Architecture

Dezeen has released its architecture shortlist for the 2025 Dezeen Awards, featuring 92 projects, including twelve from Australia.
Australia has emerged as the most represented country on the shortlist. Out of 17 architecture categories, Australian entries particularly excelled in the residential divisions, with seven projects shortlisted.
Nine projects from the United States and China featured across the shortlist categories, followed by the UK with seven and Mexico with six.
The Australian projects shortlisted for the architecture categories include:
House (urban)
Clifton House – Anthony Gill Architects
Hedge and Arbour House – Studio Bright
House (rural)
Sawmill Treehouse – Robbie Walker

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Housing
Blok Three Sisters – Blok Modular
Sirius Redevelopment – BVN
House extension
Harvest House – Cera Stribley
Park Street House – Michael Ong Design Office
Civic project
Windale Hub – Adriano Pupilli Architects
Cultural project
South East Centre for Contemporary Art (SECCA) – Sibling Architecture
Workplace project (large)
First Building – Bradfield City Centre – Hassell
Education project
The Plant Futures Facility – The University of Queensland – M3 Architecture

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Infrastructure and transport project
Central Station – Woods Bagot and John McAslan and Partners More

Sydney Open 2025 has revealed its program, with over 60 buildings and spaces opening their doors to celebrate the festival’s 21st anniversary.
Hosted by Museums of History NSW, Sydney Open invites visitors to discover behind-the-scenes locations that are rarely accessible to the public. This year’s event, featuring a mix of contemporary and historic places, is scheduled to take place on 2 November.
Among the buildings and spaces scheduled to open are:

Bundarra, designed by Smart Design Studio and Those Architects, is a bold new building with a twisted form that contrasts with the restored Victorian terrace it adjoins
Parkline Place, designed by Foster and Partners, is a new 39-storey commercial tower that rises above Gadigal Station and forms part of the Pitt Street over-station development
The Rocks Former Police Station, designed by colonial architect James Barnet, with alterations by Welsh and Major in 2014, is one of only two surviving nineteenth-century police stations in the inner city
The award-winning Bangarra Dance Theatre building at Wharf 4/5, home to the acclaimed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performance group Bangarra Dance Theatre, was revitalised in 2020 by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects with Tropman and Tropman Architects to support resident arts organisations in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
1 Elizabeth, designed by Johnson Pilton Walker, opened in 2024 as a new commercial building that integrates with the new Sydney Metro Martin Place Station beneath it.

Annette Pitman, CEO of the Museums of History NSW, described Sydney Open as a celebration of Sydney’s built environment, showcasing everything from treasured heritage sites to innovative contemporary architecture. “Together, these buildings tell the story of our past while shaping the way we live, work and imagine the city’s future,” said Pitman.
To view the full program, visit Sydney Open. More

Sunshine Coast Airport has appointed construction firm McNab and architecture practice Fentress Studios, a company owned by global design studio Populous, to deliver its $170 million domestic terminal redevelopment project. The newly appointed firms join project managers Planned Performance.
According to a statement released by the airport, the project will nearly double the footprint of the terminal, increase the number of departure gates from five to seven, and triple the size of the departure lounge. It will also incorporate expanded retail and food offerings, along with upgraded check-in and security technology.
Sunshine Coast Airport CEO Chris Mills said the project has been shaped by community input.
“The terminal reflects local needs and expectations with their [community] insights directly influencing key design features, amenities and the overall experience. From the look and feel of the terminal to how we welcome and serve travellers, locals helped shape more than just a space, they helped shape a better journey for everyone,” said Mills.

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Asia Pacific head of aviation at Fentress Studios Matt Findlay said the terminal design will draw on “the unique character of the Sunshine Coast” while delivering a smooth passenger experience.
“Our vision for the terminal is to create a space that celebrates the Sunshine Coast’s natural beauty and lifestyle while providing travellers with a modern, efficient and welcoming gateway,” said Findlay.
“The design prioritises natural light with sweeping views of the runway, allowing passengers to experience the excitement of aircraft arrivals and departures from the comfort of the terminal.
“By seamlessly integrating security and check-in, enhancing the arrival experience, and reducing the distance between check-in and boarding gates, we’re reimagining the terminal journey to be more intuitive, efficient and welcoming for every passenger. Sustainability and accessibility remain at the heart of every design decision, alongside greater passenger seating and amenities.”

