Architecture

The newly completed Bendigo Law Courts, designed by Wardle (formerly John Wardle Architects), has officially opened.
The $152-million project is the first regional specialist court facility in Victoria, accommodating 11 court rooms (including two hearing rooms), two mediation suites, remote witness facilities, safe waiting facilities, dedicated jury areas, meeting rooms for support agencies, and client services
The five-storey building has been designed in consultation with legal practitioners, court users, local community service agencies, the City of Greater Bendigo, and in partnership with the Dja Dja Wurung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, and Court Services Victoria.
Ninety percent of the building’s surfaces and materials have been locally sourced, made from a brick base with upper levels clad in copper.

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The upper levels of Bendigo Law Courts by Wardle are clad in copper. Image:

Tim Griffith

“Through deep consideration of the built and cultural heritage of place, we’ve responded to both Bendigo’s recent history as a Victorian gold rush town, and to the ancient lines of creation that connect past, present, and future across Dja Dja Wurrung Country,” said Wardle partner and project director Meaghan Dwyer.
The building facade features a large-scale artwork by Indigenous artist Racquel Kerr. Made from hammered copper, the artwork depicts Djaara Creation figure Bunjil – a soaring wedge-tailed eagle – who oversees law and people’s conduct on Country.

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The design of Bendigo Law Courts features an artwork by Indigenous artist Racquel Kerr which depicts the Djaara Creation figure Bunjil. Image:

Tim Griffith

The building has been designed to assist all users of the judicial services in Bendigo, including secure entrances and separate sections for judicial staff, operation staff, vulnerable people, and people in custody. (The separate entrances are a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Family Violence.)
“Top of mind is the physical and psychological wellbeing of court users, judiciary and staff,” said Wardle associate principal and project architect Megan Darbyshire. “For example, the specialist Family Violence Court has safe waiting areas and separate entries and pathways for people in custody and operational staff.
“Unlike many buildings of this type, huge windows fill the public areas with light and frame views over the city and out to the surrounding mountain ranges. The interiors combine warm, natural colours, materials and textures for comfort and a sense of calm.”
The building also accommodates the Magistrates Court, Children’s Court, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, County Court of Victoria, Supreme Court of Victoria, and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia on a circuit basis. The Koori Court and the Assessment and Referral Court will also operate from the new facility.
The building contributes to the revitalisation of the Bendigo civic precinct, alongside Bendigo GovHub designed by Lyons, and the Bendigo TAFE redevelopment by Architectus, Six Degrees and SBLA.
“The new courthouse in Hargreaves Street joins the patterns of daily life. The courthouse rises above the surrounding buildings and sits comfortably in its place,” Dwyer said.
Victorian attorney-general Jaclyn Symes added, “Victorians should have the best possible access to justice no matter where they live – this new precinct will help regional Victorians get the legal help they need without having to travel to Melbourne.” More

Marie Short Farmhouse in Kempsey, designed by Pritzker Prize-wining architect Glenn Murcutt, has been heritage-listed for its significance as an “early example of environmentally responsible living”.
Executive director of Heritage NSW Sam Kidman said the house is a ground-breaking example of late-20th-century modernism by Australia’s only architect to win the Pritzker Prize.
“Built in 1975, Marie Short Farmhouse’s dynamic architectural elements include a curved roof, glazing and louvre system, allowing inhabitants to adjust interior air movement and light as seasons and weather demand,” Kidman said. “Today, more than ever, we need this type of architecture that can adapt and respond to changes in climate.”

