Architecture

Grimshaw Architects has completed a purpose-built facility for film and television production for Docklands Studios Melbourne in collaboration with Development Victoria.
Sound Stage 6 is a development set to invigorate Victoria’s screen industry and attract international productions to the complex.
Measuring at 3,700 square metres, featuring 600 tonnes of steel girders and valued at $46 million, Sound Stage 6 will increase Dockland Studios Melbourne’s capacity by 60 per cent, making it one of the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
Grimshaw principal Jason Embley described the project as a “satisfying challenge,” posing particularities to the architects from acoustic considerations to the specialized load bearing conditions.

View gallery

600 tonnes of steel girders were lifted into place to form the shell of the new 3700 square metre sound stage. Image:

Dianna Snape Photography

The facility includes an epic clear-span space with a 17-metre-high gantry and the deepest “wet stage” in the country – a 900,000 litre purpose-built tank for shooting underwater scenes.
The design and form of the sound stage corresponds with the existing stages of the complex and the identity of the precicnt, but Studio 6 supersedes its siblings in scale and expression.
Grimshaw deisgned the adjoining three-storey workplace as “large blocks articulated with deep openings” to create external breakout opportunities, while the striking external louvres provide a key function, reducing solar heat gain and glare.
The architect said the featured colours of the building were inspired by Andy Warhol’s celebrated artwork of the 1950s screen icon Marilyn Monroe.
Recently-retired Docklands Studio Melbourne chief executive Rod Allan oversaw the design process on behalf of the studio. He attributed the success of the delivery of the highly technical project, which sits on a challenging site, to the working relationship between the architect, the studio and its government partner.
“Through ingenuity and diligence, Grimshaw satisfied all aspects of the brief and delivered a stage that will be used by Australian and international film and television, and enhance the development of Melbourne’s screen industry,” Allan said.
Studio 6 is adaptable to facilitate large-scale international productions and small independent Australian productions alike. Robbie Williams’s biopic Better Man is set to be the first production to shoot at the new facility, with filming to begin in 2022.
“With some of the best production staff and talent in the world, epic shooting locations and now the addition of Sound Stage 6, Victoria is a creative beacon for the biggest film and television projects at a global scale,” said Victoria’s creative industries minister Danny Pearson said at the studio’s opening. More

City of Melbourne councillors have voted unanimously in favour of a proposal to redevelop Punt Road Oval, home to the Richmond Football Club and the place where the original rules for Australian Rules Football were drawn up.
Designed by Cox Architecture, the $65 million redevelopment will see the demolition of the historic Jack Dyer Stand, originally constructed in 1914, which will be replaced with a new development that willl transform the grounds from a training facility to a public sporting precinct. The project will double the spectator capacity of the precinct from 4,000 to 8,000.
Cox Architecture’s design for the new grandstand is inspired by the original 1914 stand that it will replace. “The new design takes the same approach by incorporating a prominent array of steel columns to both the park and field elevations. Each column is composed of twin vertical elements that are pinned together and incorporate a linear light fitting recessed into a central reveal. In place of a traditional capital, the columns will feature slender steel plate connections to the roof structure above, and a footing detail that expresses its component parts,” the architect said in its planning application.

View gallery

The redevelopment of Punt Road Oval by Cox Architecture.

“The material palette has been selected based on a preference for natural materials that are both durable and sympathetic in a parkland context,” the architect continued. “The ends of the new grandstand present a wonderful opportunity to reinstate some of the original red brickwork from the Jack Dyer Stand.”
Cox Architecture intends to retain the remnant signage, which will be incorporated in the new building.
The development will also create the William Cooper Centre, which will house teaching, administration and recreation spaces for the Korin Gamadji Institute, the Bachar Houli Academy, and the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS). Furthermore, it will enhance and equalize the club’s facilities for both the men’s and women’s programs.
The oval itself will also be reoriented and resized to match the pitch at the Melbouren Cricket Ground.
The first ever game of Australian Rules Footbal was played at Punt Road Oval in 1858. It has been the home of the Richmond Football Club for more than a century.

View gallery

The redevelopment of Punt Road Oval by Cox Architecture.

