Architecture

Designs for a Western Sydney mental health hospital that will become New South Wales’s largest have been placed on public exhibition.
The $460 million Westmead Integrated Mental Health Complex, announced by the state government in May 2022, will replace the existing mental health facilities at Cumberland Hospital.
Across 10 storeys, the hospital will house acute beds for young people, adolescents, adults, older persons and people living with eating disorders, as well as intensive care and high dependency units. There will also be sub- and non-acute beds, along with ambulatory and outpatient services.

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Westmead Integrated Mental Health Complex by Jacobs Australia. Image:

Jacobs Australia

The centre has been designed by Jacobs Australia to reflect contemporary models of care, connecting to the public realm and public transport to support the de-stigmatization of mental health care, while embracing biophilic design principles to create a therapeutic environment.
Aboriginal storytelling, histories and identities are also reflected in the design, developed in consultation with Traditional Custodians, consultant Cox Inall Ridgeway, and an Aboriginal psychologist.
The design includes graphic representations inspired by the eel and its stories, as well as three surrounding rivers: Parramatta River, Toongabbie Creek and Darling Mills Creek.

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Westmead Integrated Mental Health Complex by Jacobs Australia. Image:

Jacobs Australia

The primary facade is adorned in blue aluminium shingles that represent the “bubbling water” of the river streams, while the walkway between the entry forecourt and the northern landscaped area tells the story of mature eels going out to sea to have babies and younger eels coming back on the currents to fresh water.
Landscaped areas, including those in the courtyards and balconies, will include Aboriginal bush medicine plants such as emu bush, flannel flowers, waratahs and the snake vine. The hospital will sit on the land of the Dharug people.
The project is on public exhibit until 21 June. More

Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA) has unveiled designs for an apartment and townhouse development in St Kilda, Melbourne that offers a “new take on the mansion block.”
Together with landscape architect Myles Baldwin Design, the architecture firm has developed a design that maintains a sense of the existing scale of the neighbourhood while offering a greater diversity of housing options. The project at 97 Alma Road will include 21 townhouses and 41 apartments, just across the road from Alma Park.
KTA director and 2023 Gold Medal winner Kerstin Thompson said the project paid tribute to St Kilda’s architectural heritage.
“97 Alma Road offers a graceful return to treasured memories, forging a connection with a valued part of Melbourne’s urban history while offering a new approach to multiple housing,” Thompson said.
The building is characterized by unique details and materials, including the expressive use of stucco, metalwork, textured glass, coloured tiles and ornamental sun screens. Each apartment has its own distinguishing architectural element: a bay window, an arch, a sunroom, an oddly shaped window, or a Juliet balcony.
“We really considered what it means to arrive home, celebrating the ‘homecoming’ with civic-scaled entries to the apartment building and activating differentiated laneways between the townhouses,” said Thompson.

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97 Alma Road by Kerstin Thompson Architects. Image:

Kerstin Thompson Architects

Toby Pond, principal at Kerstin Thompson Architects, said the project represented a unique response to infill development on a brownfield site, providing a variety of housing options. He noted that the design embraces the landscape, with the block divided by landscape pockets, providing garden areas, natural light and ventilation to all apartments.
Outdoor shared spaces include linear gardens with native planting, a garden spine to the east, a barbecue area, an apartment rooftop terrace that supports communal food production, and a courtyard that protects significant existing trees.
The building will incorporate passive design principles to maximize natural light and ventilation and reduce the need for airconditioning – there are no south-facing apartments. It will also feature solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems and high-efficiency appliances.
The project is being developed by Neometro. The developer’s design director, James Tutton, said the project was all about creating a “healthy building.”
“Entries are welcoming, stairs and corridors are imagined as a social and joyful path to everyone’s front door – open-air, light-filled with glimpses to garden, encouraging healthy and incidental engagement with the neighbours,” Tutton said. More

Iredale Pederson Hook Architects has been appointed to design the Aboriginal short-stay facility in the suburb of Cannington, south Perth. To be built on a 7,000-square-metre site on Hamilton Street, the facility will be for Aboriginal people across Western Australia who have travelled to Perth. “Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects will consult with stakeholders across Western […] More

Works are underway on an urban renewal precinct at a disused TAFE site in south Brisbane, where the project will deliver 281 homes that include 75 social and affordable units and a 169-apartment retirement living facility.
Designed by Archipelago, the 3.1-hectare Parkside Yeronga precinct will also include commercial tenancies, small-scale retail, a community centre and more than 4,000 square metres of open space.
Archipelago has designed the commercial building, community centre and whole-of-site master plan, which provides the guiding principles and urban design framework for the development. The firm’s landscape architecture team has designed the public realm.
“It will be a place that is sensitive to its context and respectful to its neighbours, demonstrating diversity done well,” Archipelago says of the project. “The unique combination of proponents permits an abundance of residential offerings – from private luxury residential, to supported retirement living, to social and affordable housing – this will be a neighborhood that is welcome to all.”