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Marie Short House (1974) by Glenn Murcutt. Image:

Brett Boardman

Marie Short Farmhouse is an ecologically responsive and socially responsible design that makes minimal impact on the physical environment. Taking into account climatic conditions such as orientation, wind patterns and windfall, and built from local and reclaimed timbers, it utilizes a design approach that is passive in operation and does not impose itself on place.
Kidman congratulated Murcutt for the honour, and for leading the way in designing for the homes of the future, incorporating sustainable methods for heating and cooling.
Murcutt said the heritage acknowledgement, awarded 50 years after the home’s construction, speaks of the importance of architecture “being of its place, its culture and its time and its time ahead,” he said.
“On a personal level, it is a great privilege to have this important acknowledgement of my work made within my lifetime,” said Murcutt.
For more coverage, read the Revisited article from Houses magazine, issue 149. More

Construction has begun on Edith Cowan University’s (ECU) newest campus within Perth’s CBD, the first higher education campus to be situated within the city centre. Designed by Lyons, Silver Thomas Hanley, and Haworth Tompkins, “ECU City” will bring together creative industries, emerging technologies, and business and law faculties on campus, providing a community for more […] More

The NSW government has revealed updated designs for the redevelopment of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, which will double the treatment spaces in the emergency department, and increase bed capacity in intensive care by 30 percent.
Architects Jacobs, Bates Smart, and Neeson Murcutt and Neille have been engaged to design a bright, contemporary design for a new 15-storey tower that will connect with the existing hospital campus, located in Camperdown, Sydney. Bates Smart and Neeson Murcutt and Neille won a design excellence competition for the project in September 2022.
Along with the new 15-storey building, the masterplan includes the three-storey extension to an existing services building to the east of the campus; a two-storey vertical expansion over the RPA building 89; and the internal refurbishment of existing services including the emergency department.
The last major redevelopment to the hospital was undertaken from 1998 to 2004, since which the hospital has experienced significant rise in requirements in patient volume and complexity.

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Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, view from Nurses Courtyard looking at eastern facade. Image:

By Jacobs, Bates Smart, Neeson Murcutt and Neille.

The NSW government announced a $750-million investment for the redevelopment in 2019. Health minister Brad Hazzard said this would be the most significant redevelopment in the hospital’s 140-year history.
“The redevelopment will deliver more state-of-the-art operating theatre space including a hybrid theatre to facilitate complex surgeries, double the recovery space, as well as deliver a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with 30 per cent more capacity,” said Hazzard.
The architects’ design concept aspires to provide benefits for wayfinding, place-making, heritage, and clinical planning, built around five key projects: the northern arrival; the eastern wing; eastern extension; central courtyard; and Missenden Road forecourt.
The northern arrival will feature a significantly enhanced entry for the hospital with improved vehicle and pedestrian access, upgrading connection between the northern arrival plaza and the primary hospital circulation.
The eastern wing will feature a “subtle bend” to maximise views while retaining significant trees, while accommodating a broad and flexible range of operations. The three storey eastern extension above Building 89 will form a key part of the acute building podium, increasing theatre capacity and future-proofing for a public bridge connection to the Susan Wakil Building at the University of Sydney.

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Royal Prince Alfred Hospital new central courtyard. Image:

By Jacobs, Bates Smart, Neeson Murcutt and Neille.

A new central courtyard will maximize intuitive wayfinding with clear and visible pathways, identified by tessellated flooring. The Missenden Road forecourt will provide a new canopy to mediate between the public domain and provide access into the emergency department.
Early enabling works are underway alongside planning and design phases of the new expansion. The main works construction contract is expected to be awarded in late 2023.
The designs for this state significant development are currently on exhibition, with submissions closing 1 March 2023. More

RMIT University and Alastair Swayn Foundation have launched a new fellowship at the American Academy in Rome for mid-career architects, landscape architects and design professionals. ASF-RMIT Architecture Affiliated Fellowship will enable a chosen participant to spend eight weeks in residence at the American Academy, supporting their growth and development and advancing their practice. “This fellowship […] More

