restaurant with a diverse sea to plate experience and a scenic destination for wine lovers, the 2023 architecture category paid homage to a mixed assortment of projects across the commercial, public and residential sectors.
Architectural Design ­– category winner
Nightingale Village ­– Architecture Architecture, Austin Maynard Architects, Breathe, Clare Cousins Architects, Hayball, and Kennedy Nolan.

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Nightingale Village is a medium-density residential precinct comprising 203 homes across six buildings in Brunswick. Image:

Tom Ross

Nightingale Village is a medium-density residential precinct comprising 203 homes across six buildings in Brunswick. Six architecture firms united through Nightingale Housing to deliver their own building, with the precinct setting new standards for community-centred design and environmental sustainability outcomes.
Architectural Interior Design – category winner
Delatite Cellar Door – Lucy Clemenger Architects with landscape by Tommy Gordon

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Delatite Cellar Door by Lucy Clemenger Architects and Tommy Gordon. Image:

Derek Swalwell

The Delatite Cellar Door provides a unique wine tasting and dining experience located in the foothills of the Victorian Alps. The building utilizes environmentally sustainable design principles in a new commercial setting, as well as reflects the identity of Delatite’s owners.
Architectural Place Design – category winner
Angsila Oyster Scaffolding Pavilion ­– Chat Architects, Angsila Fishermen Community and INDA Chulalongkorn University.

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The open-water dining pavilion design is a refreshing take on the widely deployed bamboo oyster scaffolding. Image:

W Workspace

Located off the coast of historic Angsila Fishing village in Thailand, the oyster scaffolding pavilion seeks to reinvigorate the struggling fishing industry through the creation of a new oyster eco-tourism infrastructure model. The open-water dining pavilion invites visitors to have a unique and refreshing dining experience on the bamboo scaffolding, offering the floundering industry an opportunity for diversification and prosperity.
Architectural Installation Design – category winner
Pentridge Prison Tours – Art Processors

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Pentridge Prison Tours by Art Processors and National Trust of Australia (Victoria). Image:

Brent Lukey

Art Processors partnered with the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) to transform Pentridge Prison into an immersive and unforgettable visitor experience by opening up the chilling historic site to attendees, providing them with the opportunity to uncover unsettling truths about a callous epoch in Australia’s history.
The 2023 Good Design of the Year Award was given to an airbourne disease tracking device that helps agricultural growers manage their crops. BioScout by Tiller Design uses machine learning algorithms to identify and analyse spores in the field.
Elsewhere in the awards, Reef Design Lab’s Erosion Mitigation Units (EMU) received the Good Design Award for Sustainability and industrial designer Marc Newson was awarded the Australian Design Prize for his work with well known brands such as Qantas, Louis Vuitton and Ferrari. More

A state significant development application has been lodged for the establishment of a RNA Pilot Research and Manufacturing Facility, designed by HDR and sited at Macquarie University’s Wallumattagal campus in North Ryde. The facility, located approximately 13km from the Sydney CBD, the facility on the corner of Gymnasium and Culloden Roads would be used to […] More

A development application for an elevated tower held up by 20-metre stilts, designed by Architectus and Woha, has been lodged for the site of the heritage-listed former Evans Deakin Dry Dock in Kangaroo Point, Brisbane.
Located on a 4,964-square-metre block at 26 Cairns Street, the proposed waterfront building would house 232 units, comprising 40 one-bedroom, 112 two-bedroom, 72 three-bedroom and eight four-bedroom apartments, as well as five underground parking levels with 458 car spaces.

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Braced by V-columns, the raised tower has been designed to free up the ground plane for communal use. Image:

Architectus and Woha

Braced by V-columns, the 24-storey raised tower has been designed to be protected from flood events. The height of the building frees up the ground plane for communal use with a proposed outdoor space to provide access to the historical dock, a restaurant, cafe, ampitheatre, and lookout.
Plans depict the building being shrouded in greenery, providing shade to balconies. Co-founding director of Woha Richard Hassell said the project will set new standards for Brisbane “by providing nature-based solutions to regenerate and form new relationship between the man-made and natural world,” Hassell said.
Architectus principal studio leader Karl Eckermann said they are elated to be working on such a distinct project.
“Having worked in partnership with the Brisbane community to create the much-loved Gallery of Modern Art, we’re thrilled to be part of the team creating a new riverfront destination along the Brisbane River,” Eckermann said.
The design team will be targeting a 5-star Green Star rating through the integration of rooftop solar capture and stormwater harvesting initiatives.
The application for the project was lodged to Brisbane City Council by Delta Australia Holdings. More

