Architecture

Revival Project’s Zero Footprint Repurposing Hub has been awarded the 2022 Melbourne Design Week Award for best event.
The hub is a dedicated space for repurposing waste from construction and demolition. In line with one of Design Week’s pillars, Revival is exercising the credo of “making good,” salvaging and reusing building materials on a scale that hasn’t previously been achieved.

View gallery

The Zero Footprint Repurposing Hub is located in a 150-year-old warehouse in Collingwood that previously housed textiles. Image:

Sean Fennessy

Founder Robbie Neville started Revival in 2016 after he was confronted by the lack of sustainable construction practices Australia – in particular, the failure to incorporate perfectly good existing materials in new projects.
“When I took on my own projects as a building practitioner, it was so frustrating how challenging it was to incorporate recycled materials into my work,” said Neville. “I wanted to make repurposing fundamental to new design and construction, but our industry is not set up whatsoever to incorporate alternative recycled materials at an elemental level.”

View gallery

Robbie Neville (pictured) started Revival in 2016 after he was confronted by the lack of sustainable construction practices Australia. Image:

Sean Fennessy

Despite the impacts of the global pandemic, Australia’s construction industry remains prolific, with government investment in public infrastructure contributing to many states’ economic recovery plans. But with this growth comes an enormous amount of waste. Neville sees it as his responsibility to normalize responsible handling as standard practice.
“This industry’s been predicated on 200 years of reckless consumption. The paradigm is: harvest, fabricate, consume, dispose – it’s a legacy of the industrial revolution,” Neville explained.
In the current paradigm, almost half of waste worldwide comes from construction and demolition. In Australia, this accounts for a total of 44 per cent of all managed waste.

View gallery

Revival is working with Grimshaw Architects to put 100 per cent of the materials from the existing warehouse back into the new build. Image:

Sean Fennessy

Neville’s mission is to redefine our understanding of “waste.” He and the team want to work with architects and developers to help them to understand the value of what they already have. He wants to encourage a reappraisal of what the industry determines as “waste.”
When something is nominated in drawings for demolition, “there’s an abdication of responsibility in that moment when a council or architect or builder deems those materials irrelevant,” he said.
The Islington Street Zero Footprint Repurposing Hub came to life when Neville teamed with Grimshaw Architects, who were designing a multi-storey building out of a former textile warehouse in Islington Street, Collingwood. The 100-year-old warehouse has become a temporary home for salvaged materials before its own demolition in 2024. For the duration of its tenancy, Revival is working with Grimshaw to put 100 per cent of the materials back into the new build.

View gallery

Neville said 20-metre timber trusses in the original warehouse are undoubtably old growth most likely from North America, and could be thousands of years old. Image:

Sean Fennessy

Occupying an enormous 1,000 square metres, Revival’s Collingwood hub offers a free storage space for architects and builders to keep salvaged materials before they can go back into the new project.
“There is such a time gap between demolition and the project coming to life,” Neville said. “We’ve offered this free space to try and solve that last major barrier preventing people from using what they already have.” No one who uses the hub will be obliged to use Revival’s services, so long as they’re making use of the salvaged materials they keep on the site.
The Zero Footprint Repurposing Hub houses six years’ worth of Neville’s projects that each help prove the viability of his solutions. Neville is chipping away at reservations, debunking the myth that recycled timber always has to be rustic with beautifully refined case studies and bespoke furniture pieces. “Every shopfront of an R.M. Williams store across the country has been made from a building that was demolished in Fitzroy,” said Neville.
He’s also debunking the myth that sustainable methods are more costly than traditional builds with a project by Assemble, where there is a clear commercial upside of working within a circular system. “Every single one of the installations represents the ideas we’re putting forward and proposing,” he said.

View gallery

Standing at an enormous 1000 square metres, Revival’s Collingwood hub offers a free storage space for architects and builders to keep salvaged materials before they can go back into the new project. Image:

Sean Fennessy

“The fruit couldn’t be hanging any lower,” said Neville. “The city is built out of old growth timber and brick. We’re still demolishing first-round developments that are a couple of hundred years old, so the scope of opportunity is palpable.”
Neville hopes to harness the momentum, energy and exposure brought about by Melbourne Design Week to drive the mission forward. “The city is full of vacant buildings; there is no reason why with more cohesion between the different players, this couldn’t be transferrable on a larger scale.”
Revival Projects’ repurposing hub is open on Friday 25 March for Melbourne Design Week. Click here to view the exhibition details. ArchitectureAU is a media part of Melbourne Design Week. More

Kerstin Thompson Architects and Bloxas have “invented” a new health care typology in their design for a children’s mental health facility in Melbourne’s north.
The $7.3 million Statewide Child and Family Centre in Macleod will provide mental health services for children aged up to 11 who have experienced negative or traumatic events. The 12-bed facility will accommodate up to three families on site in a residential setting, as they receive family-focused therapy and support for issues such as medication management, dispute resolution, school refusal and challenging behaviour.
The facility will include private rooms with shared living space, which include a kitchen, dining, lounge and laundry, family activity areas, outdoor garden areas and clinical consulting areas.
The centre will be the first in Victoria to provide live-in services for children and their families. Part of the therapy service that the centre will provide will involve observing family dynamics.