Cox Architecture and NH Architecture have been engaged to design a $900-million redevelopment of the Victoria Gardens shopping centre precinct in Melbourne’s inner-eastern suburb of Richmond.
Plans to transform the 20-year-old shopping centre include the creation of a “sustainable urban village” with a vision to “unite Victoria Gardens with Richmond’s evolving urban environment,” a spokesperson for Victoria Gardens said.
The revamped precinct will include active street frontages, a fresh food market, civic plazas and open-air laneways to create a welcoming and vibrant community space. The added commercial and residential space will also address the fringe suburb’s rapidly growing population and nascent tech industry scene.
A developer partnership comprising Salta Properties and Vicinity Parnters, which co-own Victoria Gardens Shopping Centre, purchased the site, encompassing two plots, in 2019.
The developers are now seeking the necessary planning approvals for the redevelopment from the Victorian government for a mixed-use precinct with over 45,000 square metres of retail and commercial space; 9,750 square metres of public outdoor space; and residential buildings for 1,679 new homes comprising one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.

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New Plaza Image:

Cox Architects and NH Architecture

Most buildings will range from six to 12 storeys, consistent with the urban landscape, with some as tall as 17. Up to ten percent of the residential capacity will be reserved for affordable housing.
The site, bound by Victoria Street, River Boulevard, and Burnley and Doonside streets, will cover 5.2 hectares of real estate. From the site, Cox and NH Architecture will devise two main precincts forming their masterplan.
The Doonside precinct, south of the existing shopping centre, will include the fresh food market hall among its 12,000 square metres of retail and commercial floorspace. Residential buildings within this precinct will provide 839 new homes and 3,500 square metres of accessible open space.
The River Boulevard precinct, which connects the east of Victoria Gardens to the Yarra River corridor, will feature 6,200 square metres of public open space; 840 new dwellings across a cluster of residential buildings; 6,700 square metres of retail space; and 26,000 square metres of commercial office space and a 110-place childcare centre.

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Corner of Doonside and David St Image:

Cox Architects and NH Architecture

The developers said the proposal reflects a long-term strategy to transform the site into a sustainable urban village, addressing evolving consumer preferences to live work and play closer to home, with an amenity-rich precinct addressing lifestyle, residential, commercial and social amenity.
As part of the overhaul, the architects will also restore historic pub, The Royal Studley Hotel, built in 1891, which has fallen into disrepair.
Pending approval, construction of the first stage of the redevelopment will commence in late 2024. Victoria Gardens will remain open through construction, and the design team said it would engage the local community throughout the process. More

The redevelopment Powerhouse Ultimo has received concept planning consent from the New South Wales minister for planning.
A first stage concept proposal prepared by John Wardle Architects and Aspect Studios was submitted to the department in June 2022 for assessment.
Since then, an architectural competition was held and a design by Architectus, Durbach Block Jaggers Architects, Tyrrell Studio, Youssofzay and Hart, Akira Isogawa, Yerrabingin, Finding Infinity and Arup was chosen as the winner in December 2022.

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Winning design for the Powerhouse Ultimo renewal by Architectus, Durbach Block Jaggers Architects, Tyrrell Studio, Youssofzay and Hart, Akira Isogawa, Yerrabingin, Finding Infinity and Arup. Image:

Courtesy of Powerhouse Museum

“Planning consent allows us to move into the next important phase of the project and to get on with the job of reinvigorating one of Australia’s most revered museums, securing its future for many generations to come,” said Powerhouse Trust president Peter Collins.
“The winning design team developed a visionary scheme that features expanded museum spaces, while honouring and connecting the multiple layers of history across the Powerhouse site.”
The renewal project will deliver expanded and refurbished exhibition spaces for Powerhouse Museum’s collection of more than 500,000 objects.
Powerhouse chief executive Lisa Havilah added the design will feature improved connections to Sydney CBD, offering with greater public amenity while supporting the museum’s existing arts and science programs.
“The design features a new public square that will connect the museum to The Goods Line and surrounding precincts, increasing public open space, while the Harris Street frontage will be revitalised with creative industry studios to support museum programs and access to the museum’s library and archives,” said Havilah.
The design team will continue to develop the design ahead of a second stage detailed state significant development application. The community is invited to submit feedback until 10 March 2023. More