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Parkside Yeronga community centre by Archipelago. Image: Archipelago

The site between Park Road and Villa Street in Yeronga was identified as a “Priority Development Area” in 2019, allowing the state government to override council planning processes. But as the Brisbane Times pointed out, the site sat neglected up until this year, with “disintegrating bunting emblazoned with ‘unite and recover’ government messaging and declarations of ‘coming soon.’”
The state government is contributing $40 million to the project, which is being delivered as a public-private consortium led by Economic Development Queensland, alongside JGL Properties, Brisbane Housing Company and Retire Australia.
“This development is [a] great example of the private sector and government working together to deliver a range of housing options including private housing, social housing and retirement living,” said premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Deputy premier Steven Miles added, “Parkside Yeronga is a great example of how we’re activating under-utilized urban land to deliver more homes for Queenslanders.
“Not only will this partnership deliver over 280 new homes, it will also be a great place to live and raise a family with open green space and a community centre.” More

Liverpool Civic Place, a $600 million development that combines council chambers, community facilities, commercial offices and a hotel, is taking shape, with the first stage of the precinct topping out on 17 May.
Designed by FJC Studio (formerly FJMT Studio), Liverpool Civic Place will set two office towers, a public library and an art gallery around a new public square.
The most prominent building on the corner of Scott and Macquarie Streets will be the new library, distinctive for its circular plan and offset levels.

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Liverpool Civic Place by FJC Studio. Image:

FJC Studio

Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun said the precinct, which is being developed in a public-private partnership between Liverpool City Council and developer Built, would be fitting for Sydney’s so-called “third CBD.”
“South West Sydney is one of Sydney’s fastest-growing districts, and the opening of the Western Sydney International Airport and Aerotropolis has catalysed investment in a wide range of knowledge-intensive industries that will also generate significant employment and economic opportunities for the south-west region,” he said.
“Liverpool will be at the centre of this growth and will strategically connect businesses from east to west. It will also be home to one of the city’s fastest-growing and most inclusive populations, which is expected to double to half a million people in the next 20 years. It represents the modern face of multicultural Australia, with more than 40 percent of our residents born overseas and half of our population speaking a language other than English.”

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Liverpool Civic Place by FJC Studio. Image:

FJC Studio

The first commercial office tower is expected to be completed later in 2023. Stage one will also include the opening of the new council chambers and offices, public library, art gallery and public square.
Stage two of the precinct will include a nine-storey hotel and the second commercial tower, with construction expected to begin shortly.
“Liverpool Civic Place will also be one of Greater Sydney’s most connected precincts, offering just a 30-minute connection to Sydney Airport and the new Western Sydney International Airport, less than four minutes’ walk to Liverpool train station and direct access to the M5, M7 and new M12 motorway connection to the new airport,” said Built development director Jono Cottee. More

The Western Australian Planning Commission has approved a proposal to build the state’s largest spa facility: the $25 million Tawarri Hot Springs, designed by Plus Architecture.
Looking out over the Derbarl Yerrigan/Swan River in the ritzy Perth suburb of Dalkeith, the facility will be built on the site of the run-down Tawarri Reception Centre – once home to the historic open-air Dalkeith Hot Pool, which was known for attracting skinny dippers.
The facility will feature pools, saunas and Turkish baths alongside a restaurant, rooftop bar, cafe and day spa. It will cater to up to 220 guests at a time.
The built form will comprise a series of orthogonal pavilions, which Aspect Studios carefully integrated with the landscape design. Plus Architecture Perth director and project lead Patric Przeradzki said the design aimed to emphasize the site’s natural beauty through an interplay of natural materials.
“We have focused on a series of design contrasts in this project, such as hot and cold, dark and light, indoor and outdoor,” he said. “These encourage a sense of curiosity as guests explore the different pavilions and routes they can take across the site.”
Plus Architecture looked to Europe for inspiration, incorporating features seen in spas in France and Italy.