The doors to a revived 1960s beach treasure, a family tree house inspired by a Californian dream and historic homestead will be open for public viewing at the 2023 Sunshine Coast Open House.
The 2023 edition of the free architecture and design festival will feature rare, behind-the-scenes tours, talks and interactive experiences such as a “paint and sip” class in a Queenslander and an opportunity for students to become an architect for a day.
The festival will also provide a rare opportunity for individuals to meet the people who have designed and constructed these properties.
Properties open for public inspection include Eumundi House by Peter Ireland, Banksia House by Dragi Majstorovic at Kings Beach, which showcases architecture in an award-winning garden by Kirsti Sheldon, Hodgson House in Currimundi by Laura Hodgson, revealing a recent renovation of an old beach shack transformed into a family home, and the Art Room in Tinbeerwah by Bark Architects, showing how a building can be repurposed and given new life.
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson said the community event aims to celebrate the region’s historic, contemporary and sustainable buildings, as well as provide recognition to the design firms responsible for the innovative projects.
“Our region is well known for its design and architecture,” Jamieson said. “From the coast to the hinterland, we have a history of great design that is acknowledged nationally and internationally.
“Sunshine Coast design celebrates the region’s unique history and architecture with built form that considers the local climate, prioritises indoor-outdoor living and maximises living within the landscape. The Sunshine Coast Open House festival offers rare, behind-the-scenes access to the Sunshine Coast’s best buildings, including private homes, corporate buildings, heritage treasures and sustainable spaces.”
The program will be officially launched by Queensland governor, Jeannette Young, at Sunshine Coast City Hall.
Sunshine Coast Open House committee chair and Clare Design director Lindsay Clare urged everyone to attend.
“I invite everyone to visit this year’s range of well-designed homes and buildings that showcase the importance of responsive design for the future of the region. Good design can help decrease the cost of living as you don’t need to live with air conditioning all summer and heating all winter,” Clare said.
“Sunshine Coast Open House will allow people to tour a selection of historic and architecturally significant buildings as part of the 2023 program as well as attend walking tours, ‘paint and sip’ events focused on the Queenslander, a heritage conference and library talks featuring stories about stunning Sunshine Coast buildings.”
Sunshine Coast Open House is part of the Open House Worldwide network, founded by Open House London in 1992.
For bookings, volunteering or learn more about Sunshine Coast Open House can visit www.sunshinecoastopenhouse.com.au. More

Beth George and Emerald Wise have been crowned winners of the $10,000 International Tapestry Design Prize for Architects 2023 for their tapestry proposal Solstice.
The competition, presented by Australian Tapestry Workshop, invited architects from around the globe to design a tapestry for a hypothetical site. This year’s site was the Bundanon Art Museum by Kerstin Thompson Architects.
The winning entry, Solstice, is deep, dark and moody. George and Wise designed the tapestry to reflect the need for interconnectedness and ecology, particularly emphasised in the wake of the pandemic. A bright gold thread illuminates the edge of a circular landform and resembles a lunar eclipse, while an azure thread charts a river, pool, bath and bay, each linked together by a metallic thread.

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Solstice by Beth George and Emerald Wise. Image:

Beth George and Emerald Wise

Entries were judged by a panel comprising Jefa Greenaway (jury chair and founding director of Greenaway Architects), Kerstin Thompson (principal and design director of Kerstin Thompson Architects), Justin Hill (co-founder of Kerry Hill Architects and past TDPA winner), Christina Na-Heon Cho (director of Cox Architecture), Adrian Iredale (founding partner of Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects), Camila Block (director of Durbach Block Jaggers), and José da Silva (director of UNSW Galleries).
The jury awarded one high commendation to 3RDRM Glenn Russell for their design Mezcla.
A third tapestry design, The Fox and The Lyrebird by Tasmin Vivian-Williams and Tonielle Demper, was voted People’s Choice Award winner.
The Australian Tapestry Workshop is creating large-format samples of each finalists’ design and are hosting an exhibition with all finalists’ designs on show. The exhibition is being held at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne, until 28 September. More