Heritage groups have argued for the retention of the existing Jack Dyer Stand, which has a local heritage overlay, but is not state heritage listed. This option was explored in feasibility studies for the project, however, the architects and the club ultimately determined it was not a viable option due to significant structural and safety challenges the structure poses.
Deputy lord mayor and portfolio lead for city planning Nicholas Reece said, “I commend Cox on the design of the proposed new grandstand. I think it’s a well-designed facility [that is] sensitive to the surrounds there in Yarra Park. It has been rightly described as a quiet building that doesn’t try and make too much of an over statement.
“I find the point being made about the existing Jack Dyer Stand not being fit for purpose very persuasive,” Reece continued. “If the MCG had been frozen in 1913, it would not be the world’s greatest football ground as it is today. While the aspirations of Punt Road Oval are obviously not quite as grand, I do think we need allow the oval, the stand and the facilities to continue to evolve to meet the needs of the community. That does involve a really difficult trade off […] but ultimately the benefit of that trade off is worth it.”
Reece also encouraged the architects to further integrate the would-be remnants of the Jack Dyer Stand in their design.
The proposal will now progress to the Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning for the minister’s consideration. More

World-first robotic technology is been trialled on the construction site at Murdoch University in Perth.
Designs for the large-scale timber building on the university’s South Street campus, by Lyons Architecture in collaboration with Officer Woods, The Fulcrum Agency, STH and Aspect Studios were unveiled in 2020.
Delivery partners at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed a purpose-built robot to address cumbersome screw fixings on the mass timber building, in what has been classed as a world-first operation.
The robot, which is equipped with wheels and a six-axis arm, is being used to install the industrial-sized screws that secure the timber framing to the wooden floor.
Building 360 will be a high-tech, engineered timber project – the largest of its kind in Western Australia to be constructed from locally sourced timber. The proponents are committed to achieving a 6-star Green Star rating for sustainability.

View gallery

Building 360 is located on the South Street campus at Murdoch University.

“[Mass engineered timber] is a completely renewable resource and a more sustainable construction material than conventional steel or concrete, which is a huge contributor of greenhouse gas emissions globally,” said Murdoch vice chancellor Andrew Deeks. “The building will also have a large array of photovoltaic cells to supply its power needs.”
The use of robotic technology on the project is only a pilot at this stage, but building partner Aurecon estimates the productivity gains of the technology could be substantial.
Aurecon theorizes the robot may save between 15 and 20 per cent on the construction schedule, as well as reduce the margin for error and ensure better work safety. There are around 300,000 screw fixings on Building 360, and the robot is being trialled on the installation of 50 to 100 fixings as part of the proof of concept.
Aurecon’s managing director for built environment Tim Spies said the pilot project showed that the timber industry could lead the way in improving construction project outcomes through the new technology.
“The project’s immediate objective is focused on a proof of concept, to demonstrate the robot’s capability of installing screw fixings in an accurate manner,” Spies said.
“The long-term objective is to prove that the modular nature of timber construction will benefit from the automation of some on-site construction activities, helping to increase productivity, reduce cost, improve workers’ [occupational health and safety], and advance innovation in the construction industry.” More

The Milan Design Film Festival will make its way to a Melbourne silver screen for the first time from 19 until 30 May.
Supported by the Italian Cultural Institute and curated by ACMI, the series will present a handpicked selection of flicks from the 2021 Milano Design Film Festival – the nineth edition in the festival’s history – alongside works from recent editions.
“The Milano Design Film Festival has been an annual fixture on Italy’s design calendar since 2013 and we’re excited to bring a representative selection of films from the most recent – 2021 – and earlier editions of the festival to Melbourne,” said ACMI film curator Roberta Ciabarra.
This film season addresses the subjects of architecture and design, and culture and society more broadly, in the form of documentaries and shorts featuring prominent figureheads, trends and case studies.

