Architecture

From iconic mid-century brands Fritz Hansen and Zanotta, to contemporary Australian makers Didier and Coco Flip, Cult champions fresh thinking and timeless ranges that hold court as forever pieces in both commercial and residential spaces.
Through its own brand Nau, Cult works with local designers and manufacturers to support and advocate for contemporary Australian design. Collaborating with the likes of Adam Goodrum, Adam Cornish, Kate Stokes and Tom Fereday, Nau celebrates quality craftsmanship and honest materiality, presenting enduring collections that express a uniquely Australian vernacular.
As one of Australia’s leading design retailers, with recent growth across retail, e-commerce and contract sectors, Cult is set to expand its team in 2023. Cult’s most significant appointment is the promotion of Jeffry Tsang to general manager. Following 15 years working across a range of departments and leadership roles at Cult, this new role will see Jeffry lead all departments in Australia.
“The growth that Cult has seen over the years has certainly been significant – from one showroom in Sydney servicing the contract market to seven showrooms across three countries,” said Tsang. “Backed by a strong team and forged by Richard [Munao], we now cover a lot of ground, which has its inherent challenges but is also a source of great potential for the business.”

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The PH5 Pendant (1958) by Poul Henningsen features in the Cult Design Icons exhibition. Image: Supplied

Danish design brand HAY recently partnered with Cult to open its flagship Melbourne store, after launching HAY Sydney together in 2015. Richard Munao, Cult founder and director, shares, “2022 was a significant year for Cult. With the opening of Cult Singapore and HAY Melbourne, we now operate five showrooms across the Asia-Pacific region, plus two mono-brand HAY stores,” he said.
“Our strategy is deeply rooted in authentic design, puts the client at the heart of everything we do and is brought to life by our people. Our strategic focus is on increasing awareness of the Cult brand, elevating the experience for our clients and pushing the boundaries in sustainability.”
Cult’s commitment to sustainable practice is rooted in the belief that one of the best strategies for sustainable living is to make and buy things that last. “Cultivated” is Cult’s in-house sustainability program that provides buy-back, refurbishment and recycling services for authentic designer furniture. The team works with local manufacturers and craftspeople to sensitively restore original design pieces, minimising waste and ensuring object longevity.
Cult will celebrate its milestone 25-year anniversary with an exhibition titled “Cult Design Icons”. On show from 17 February to 1 March 2023 at a gallery space adjoining the Cult flagship showroom in Sydney’s Chippendale, this group exhibition will showcase 25 iconic furniture and lighting designs curated by 25 leading Australian designers and creatives. More

Western Australia’s first large-scale mass-engineered timber building has been completed at Murdoch University’s South Street campus in Perth.
Designed by Lyons in collaboration with Officer Woods, The Fulcrum Agency, Silver Thomas Hanley and Aspect Studios, the building is located at the heart of campus and will become the university’s academic core, providing space for up to 60 percent of its learning and teaching requirements.
Building 360 is named Boola Katitjin, which means “lots of learning” in Noongar.
“The name Boola Katijin was given by Dr Richard Walley, who has a long association with Murdoch. The Beeliar Wetlands around the University have been a place of learning for thousands of years, and we are proud to be adapting to the future of education to continue this tradition,” said Murdoch vice-chancellor and professor Andrew Deeks.

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The northern events plaza at Boola Katitjin (Building 360) by Lyons in collaboration with Officer Woods, The Fulcrum Agency, Silver Thomas Hanley and Aspect Studios. Image:

Courtesy Murdoch University

The long, rectilinear building is oriented north–south, with the “creative warehouse model” inspiring a highly flexible and adaptable grid along its 180-metre spine.
The building accommodates 21 large, flat-floor format teaching and learning spaces; areas for informal peer-to-peer learning; workspaces for staff; technology labs; immersive industry collaboration facilities, including augmented reality and artificial intelligence studios; innovative research and industry engagement spaces; three food and beverage outlets and a student services centre.
The building is made from laminated timber beams and columns, cross-laminated timber floor panels and concrete supports. The predominantly timber construction contributes to the environmental sustainability of the building. In addition, the rooftop solar array is capable of producing more than 60 percent of building’s operational energy requirements.
“It reflects the University’s commitment to sustainability – with Boola Katitjin designed to achieve the internationally recognized 6-star Green Star rating through a range of features including solar panels, stormwater harvesting, active design features and native landscaping,” Deeks said. More