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Tawarri Hot Springs by Plus Architecture. Image:

KiP Creating

“Our research enabled us to understand how these wellness destinations serve both the individual and the community,” said Przeradzki.
“People use these places to relax in the spa, but they also want to explore the space, take photos and socialize. It was therefore also important to give equal attention to the moments that exist between the ‘spa’ experiences, such as dining and leisure time.”
Spearheaded by property developers Barry Jones and Kathryn Gunn, the spa proposal has proved controversial. The City of Nedlands council opposed the project, fearing floods and loss of public access to the foreshore.
At a public meeting on Thursday 18 May, Nedlands mayor Fiona Argyle labelled the project a “monstrosity of concrete” and said its goal of 6 Green Stars amounted to “greenwashing,” WA Today reported.
The redevelopment of Tawarri Reception Centre was first proposed in 2016. The council refused to lease the land for the spa proposal in 2022 but was overruled by the state government, which deemed the project to be of state significance.
The State Development Assessment Unit unanimously approved the project on Thursday. Co-owner Kathryn Gunn said the Tawarri Hot Springs had already generated enthusiasm in Perth.
“While we expect to attract visitors from interstate and overseas, the Tawarri Hot Springs has been designed for and by the people of Western Australia and Dalkeith – using local materials and stories to deliver a peaceful and sustainable wellness destination for the suburb we’re proud to call home,” she said.
“There’s nothing like it in WA, which is why we are so excited to be working with our community to deliver the project.” More

The Australian exhibition has opened at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale with an immersive installation that reconstructs the semi-fictional “Queenstown.” At the end of the second Elizabethan Age, when the voices of First Peoples call for truth-telling and self-determination and the climate crisis feels increasingly like an unwinnable race, Unsettling Queenstown explores colonialism and its […] More

Melbourne Design Fair
More than 150 designers from across Australia and around the world will be showing their work at the Melbourne Design Fair, running from 18 to 21 May at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The fair is an annual platform for designers, galleries, design agencies and organizations to promote and sell collectible design pieces. Pick up a beautiful piece of glassware from Adelaide’s Jam Factory, a unique piece of jewellery from Munich-based Helen Britton or a transformative room divider from Melbourne designer Nicole Lawrence.
Waste Dream: from waste to furniture
Waste Dream is an exhibition presented by Melbourne furniture store Cult Design in partnership with Mater, a Danish company specializing in circular-economy furniture. Mater makes furniture made from fibrous waste materials such as coffee bean shells, fishing nets, sawdust and beer kegs. Book in for a free guided exhibition tour with Mater’s Ole Bjerg.

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Circular Materials exhibition by Cult x Mater. Image:

Cult x Mater

(No Things) Matters
These three annual design exhibitions are prompted by one question: “What matters to you?” (No Things) Matters is the first in the series, followed by (Some Things) Matters and (All Things) Matters in the coming years. Taking over the ground floor of the Villa Alba Museum, the first instalment hosts “a tactile cornucopia of material samples, interpreted tools, experimental forms, and visual documentation.”
Design House
Presented by Fitzroy gallery Oigåll Projects, Design House features 10 designers’ works – not as detached objects on pedestals to politely examine, but as functional art performing its function. “Design often gets the shitty end of the stick, plopped into white wall galleries to be examined at a 40-centimetre to 1.5-metre clearance,” says Oigåll Projects. “This is stupid. These objects inform our lives, improve them, sometimes inconvenience them but always enrich them. You need to pick ’em up, turn them on, move them out of the way of the screen while watching Below Deck Mediterranean Season 4. Not just look at them: get a chux on it, Daryl. See how she cleans up!”

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Viv’s Place by ARM Architecture will be discussed at Social Housing Deserves Good Design! Image:

Tatjana Plitt

Social Housing Deserves Good Design!
Well-designed social housing creates “happier, safer, healthier and wealthier citizens.” Responding to a new wave of high-quality social and affordable developments, this panel shines a light on the transformative potential of social housing. Presented by placemaking consultancy Village Well, the panel will include Vanessa Brotto, CEO of Haven: Home Safe; Jack Panton, director of Launch Housing; Jesse Judd, director of ARM Architecture; and Village Well CEO Valli Morphett.
Open Table
Flack Studio presents this curated exhibition, which responds to the idea of gathering around a table. Works of art and design will facilitate conversation and connection through creative responses to the table and the memories, rituals and habits we associate with it.
Numbulwar Pop-up Studio and Exhibition
Numbulwar Numburindi Arts, a collective of artists out of the east coast of the Northern Territory, is putting on a pop-up studio, exhibition and weaving circle in the Tait showroom. A focus of the collaboration will be an exhibition of master weavers Joy and Rose Wilfred’s works, which reimagine Tait’s iconic Tidal chair.

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The Silo Project is a group exhibition housed in six former grain silos in inner-city Melbourne. Image:

Josee Vesely-Manning

The Silo Project
The Silo Project is a group exhibition housed in six former grain silos in inner-city Melbourne. The work is specific to the historic site, while also presenting new and experimental design strategies. “Implications of material obsolescence and industrial labour, urban ‘renewal’ and gentrification and our collective response to the built environment are all suggested,” state the curators.
See the full program here. More