View gallery

Olivetti – Perspective (2020). Image: ACMI

Curated by Silvia Robertazzi and Porzia Bergamasco, a selection of 20 films will screen in ACMI’s Federation Square cinema. Some highlights of the festival include The Importance of Being an Architect – a documentary film that considers the social, aesthetic and ecological responsibilities of the profession, following the work of designers Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel.
In Renzo Piano: Architect of Light, Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura traces the development of Renzo Piano’s first Spanish project, Centro Botín. The Dome and The Ship both take architectural case studies to examine how architecture can inspire or, if done poorly, disenfranchise.
Two documentaries, Olivetti – Perspective and Olivetti – Paradigm, explore the cultural and architectural legacy of Italian industrial design innovator Adriano Olivetti.
Director of the Italian Cultural Institute Angelo Gioè said that design in the world “speaks Italian,” and this series explores a universal vision of the sector at large.
“Contemporary architecture, in its cultural and social dimensions, responds to the challenges of our time with a careful approach to the definition of public space,” said Gioè.
“In Italy the theme of the initiative was ‘Reset’, a restart after the COVID-19 pandemic, intended as a reimagining of lifestyles and urban landscapes, with less focus on history and biographies and more attention on urban planning and sustainability.”
He concluded, “I hope this is just the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with ACMI hosting the MDFF on a regular basis to create positive synergies between Italy and Australia in this cultural field.”
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the ACMI website. More

The Australian Institute of Architects has slammed the Victorian government’s decision to slash funding to the Office of Victorian Goverment Architect (OVGA) by almost half in its 2022-23 budget, announced on 4 May.
The Institute issued a statement expressing its disappointment for what it has called an “unexplained” cut in funding from $1.3 million a year to just $700,000.
Victorian chapter president Bill Krotiris said the reduction will pose many risks to State government projects and will threaten the advisory team’s services as well as the entire Victorian Design Review Panel (VDRP).
In the three years leading to 2021 alone, the OVGA has advised or collaborated on 187 Victorian projects of state significance, worth more than $25 billion. The VDRP has delivered advice on more than 300 projects of state significance and major icons such as the Melbourne and Olympic Parks projects.
The Institute said it was particularly perplexed by the decision, considering an independent economist’s report that has shown the OVGA is working above the government’s performance targets.
“We are aware the OVGA will be left with a skeleton staff,” Krotiris said. “It is incomprehensible with the important capital projects the Victorian budget is delivering in health, social housing, education and the Commonwealth Games that the Department of Premier and Cabinet will cut off its own hand and be stripped of the independent design advice provided by its own Government Architect Office.”
Krotiris voiced his disapproval in the state’s decision to spend $13 million on its Trade Mission Program, which includes the establishment of a new trade and investment office in Paris, while the OVGA is set to be almost “wiped out.”
“Victoria is also a recognized design capital and this move will serve to damage its reputation and the delivery of key outcomes of great design including liveability, health and sustainability,” he said.
The funding cut announcment coincided with the Intitute’s federal election policy proposal to create of an Office of the Australian Government Architect to support planning and design on a national level.
The establishment of a national goverment architect would better inform national policy surrounding public procurements and outcomes, and create a stronger commitment to better design.
“Most of Australia’s states and territories recognize the value of having a government architect to promote high-quality design for our public buildings,” said the Institute’s national president Tony Giannone. Government architects support architectural decision-making in all states except for Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
“It is high time the Australian Government saw the value in this role at a national level,” he said.
The Institute suggested the next government could establish an office with $14 million in funding over the next four years, to advise government and statutory agencies on the best ways to achieve design excellence in government owned or funded buildings.
“This would have meaningful impact, given Australian governments procured about one-third of non-residential buildings across the country in 2021,” the Institute said.
The establishment of a Government Architect is one of six comprehensive proposals identified within the Institute’s Federal Election Policy Statement: A Time For Action.
Other recommendations include greater action on climate change initiatives; a 30-year national housing strategy; a national construction supply chain strategy; an address of gender diversity and inequality in construction; and a call for a national anti-corruption watchdog. More

This project involved a significant planning and finishes upgrade to the existing lobby at Santos Place in central Brisbane, Queensland. The works included new entrances, an entrance canopy, relocation of the concierge desk, creation of breakout spaces and a library, and new digital signage and art. Corian provided the flexibility to create large-scale architectural forms […] More

More than 400 of Australia’s top architecture, design and property development professionals gathered to celebrate the opening of Signorino’s expanded Stone Gallery, now home to the southern hemisphere’s largest selection of natural stone slabs. The 12,000 m² gallery has the singular purpose of storing and displaying more than 12,500 individual slabs of natural stone that […] More

The City of Hobart has approved plans to restore and redevelop the former headquarters of Forestry Tasmania in the central city, transforming it into an learning hub for the University of Tasmamina Woods Bagot were engaged by the university for the project, with a development proposal submitted to council in December 2021.. UTAS vice-chancellor Rufus […] More