The New South Wales government has released a design for the public outdoor areas of the Harbourside Shopping Centre redevelopment in Tumbalong/Darling Harbour.
Designed by Snøhetta and Hassell, the redevelopment proposes to create a range of retail, hospitality and entertainment spaces, as well as a 42-storey residential tower.
The public elements of the project include a series of through-site links, upgrades to the promenade around Cockle Bay and a new waterfront plaza and garden.
The design team has collaborated with cultural design and research consultant Danièle Hromek (Djinjama) and Indigenous planning specialist Clarence Slockee (Jiwah) to embed Wangal and Gadigal ways of thinking and narratives into the design.
The podium of the development has been conceived as a sandstone escapement that reinterprets the historic landscape of the site.

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Waterfront Garden in the Harbourside shopping centre redevelopment by Snøhetta and Hassell. Image:

Snøhetta and Hassell

“Harbourside re-imagines its ‘podium’, as a ‘base’, through which erosions, creeks, and gullies create unique relationships between building components and massing,” the design team said.
The through-site links, including the Waterfront Steps, Bunn Street Steps, Pyrmont Bridge Steps, and Waterfront Garden, are conceived as waterways that erode and mould the sandstone.
The integrated landscape “is driven by the ephemeral qualities of water and delivers an ecologically diverse landscape that transitions down from the sandstone escarpment of Pyrmont, over the ridges and slopes of the base down to the Waterfront Garden and the water’s edge of Cockle Bay.”

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Waterfront Promenade in the Harbourside shopping centre redevelopment by Snøhetta and Hassell. Image:

Snøhetta and Hassell

The Waterfront Promenade forms part of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Walk and Yananurala (Walking on Country), part of the Eora Journey.
Yananurala is a nine-kilometre walk from Woolloomooloo to Pirrama along the Sydney Harbour foreshore that highlights Aboriginal history and culture.
The Waterfront Promenade and Waterfront Garden are designed to be welcoming for people of all ages and abilities and to encourage play.
The Waterfront Garden will offer green spaces with elevated views of Cockle Bay, inspired by colours, textures, materiality and stories of Tumbalong.
The Waterfront Plaza will create a space for pause along the promenade and likewise the Waterfront Steps will offer a passive place to sit and meet.
The designs are on public exhibition on the Department of Planning website until 27 September. More

Australian architect Kerry Hill has been posthumously awarded the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) 2023 Gold Medal, with the jury praising his remarkable contribution to elevating architectural standards in the country.
A widely respected public figure, Hill was described by the jury as being “hands-on,” “exacting,” “a perfectionist,” and a man of few words who preferred to let his projects speak for themselves. Hill built an extensive portfolio, filled with various community buildings, office towers, and multi-residential projects, however, he was most notably recognized for his detailed hotel designs. Some of his most celebrated hotel projects include The Chedi, Bandung, (1992–1994), Amanusa, Nusa Dua, (1990–1992) and The Serai, Manggis (1992–1994), all located in Indonesia.
During his career, Hill earned numerous awards. He was the recipient of the prestigious Aga Khan Award in 2001 for his design of the Datai Resort in Langkawi, Malaysia, in 1995 he won the Kenneth F. Brown Asia Pacific Culture and Architecture Design Award, and in 2010, he received a President’s Design Award in Singapore for Designer of the Year.
Hill was also awarded the Australian Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in 2006 and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2012.
Hill held a special place in his heart for Singapore, having based himself there in 1979 and Singapore being the country where he established his practice Kerry Hill Architects. In the 1990s, he introduced a unique design language in Asia through the creation of modern, climate specific resort and residential projects. With clean lines and carefully chosen materials, he crafted spaces that not only captivated the architectural community but evoked a sense of appreciation for good design within the general public.
His accomplishments as an architect extended beyond just design ability. The jury praised him for his frequent and generous sharing of knowledge and expertise with emerging architects through lectures, mentoring, serving on judging panels and teaching at several leading architecture schools.
Kerry Hill Architects continues to uphold his legacy, with the practice an ongoing testament to his influence.
Hill was a joint winner of the 2023 SIA Gold Medal, sharing with architect Raymond Woo, of Raymond Woo and Associates Architects. More