Construction has begun on a social housing project in Melbourne’s West Footscray. Footscray Lions Cooperative Village, which was designed by Tandem Design Studio, will be located on the site of the existing Footscray Lions Elderly Citizens Village. The project will create 49 one- and two-bedroom apartments for women aged over 55 in need of affordable […] More

Conrad Gargett and Architectus have announced the two practices will merge later in 2023.
The alliance will extend the national reach for both practices, which have hailed the merger as “an important milestone.”
Conrad Gargett was established in Brisbane in 1890 and is one of Australia’s oldest firms. It merged with Riddel Architecture in 2012 and Ancher Mortlock Woolley in 2013.
The practice has expertise in health, defence, heritage transport, education and research, infrastructure, residential, retail and hospitality.
Today, it has offices in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Townsville, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as a studio in Ethiopia.

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The National Herbarium of NSW was designed by Architectus, Richard Leplastrier and Craig Burton. Image:

Brett Boardman

Architectus was founded in 2001 through the union of four independent practices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland. It opened offices in Adelaide in 2015 and Perth in 2018.
The practice specializes in builds for aviation, commerce, defence, education, health, living, infrastructure, interiors, rail, urban futures, and the public.
The merger transition is set to take place over the next year. Conrad Gargett managing director Lawrence Toaldo will join Architectus’s board and become the company’s group director of health and defence.
“For 133 years, Conrad Gargett has been evolving and diversifying its offering. Merging with Architectus marks an exciting next chapter for our practice, allowing us to offer both scale and expertise nationally and internationally,” Toaldo said.
“We share with Architectus deep cultural synergies and a closely aligned design philosophy of creating resilient and meaningful places for people that are both poetic and pragmatic.”
Architectus CEO Ray Brown said, “Our merger with Conrad Gargett will accelerate the strong growth we’ve experienced in recent years and broaden our expertise in health, defence, and heritage.
“Our ambition is to become Australia’s leading national architecture and design practice, and our merger with Conrad Gargett will ensure we’re well on track to achieve this.” More

The National Gallery of Victoria’s popular Melbourne Now exhibition will return in 2023 with another survey of contemporary art, design and architecture from the past decade.
“Melbourne Now is a showstopping and dynamic survey of work by more than 200 leading Victorian-based practitioners, offering an exciting and thought-provoking snapshot of the limitless creativity empowering this city and its surrounds,” said NGV director Tony Ellwood. “Ranging from large-scale, never-before-seen commissions through to moments of quiet reflection and contemplation, this exhibition highlights the diverse talents of Victorian artists and designers who are at the forefront of contemporary practice world-wide.”
Victoria’s public and residential architecture will form two key components of the exhibition.
Civic Architecture will exhibit five projects that catalyzed the urban transformation of their surrounding neighbourhoods. The projects include: Geelong Library and Heritage Centre by ARM Architecture, Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal by Cox Architecture and Aspect Studios, Town Hall Broadmeadows by Kerstin Thompson Architects, Dandenong Municipal Building and Civic Square by Lyons and Rush Wright Associates, and RMIT New Academic Street by Lyons ith NMBW Architecture Studio, Harrison and White, MvS Architects, Maddison Architects and TCL.
To accompany the projects, Simulaa will make a series of 3D-printed models that depict the street furniture, utilities and objects found where each project is located.

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WPI Older Women’s Housing Project by Studio Bright. Image:

Rory Gardiner

Victoria’s residential architecture will also be exhibited alongside contemporary future design in No House Style. Six houses by Austin Maynard, Baracco and Wright, Clare Cousins Architects, Edition Office, Kennedy Nolan, and Studio Bright will be complemented by the works of 12 furniture, lighting and object designers “to establish a picture of contemporary Melbourne architecture and design that is independent, original, plural and expressive of contemporary issues and values,” the NGV said.
N’arweet Carolyn Briggs and Sarah Lynn Rees’s installation Gathering Space: Ngargee Djeembana will also be displayed at Melbourne Now. Originally exhibited at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art as part of Who’s Afraid of Public Space?, the installation comprises 55 pieces of construction materials commonly used in public space, Indigenous to Victoria and representative of Country and place. The installation brings together two subjects: First Nations knowledge and design thinking, and the built environment.
Design Wall, part of the 2013 edition of Melbourne Now, will also return with installation of consumer products designed in Melbourne over the past decade, including guitars, ladders, pillows, luggage and motorbikes.
Melbourne Now will be on display from 24 March to 20 August at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. Entry is free. More

