Architecture

Quay Quarter Tower designed by 3XN and BVN has received the International High-Rise Award from the City of Frankfurt, The German Architecture Museum (DAM), and DekaBank.
Developed AMP Capital, the tower was recognized for its “radical sustainability” as the upcycling of a tired 1970s commercial tower. Almost a decade in the making, the repurposed AMP Centre building it is now the world’s biggest upcycled building.
By retaining two-thirds of the beams, columns and floor slabs and 95 percent of the original core of the 1976 building, the project reportedly saved 7,500 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions compared to what would be released into the atmosphere if it were demolished and built anew.
The design of the new tower comprises five cantilevered glass volumes stacked slightly askew, similar to Jenga blocks, which create light-filled spaces within the building. These reduce the amount of direct sunlight entering the tower by up to 30 percent, eliminating the need for internal blinds while offering uninterrupted views of the harbor.
Quay Quarter Tower was selected from 34 entries submitted from 13 countries. 3XN partner Fred Holt accepted the prize in Frankfurt on 9 November.

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Quay Quarter retains two-thirds of the beams, columns and floor slabs and 95 percent of the original core of the 1976 building. Image:

Adam Mork

BVN’s Quay Quarter project director Dan Cruddace said it was a “great privilege” to have worked on the “city defining” project.
“It’s been an incredible journey and the ultimate collaboration on what has been described as a ‘once in a generation’ project,” said Cruddace.
The International High-Rise Award was initiated in 2003 and is awarded every two years in recognition of excellence in aesthetics, design, sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and technological innovation. The developer of the winning receives a €50,000 prize (A$77,500) to be donated to the charity of their choice. Quay Quarter Tower is the tenth recipient in the award’s history. More

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has revealed the names of the first three Melbourne artists that will adorn the 2022 Architecture Commission with original painted murals. The commission, Temple of Boom, designed by Melbourne architects Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang, is a contemporary reimagining of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. The scale […] More

The Queensland government has released a draft masterplan that proposes to overhaul Brisbane’s South Bank in preparation for the 2032 Olympic Games.
The plan was developed by a consortium led by Urbis, including Cox Architecture, Arup, E2 Design Lab, and 19 other organisations including urban planners, landscape architects, construction companies, and environmental and cultural consultancies.
The plan proposes to modernise the waterfront precinct, future-proofing South Bank with a long-term vision to shape how the landmark destination responds to the needs of the community and of the tourism industry.
Enhancements would include upgrades to the 1.2 kilometres of rivers-edge promenade, prioritising pedestrians and active transport modes. Grey Street would become more pedestrian-friendly with wider boulevards and bike lanes, while green spaces will be increased and the cultural forecourt upgraded.

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Render of the proposed future South Bank – The Promenade. Image:

Courtesy of the Queensland government

The draft plan also proposes to manage ageing assets and infrastructure and support the local economy through new attractions and diversified dining opportunities. Other considerations include an improved beach, improved active travel connections, and increased river frontage.
The 42-hectare site was previously overhauled for the 1988 World Expo, and Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the time has come again to revive and renew what she refers to as the “people’s park”.
“More than 10,000 pieces of feedback have shaped the Future South Bank Draft Master Plan, making it a plan by the people, for the ‘People’s Park’,” said Palaszczuk.
A community consultation period will run over the next few weeks until midnight 14 December, following which feedback will be analysed to help determine the final masterplan, expected by late 2023.
For more information or to have your say, visit the Future South Bank website. More

Woods Bagot has been appointed the lead architect on a $100-million masterplan to redevelop a significant art deco mansion and its estate in the Dandenong Ranges.
Originally designed in 1933 by architect Harry Norris, Burnham Beeches is a heritage home, “reminiscent of an ocean liner,” within a sprawling country garden adjacent to Sherbrooke Forest. The site and mansion have been vacant for 39 years and have fallen into disrepair.
Since 1982, Burnham Beeches has had nine different owners, none lasting more than five years “due to a lack of commercial viability as a consequence of the enormous cost of [restoring] the mansion and limitations of the existing permit,” a spokesperson for Woods Bagot said.
The announcement of the redevelopment follows a period of extensive community consultation as well as conference with Heritage Victoria and local council.
The redevelopment will include the restoration of the heritage properties, including the Alfred Nicholas heritage mansion and the surrounding gardens, and the masterplan will be divided into three “experiential zones”: the Mansion and Spa, the Village Green, and the Hilltop Retreat.