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The airport’s communique outlines a staged approach to delivery, intended to minimise passenger disruption. Stage one, now in progress, includes a new outbound baggage handling facility, slated for completion in early 2026. The full domestic terminal expansion is expected to be complete by 2027, with the airport forecasted to welcome 2.4 million passengers annually. More

The multi-award-winning Daylesford Longhouse by Partners Hill has been listed for sale.
Winner of the Australian Institute of Architects 2019 Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture at the National Architecture Awards, as well as Australian House of the Year and New House over 200 square metre categories at the 2019 Houses Awards, the longhouse is recognised as one of Australia’s most celebrated contemporary homes.
The property occupies a 20-acre parcel of land at 178 Mannings Road in Elevated Plains, within Victoria’s Hepburn Shire. From afar, the building presents as a 110-metre long shed. Within the single volume, however, a series of internal buildings are arranged around a greenhouse setting. These buildings include living quarters, a garden kitchen/cooking school, visitor accommodation and a working farm.
In her 2019 review of the project for Architecture Australia, Katelin Butler described entering the building as “magical and otherworldly,” noting that despite this atmosphere, every design decision is marked by masterful clarity and grounded in rational thinking.

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Owners Ronnen Goren and Trace Streeter acquired the property about 15 years ago, and worked closely with architect and Partners Hill director Timothy Hill to bring to life their vision – a place to live, farm, host and create, while also enabling a self-sufficient lifestyle.
Goren, co-owner of Daylesford Longhouse and co-owner and director of multidisciplinary design practice Studio Ongarato, described the longhouse as one that “redefines luxury: grounded in place, rich in experience, and connected to community with food and entertainment at the heart.”
He added, “We are now at a stage where the time is right to pass on the legacy of what we have created.”

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Timothy Hill was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2025, with the Daylesford Longhouse praised in the jury citation. The longhouse was recognised by the jury as being emblematic of Hill’s broader approach to architecture, one that has “engendered an expectation that architecture can, and must, offer contiguous interior–exterior space through which inhabitants can feel place and climate – architecture that is sensual, tactile, crafted and joyful.”
The project has appeared on ABC television series Grand Designs Australia, as well as the Apple TV+ series Home.
Expressions of interest for the Daylesford Longhouse are now being accepted. For details, visit here. More

The final underground station in the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project is now complete, the Victorian government has announced.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams visited the newly completed State Library Station – the last of the five Metro Tunnel stations to be finished, following Arden, Parkville, Town Hall and Anzac stations.
Designed by Hassell, Weston Williamson and Partners, and Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, the new stations will link Footscray and Malvern, connecting the Sunbury Line to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
According to the state government, State Library Station is the deepest and most complex station ever built beneath Melbourne’s CBD. Located 42 metres below Swanston Street – deeper than the height of Marvel Stadium – it features platforms that are 220 metres long and 18 metres wide, making them among the widest underground metro platforms in the world.
In a statement, the government highlighted the use of precision keyhole construction, with crews lowering materials and machinery through shafts while traffic continued to flow on streets above.
The station’s main entrance, located at the corner of La Trobe and Swanston streets, is framed by 12 columns that are topped with 70-tonne, 18-metre beams, which were lifted into place by a 400-tonne crane. A second entrance opens onto Franklin Street.
A major artwork by Australian artist Danie Mellor, titled Forever, is integrated into the glazing at the main entrance. The work incorporates historical portraits of Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung women set within contemporary landscape imagery. The historical images were sourced from the archives of the neighbouring State Library Victoria, with support from the library’s curatorial team.

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The station features 27 escalators, including two at Melbourne Central Station, which it shares a concourse with. The longest escalator stretches 42 metres, making it the longest in Melbourne – 12 metres longer than those at Parliament Station.
Premier Jacinta Allan said the Metro Tunnel project is the biggest transformation of Melbourne’s rail network in more than 40 years. “Transferring between State Library and Melbourne Central is one small step for a commuter and one giant leap for Victoria,” said Allen.
“The end of major construction means the start of a new era for Melbourne, where you can get to uni, work and retail faster and easier.”
Opening dates for the stations are still to be announced. More

On Wednesday 15 October, Design Speaks Weekly host Georgia Birks will be joined by renowned architectural critic Elizabeth Farrelly and Finding Infinity principal Ross Harding in a special live recording of the podcast at South by Southwest (SXSW) Sydney.
The SXSW Sydney program, which brings together diverse professionals across technology, media, government, creative industries and more, will feature a dedicated live podcast stage and a packed program of podcasts, with topics ranging from AI and startups to true crime and music.
Within this lineup, Design Speaks Weekly will delve into the work of architecture professionals across Australia to find design solutions that address the biggest challenges of our time, like the climate and housing crises. Farrelly will share her insights into what’s holding Australia’s designers back in the face of crisis, while Harding will unpack the ongoing push to build a self-sufficient, sustainable future.
Tickets are on sale on the SXSW website.
Design Speaks Weekly is presented in partnership with the Australian Institute of Architects and with support from Lysaght. A fresh episode will be delivered every Tuesday. You can listen to it on major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. More