National Museum of Australia and Alastair Swayn Foundation have announced the appointment a new Swayn Senior Fellow in Australian Design. Dr Lyndon Anderson has taken on the role for 2022 to 2025. The Swayn Senior Fellow program aims to raise public awareness of Australian design through collections, collaborations, exhibitions, events and research. Anderson hopes to […] More

A design competition has been launched for the redevelopment of Dallas Museum of Art in Texas.
The museum is the anchor of Dallas Arts District, the largest arts district in the USA, and is home to six arts and cultural institutions designed by Pritzker Prize laureates.
The competition seeks an architectural reinvention to 1984 campus designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes that would enable to museum to better serve the diverse demographic of the city and create additional gallery space to accommodate expanding collection.
The museum currently holds 26,500 works, including ancient American, African, South Asian art, as well as European and American painting, sculpture and decorative arts.
The museum has placed a a large emphasis on contemporary art, and a strong showing from Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC), female, LGTBQ+, and Texan artists.
The museum requires the transformation of the original “austere modernist” campus to better reflect a more inclusive society and changing visitor expectations.
The project will also require the reorganisation of internal spaces, circulation and entrances as well as sustainable modernisation.

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Flora Street entrance to Dallas Museum of Art, originally designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes in 1984. Image:

Courtesy Dallas Museum of Art

“We enthusiastically welcome the addition of flexible and usable gallery space and services that can empower us to display new narratives with the global icons in our possession,” said Agustín Arteaga, DMA’s Eugene McDermott director. “The DMA looks forward to better integrating the Museum into the urban fabric of Dallas, while serving as a leader in confronting environmental challenges. In an era where the museum of the 21st century is still being defined, we look to set the standard. We look forward to working with a team that will join us in our mission to be a dynamic connector where people of all cultures feel welcomed and embraced in our thriving city.”
Architect-led multi-disciplinary teams are invited to submit details of their approach, team composition and experience to competition organiser Malcom Reading Consultants.
Five finalists will be paid a US$50,000 (A$73,000) honorarium for concept designs, as well as up to US$10,000 for expenses. An exhibition of shortlisted concepts will be on display in the northern hemisphere summer of 2023. The total budget for the project is around US$150-175 million (A$218-254 million).
First stage submissions close 15 March 2023. To submit, head to the Malcolm Reading Consultants’ website. More

The Queensland government unveiled plans to demolish and rebuild Brisbane’s Gabba Stadium ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games.
The $2.7 billion project will be a catalyst for the major revitalisation of the precinct, which will social and affordable housing, connections to Cross river Rail, and Brisbane Metro, and walkable connections to South Bank and Brisbane CBD via green bridges across the river.
The Gabba grounds first established in 1895 and was last redeveloped in 2005. Its current capacity is 42,000 seats.
The Queensland government says the current stadium is nearing the end of its life and redevelopment would support long-term professional sport, community and entertainment needs.
The government investigate four options for redevelopment, including the retention and refurbishment of the existing stadium but concluded that demolishing and rebuilding the stadium was the cheapest and best value for money.

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Brisbane’s Gabba stadium will be demolished and replaced with a new stadium. A competitive tender process is due to take place in the second half of 2023. Image:

Queensland government

“Tt’s no secret that Queensland is losing out on major sporting events already – and the tourism, jobs and investment that come with them because The Gabba is not up to scratch,” said Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
“It must be upgraded to maintain our competitiveness for international sport and events.”
The new stadium will have a capacity of 50,000 seats, with better spectator viewing, better accessibility, improved digital connectivity, sport and spectator facilities for all genres, purpose-designed access to transport, and more roof coverage. The project will target a 6-star Green Star rating.
“The current Gabba is an international icon, but a tired one. In some circumstances people in wheelchairs can only access their allocated seats using the goods lift,” said deputy premier Steven Miles.
“There are no women’s change rooms. Elite women athletes have less space to prepare for games and are stuck using change rooms that include urinals because they were built only for male athletes.
“It’s unacceptable. Queensland athletes and fans deserve a modern, accessible, safe, fit-for-purpose major stadium that will attract and host world-class national and international sporting and entertainment events.
“The redevelopment will anchor major urban renewal and deliver more affordable housing, dining and retail.”
A competitive tender process for the project take place in second half of 2023 with construction due to start in 2026.
The government will also expand the Woolloongabba Priority Development Area to encompass more of Wooloongabba and the Stanley Street precinct to Southbank.
A neighbouring school, East Brisbane State school will be forced to relocated after 2024 and its heritage buildings will be integrated into the operations of the Gabba Stadium. More