Architecture

Western Australian hospitality operator and developer Nokturnl has signed a 30-year lease with the state government to make over the Yagan Square market hall precinct, with concept designs by MJA Studio for a proposed new hospitality venue now released.
Originally designed by Lyons in collaboration with Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects and Aspect Studios and opened in 2018, Yagan Square was part of a Barnett government-era project to sync the city’s rail line and connect the CBD and Northbridge. The market hall was designed in collaboration with Maddison Architects.
The proposed concept is a bid to “breathe new life” into the site by joining the new additions and refurbishments into the existing location as well as improving the adjoining playground and grassed areas that have previously attracted antisocial behaviour.
The $8.4-million redevelopment will turn the square into a five-level hospitality hub, more than doubling the size of the existing site and adding an additional two levels to the building. To be known as “Stories,” the new development will feature a “family-friendly” pub on the ground floor, as well as two restaurants, alfresco areas and a rooftop tavern.

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Concept designs for the redeveloped Yagan Square market hall precinct featuring a five-level hospitality hub.

The 2018 project has not had the anticipated outcome – a result, some believe, of poor design choices. Visitor numbers have diminished over the past four years, with the COVID-19 pandemic becoming the proverbial nail in the coffin. Minister for lands John Carey said that the previous model for Yagan Square has “simply not worked.”
“People just walk by,” said Carey. “Our government wants Yagan Square to be a vibrant, safe, family-friendly space, constantly buzzing with offerings and activities that attract residents and tourists alike, day and night.”
Action is required now as the new inner-city Edith Cowan University (ECU) campus, on the opposite site, is due to open in the next couple of years. Yagan Square vendors are hopeful that the completion of the ECU project will transform the commercially unsuccessful precinct, bringing more people to the market hall site.
The proposal responds to nearly 2,000 submissions received from the public during a community consultation period in the planning stages. The redevelopment plans have been lodged with Development WA and works are expected to commence in the coming months. More

Manufacturer Bowral Bricks has marked 100 years of helping to shape Australia’s urban landscape and homes.
Founded in 1922 in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, Bowral Bricks has contributed to some of Australia’s most admired and historic buildings with the finest product from dry-pressed clays and shells.
Today, through time-honed techniques and modern technological innovations, Bowral Bricks is still renowned for its premium product, compacted at high pressure to produce its signature clean, dimensionally accurate bricks.
The history is reflected in Bowral Bricks’ traditional craftsmanship and techniques made from locally sourced clay, reflecting the colours and textures of the Australian landscape. The bricks’ natural and unique colour variations create an authentic appeal.

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University of Technology (Sydney) Tower. Image: Supplied

Designed to last, these bricks have helped make some of Australia’s most enduring landmarks, from the distinctive curves of Koichi Takada’s Arc by Crown to Smart Design Studio’s Stokes 14.
Bowral Bricks are available in standard shapes as well as sculptured custom shapes. Irregular and custom shapes were used to create the iconic “paper bag” facade for Frank Gehry’s iconic University of Technology Sydney (UTS) tower.
With Bowral Bricks, Australian architects have demonstrated the ability for brick to deliver unmistakable character, charm and longevity.
“[Bowral Bricks’] name is a constant reminder of our quest for beautifully crafted clay products used by homeowners and architects alike,” said Brickworks managing director Lindsay Partridge. “All of us rightly know that the longevity of any business depends on so many factors. On the cusp of its second century, Bowral Bricks as an iconic brand will continue to typify elegance, style, beauty – and quality products.”
To mark its 100-year anniversary, Brickworks has released a publication of 100 Years of Bowral Bricks, featuring some of its most iconic projects and the leading architects that played a part in the transformation of bricks into some of Australia’s most significant landmarks. More

The Robin Boyd Foundation has launched a design competition, The Walls Around Us, inviting students to imagine a new way of living, inspired by the ideas of Robin Boyd. The winner will receive a trip to Venice for the 2023 Architecture Biennale, courtesy of sponsor Brickworks Building Products. The competition takes its name from Robin […] More

Brisbane City Council has released a new draft masterplan for a 64-hectare former golf course that will be tranformed into an inner-city green space in Brisbane’s Barrambin/Victoria Park.
The masterplan is designed by a consortium of landscape architects, architects, urban planners, transport planners, environmental consultants and engineers, led by Urbis. Landscape architects and architects in the consortium included Wild Studio, Form Landscape Architecture, Cox Architecture, and Vokes and Peters.
The draft masterplan builds on community feedback from a previous masterplan to create what the council is calling a “uniquely Brisbane” destination, featuring a new visitors centre, and a pathway loop, boardwalks connecting to restored wetlands and waterholes and a viewing tower to provide a lookout over the city skyline and nearby mountain ranges.