The University of Adelaide recently announced the winners of its Australian Space Architecture Challenge (ASAC), a competition hosted by the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources that invites conceptual proposals for human habitation in deep space.
This year’s theme, Built on the Moon, tasked entrants with envisioning the Central Operations and Habitat Zone of the Australian Lunar Village, a planned permanent lunar settlement situated on the elevated ridgeline of the Malapert Massif near the Moon’s South Pole.
The inaugural challenge in 2024, open to Australian students and graduates across STEM and creative disciplines, garnered more than 80 team registrations. This year, the challenge expanded globally, attracting 110 teams from across the world.
The winning design, titled Umbra, was developed by a team comprising Alma Kugic, Denis Acker, Finley Wallace, Victor Ramirez and Nicholas Florio from the University of Stuttgart in Germany.

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Second prize was awarded to Zhelun Zhu, Weiyi Wang, Ke Yan and Xinle Tian from the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in China for their project, Moon Metabolism.
Samer El Sayary of Alexandria University in Egypt and Ihab Shamseldin from Sydney took third prize for their project, Lunar Colony Reefs.

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Amit Srivastava, organiser of the challenge and head of the Lunar Architecture Research Group at the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (ATCSR), said space architecture has been a research theme since the centre’s inception in 2019.
“The competition this year was focused on industry integration, and we partnered with four Australian construction and robotics companies involved in lunar construction to showcase our homegrown capabilities,” Srivastava said.
“This included Crest Robotics and Earthbuilt (working on a new robot with a $500,000 grant from the NSW government), Luyten3D (Australia’s biggest manufacturer of 3D concrete printing machinery), 3VIMA (Sydney-based 3D concrete printing construction company) and Astroport Space Technologies (South Australia-based company developing construction material from lunar regolith and other lunar construction machinery).”
“Participants were invited to explore how Australian capabilities address NASA’s highest priority technology gaps, including how additive manufacturing and robotic construction can be leveraged for In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) and Waste Recycling.”
The winning entries from the Australian Space Architecture Challenge were displayed at a public exhibition as part of the Space Architecture Symposium (SAS) held on 4 October. More

Visions for a new theatre in Canberra have been unveiled, designed by Cox Architecture in collaboration with Yerrabingin, Charcoal Blue theatre consultants and Arcadia Landscape Architecture.
Located in the city’s Civic and Cultural District at City Hill, the proposed Lyric Theatre is the first part of a staged redevelopment of the Canberra Theatre Centre, which includes refurbishments to the Canberra Theatre, the Playhouse and the Courtyard Studio. The ACT government had previously appointed a consortium comprising Architectus, Henning Larsen and Arup to lead the redevelopment.
The new lyric theatre planned for the northern side of the Playhouse has been newly imagined by Cox Architecture as a “world-class performing arts venue that reflects Canberra’s cultural aspirations.”
According to the architect’s communique, a 2,000-seat auditorium at the heart of the project will “establish a new benchmark for cultural inclusivity, accessibility and artistic excellence in Australia,” and expand the city’s capacity for major performances.
The design of the auditorium, which comprises stepped terraces of 1,000-seat stalls, a 500-seat circle and a 500-seat balcony, is aimed at enhancing acoustics and intimacy while reducing the building’s mass along the site’s main public frontages.

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Engagement with First Nations and LGBTQIA+ community groups has been key to the design team’s approach.
Director and project design lead at Cox Joe Agius said, “We wanted the design to reinforce Canberra Lyric Theatre’s unique identity – one grounded in cultural respect, continuity and storytelling.”
“As a project of national significance, it was vital that the design harmonise with Canberra’s civic fabric while also affirming the role of cultural infrastructure in shaping a shared identity – one that’s shaped by our First Nations heritage as well as the diversity of contemporary Australia.”
Co-founder and director of Yerrabingin Christian Hampson added that the “project honours and celebrates its unique place in Country, connecting audience and performer through a shared experience of acknowledgment.”
According to the architect, the theatre’s sculpted architectural form frames views to Black Mountain and Vernon Circle, while also filtering light though a layered exterior. As the first stage in the redeveloped precinct, the proposal is intended to provide a welcoming public domain that supports intuitive circulation, with its main entry oriented to the future Theatre Plaza.

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Last year, the ACT government put out a call for ideas on the transformation of City Hill Park adjacent to the theatre, which were exhibited online. They note that a forthcoming concept masterplan that builds on the proposals will guide future improvements, “incorporating stakeholder engagement, site analysis and feasibility.”
As part of the approval process, the Lyric Theatre design is on public exhibition with the National Capital Authority until 20 October. More