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Woods Bagot has proposed a “glamping” offering as a “non-intrusive and environmentally friendly” accommodation solution to improving the site’s commercial viability. Image:

Woods Bagot

The resort, once complete, will be operated by Six Senses, a first for the international hospitality provider
The Village Square will comprise the heart of the site, with hospitality venues to surround the central gathering space. The masterplan also includes plans for the Nicholas Hall and Library, a restaurant, wellness retreat, pool house, and guestrooms.
The project team has also proposed a temporary onsite “glamping” offering as a “non-intrusive and environmentally friendly” accommodation solution to improving the site’s commercial viability. The glamping component would increase the venture to 81 keys, “making it commercially viable without impacting the surrounding natural landscape,” Woods Bagot said.
Woods Bagot chief executive Nik Karalis said the masterplan “expands on the original country and gardens ethos, both restoring and regenerating its relevance to a new audience.” The architect is working closely with Heritage Victoria and local council to determine permanent solutions to secure the future prosperity of Burnham Beeches.
A heritage permit application currently sits with Heritage Victoria for approval of works on the 89-year-old site. More

Works have commenced on the $206 million Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD) at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne in Fitzroy.
The 11-storey facility will be built at the existing hospital site in April 2022 after it was approved by the Victorian state government and issued a building permit by the Yarra City Council.
Designed by Denton Corker Marshall in association with L2D Architects, the ACMD will be the country’s first hospital-based biometrical engineering research centre in Australia.
The current Aikenhead building on the corner of Nicholson Street and Victoria Parade is currently in the process of being demolished to make way for the new 16,500-square-metre centre, on which construction is expected to begin in January 2023.

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The ACMD will include 3D printing laboratories, a kinetics lab and rooms for sensitive hearing and vision technologies. Image:

Denton Corker Marshall

Once completed in late 2024, the new building’s capacities will include 3D-printing laboratories, a human kinetics lab, special insulated rooms for the development of hearing and vision technologies, engineering workshops for developing medical prototypes, and more.
An education hub will be embedded within the new centre, delivering dedicated teaching facilities as well as seminar and tutorial spaces, a clinical simulation laboratory and a lecture theatre.
ACMD chief executive Dr Erol Harvey said the focus of the new centre will be on prevention, early intervention, robotic, digital and data engineering, to improve equitable access to healthcare services.
The new centre is a collaboration of nine partner groups including St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Bionics Institute, the Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, Australian Catholic University and the University of Wollongong Australia. More

Works are poised to commence on the new Northern Territory Art Gallery following the award of a construction contract to a local builder.
Designs for the new gallery, by local architects Ashford Architects with Clare Design and Hully Liveris, were released in 2021, featuring a contemporary look informed by the Territory’s unique geology, landscape and climate, and bringing together “art and architecture with a distinct sense of place,” the NT government said.
The gallery redevelopment forms part of the $145-million transformation of the wider Civic and State Square masterplan, with architecture by Troppo and landscape architecture by TCL.
The gallery construction contract will also include the construction of the precinct’s Central Heart – a shaded space for community events and leafy promenade to link the waterfront and the city centre, shaping the spine of the Civic and State Square.
The wider precinct is designed to respond to the Top End climate, with large awnings, shade colonnades, verandahs and shade screens, as well as interactive water features and misters during the dry seasons. Aligned with the NT government’s heat mitigation and city cooling initiatives, current carparks are being replaced with an underground carpark, creating new opportunities for public green space.

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The gallery redevelopment forms part of the $145-million transformation of the wider Civic and State Square.

The central square will feature pedestrian-focused walkways and all-weather shelters to reduce heat and glare, with a terraced amphitheatre, raised lawns, and public seating reminiscent of the unfurling of cycad and fern fronds.
The gallery ­will be made up of four large exhibition spaces, a spacious foyer, a cafe, and workshop rooms. Once open, it will display a collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks, as well as international pieces from Southeast Asia.
The Northern Territory Art Gallery is being delivered in collaboration with the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and will be given an Aboriginal title in due course.
The NT government has not yet released a detailed construction deadline; however, works are due to start this year and are expected to be completed in 2024, followed by six months to build and install the exhibition spaces before the gallery is reopened. More

Rothelowman has won a design excellence competition for a residential tower at Midtown MacPark in Sydney’s Macquarie Park. Held by Fraser Property, the competition was to design a living destination and neighbourhood that was flexible, modern, and deeply connected to its Macquarie Park context. The architect said the building is designed to maximise light with […] More

The Victorian government has begun a pilot program that could see competition-winning apartment designs built in Melbourne’s north-western suburbs. The Future Homes pilot project will see a a new planning provision under the Maribyrnong Planning Scheme. Developers can purchase exemplary apartment designs for $15,000 in a scheme the Grattan Institute’s economic policy program director Brendan […] More