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Re-established waterways, wetlands and waterholes will restore natural cooling, cleansing and drainage, as well as habitat for wildlife. Image:

Courtesy of Brisbane City Council

Design principles and strategies have been based on the tenets of recognition, restoration and reconnection. “Recognition” applies to creating a place that celebrates connections between Country, culture and history across generations, wile “restoration” refers to reweaving the park into Brisbane’s city fabric, and “reconnection” to healing the landscape through the reinstatement of natural ecosystems.
Rewilding will increase canopy cover from 10 to 60 percent, and create new habitat for local wildlife, while new bridges and transport connections will be established to help make the parkland an activated public space.
Plans are also in the pipeline for a temporary equestrian cross-country course and BMX freestyle course ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Community consultation for the draft masterplan is open until 30 October, after which a final master plan will be released in 2023. More

Burnie City Council has released draft architectural plans for the refurbishment of Burnie Arts and Functions Centre.
Designed by Tasmanian practice Xsquared, the project will create a “reimagined space […] to experience, enjoy, and learn about our local identity through arts, history and performance,” the council said.
Transforming the existing centre, the new design has been developed in consultation with the community and will feature an integrated multi-storey complex, with better connectivity to the CBD and enhanced community engagement.
Xsquared said its proposal represents a “multifaceted cultural hub” that reinvigorates the existing site on the fringe of the CBD. Renovations and additions will enable the integration of the Burnie Regional Art Gallery and the Burnie Regional Museum within the one building, creating a dynamic contemporary arts hub within a broader cultural precinct in the regional Tasmanian city.

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Architectural render of Burnie Cultural Centre atrium. Image:

Xsquared Architects

Xsquared director Peter Scott said robust metal cladding options were being explored to provide long-term finishes that reflect the industrial history and coastal context of the city.
“Our design responds to the industrial context of Burnie, to stringent environmental requirements for buildings adjoining Bass Strait, and to the scale of the existing building and those surrounding it,” said Scott.
Burnie Arts and Functions Centre was originally designed by Leith and Bartlett almost 50 years ago, and while it has undergone several modifications, interventions are required for more modern amenities, with improved accessibility, way finding and circulation.

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Render of Long Room main entry for Burnie Cultural Centre. Image:

Xsquared Architects

In 2021, the council announced its intentions to refurbish the centre, abandoning former plans to build an entirely new centre, the North West Museum and Art Gallery designed by Terroir, to avoid unnecessary additional costs.
“This decision was made for financial reasons because the additional expense the community would need to incur each year (around $600,000 per year in depreciation) is more than the community can afford to pay,” a spokesperson for Burnie City Council said.
“This is not just a cosmetic refurbishment of the Burnie Arts and Function Centre, but a new vision and model for culture and creativity in our city.”
The council is seeking community feedback on the draft architectural plans until 7 November. More

Planning approval has been granted for the Studio Nine-designed Otello Tonsley, a “wellbeing-focused” commercial and retail precinct in South Australia.
According to the developer, the mixed-use project has been designed to promote healthy living, with food and beverage offerings, retail space, and health and wellbeing facilities onsite, as well as a supermarket, retail and recreational facilities. The precinct will support South Australian government’s Tonsley Innovation District, a 20-year project to transform a 61-hectare site, formerly occupied by a Mitsubishi Motors assembly plant, into an integrated employment, education and residential precinct.
Studio Nine said the architectural response is driven by “biophilic design, connectivity, transparency, apporoachability and inclusivity,” and these principals are manifest from the overall masterplanning to the design response of each building.
“Our involvement in this project […] has given us the opportunity to work together to challenge what the future of a mixed-use building can offer its end users, and acknowledge the wider responsibility the built form can provide to the community and state as a whole,” said Studio Nine director Andrew Steele.
The built form of the mixed-use development responds to the site-specific orientation to create a well-lit floor plate, using passive considerations that minimise unwanted heat gain, glare, and reliance on mechanical systems.

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Render of Otello Tonsley commercial and retail precinct, South Australia, by Studio Nine Architects. Image:

Treehouse 3D

Centred around a generous atrium at its nucleus, the interior creates visual connectivity with plentiful natural light and a linking internal stair.
The precinct includes a landscaped ground plane public realm and a range of external terraces with differing scales, providing a mix of “experiential offerings” with varied opportunities for activation and intimacy, the architects said. More

DKO and Furtado Sullivan have been selected as the winners of a design competition for the final stages of a mixed-use precinct project in Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast.
The successful concept for Central Coast Quarter presents two towers set alongside a central pavilion that will “activate the area with retail and hospitality venues,” the architects said.
The southern tower will be home to around 100 apartments with waterway views, featuring a “scalloped” balcony designs to complement its coastal setting.
The eastern tower will consist of an 18-storey commercial building above the terraced public realm, designed to offer a flexible and accessible space designed to maximise liveability, work and leisure.

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The successful concept for Central Coast Quarter presents two towers set alongside a central pavilion that will activate the area with retail and hospitality venues. Image:

DKO and Fertado Sullivan

The retail podium will be a selection of retail and commercial spaces connecting the laneways from Mann Street to Baker Street. Across three cascading terraces, the public pavilion will be designed to host outdoor dining and function spaces.
“The sophisticated design by DKO and Furtado Sullivan is perfect for the eastern and southern portions of the Central Coast Quarter project,” said Justyn Ng, development director of St Hilliers.
DKO was responsible for the first stage of the Central Coast Quarter project and director Nicholas Byrne said the team was pleased to collaborate on its final stages.
“This was a huge opportunity for the practice to work on a large-scale, multi-staged development in the rapidly growing Central Coast region,” said Byrne. “We hope the series of buildings and spaces in the precinct will create a unique place for the City of Gosford, reflecting the broader landscape and respecting Country.”
The design jury commended the architect’s response to “Connection to Country”, which set the framework for the built-form response.
The jury comprised Paulo Macchia (chair, director design governance at Government Architect NSW), Paul Walter (principal of Atlas), John Choi (partner of Chrofi) and Jared Phillips (Central Coast Council’s manager of centres planning and urban design). More

A new rooftop pavilion has been proposed for Melbourne’s heritage-listed Nicholas Building, one of the city’s oldest and most diverse vertical creative precincts.
Designed by Henry Norris in 1926 and located at 37 Swanston Street, the Nicholas Building is is a landmark office and retail building influenced by the “Chicago-style” architecture prevalent in Melbourne during the time.
Proposed designs by Urban Creative Studio show a new rooftop pavilion and green public space featuring inbuilt solar technology, which will provide a space for hosting a range of creative and arts programs atop the 100-year-old building.
The pavilion would incorporate a recessive design with generous setbacks to respect the heritage of the Nicholas Building, while providing a place to gather among curated artist gardens.
It would serve as a multi-functional live performance venue and hospitality offering, to host cultural events programs with local, regional and international partners. The new space would host a suite of events and experiences, including festivals, exhibitions, performances, forums, symposia and more.

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The design would feature a green roof with a tree canopy to contribute to urban cooling and assist the collecting and reusing of rainwater. Image:

Urban Creative Studio

The design would feature a green roof with a tree canopy to contribute to urban cooling and assist the collecting and reusing of rainwater, and the rooftop would generate its own electricity by harnessing solar energy.
The vision builds on the existing studio spaces in the labyrinthine Art Deco building, which is currently home to more than 200 artists, creatives and other enterprises, including bespoke bookstores, independent boutiques, recording studios and more.
Alongside the restoration and upgrade of the Nicholas Building rooftop, works would also include the renewal of facilities, including new performance spaces and hospitality venues. The revamp will help to preserve the landmark tower as a valuable cultural asset into the future.
In July 2022, the Nicholas Building was sold to investment firm Forza Capital for a reported $80 million. “Forza Capital is excited about the opportunity to provide capital towards the purchase, restoration and upgrade of the Nicholas Building together with the long term protection of the occupants of the building. This is a globally significant collection of artisans and will be lost forever without the assistance of both government and the private sector.”
The City of Melbourne has also contributed to the funding for the redevelopment works. The Nicholas Building Association said it has raised 75 percent of capital required to realise the project through private and public investment. More