View gallery

The Statewide Child and Family Centre by Kerstin Thompson Architects and Bloxas is designed to have a residential feel.

Kerstin Thompson and Bloxas principal Anthony Clarke said their design emerged from the innovative model of care devised by the clinicians at Austin Health, which will be operating the service.
“The most interesting thing to us about this project was their model of care. It was innovative and, as yet, they didn’t have the typology to fit,” Thompson said. “We saw our role as developing a spatial typology that would support them and what they were wanting to deliver. It was really fascinating to see this synergy with what architecture can do and help them visualize it and apply it through space in ways that met their needs and didn’t feel institutional.”
Creating a residential atsmosphere, and also an environment where children could feel they have instrumentality and choice, as well as breaking down the dichotomous patient-clinical dynamic of the setting was a challenge for the architects. They explored a number of different types of children’s spaces, such as childcare centres, libraries for children, and Maggies Centres which provide support for cancer patients. “We had to pull many different types of programs as reference points for this because we were inventing a type,” Thompson said.

View gallery

In the Statewide Child and Family Centre by Kerstin Thompson Architects and Bloxas, activity areas for children are separated from therapy focused areas.

The architects also consulted with a group of former patients who gave insights about their lived experiences receiving treatment.
“”There’s been a lot of care involved in the overall planning and consideration for children in this project,” said Anthony Clarke, who is also undertaking PhD research into how architects can create spaces for people with unique neurological and mental conditions.
“A lot of [our ideas] focused on offering children choice, privacy, physical and psychological transparency, autonomy, and a sense of empowerment. The project offers young individuals the ability to self-regulate through a diverse spectrum of highly considered internal and external settings.
“One example is the ability to independently control lighting with dimmers. It seems like a very minor component however it offers a strong, and important sense of personal control.”
The project also separates the therapy-focused areas from other areas where the children might be undertaking other activities. “It was important to appreciate and comprehend the concept of ‘dual purpose’ spaces. Where the children watch movies, or free play for example, are not the same environments where the more formal therapy may take place.” Clarke explains “This assists to reduce any confusion between positive and negative spatial association. In addition to this, the introduction of transition zones was critical, offering the opportunity for individual decision making to occur.”

View gallery

The Statewide Child and Family Centre by Kerstin Thompson Architects and Bloxas is embedded into its neighbourhood with its landscape.

Thompson added that the landscape also contributes creating a residential feel for the project. The key spaces all have garden spaces “because of the therapeutic possibilities of gardens, the prospect of gardens, and also the sense of relief and not feeling trapped.” The gardens serve as spaces for children to undertake activities in and also as visual outlooks.
The proposed facility responds to key recommendations from Victoria’s royal commission into mental health. Construction is underway and is due to be completed in late 2022. More

Georgia Birks: Tell us a bit about yourself and what the original house was like.
Tamsin Cull: Brisbane has been my home-town since I was at university. I went away for a few years for postgraduate study and work but otherwise I’ve lived in my home in Annerley since 2007 – I’ve always loved the house and the area.
The original house was a very small cottage, which had been added to in the 1960s with a “handyman”-style extension. It had a tiny little window out to the garden from the kitchen. I knew that I wanted to change that, to make the transition into the garden as easy as possible.
GB: When did you decide to engage an architect?
TC: In 2018 I decided that I wanted to do the renovation. At first, I thought the logical thing to do was to raise the house. I spoke with some building designers who would do that, but there wasn’t a lot of conversation about how my family lived and how we engaged with the space. I left those conversations not feeling totally convinced. I was also very conscious of cost. The reality is that any building project these days is probably more expensive than you think it’s going to be. I wanted an architect who could work within the parameters of my budget. I did some further research and spoke to a friend of mine who recommended Nicholas and Zuzana. When I met with Nicholas and Zuzana, I immediately felt like we had a good rapport: their approach was to not intervene with the house more than they needed to and they were very interested in my ideas.
GB: What was your brief to Zuzana and Nicholas?
TC: My brief was to connect the interior spaces to the garden in order to generate more space. I knew the house wasn’t going to be really big, so it needed rooms that were versatile and able to grow as my family grew. The windows in these cottages on small inner-city blocks are often aligned with those of the neighbours, so I wanted privacy, but I didn’t want to be completely shut off from the street, either. I still wanted to feel connected to the neighbourhood.
GB: You mentioned that budget was an important part of your brief. How did you maintain a budget that worked for you?
TC: Going for quality over quantity. It really was about not trying to make things any bigger than they needed to be. This then allowed me to spend on quality finishes: because I only have one bathroom, I was able to use little Italian floor tiles. That wouldn’t have been possible if I had wanted three bathrooms.
GB: Connecting the interior spaces to the garden is a strong design driver in your brief and led you to collaborate with a landscape designer. What was that process like?
TC: It was probably halfway through the design process that I said to Nicholas and Zuzana that I really wanted to think about the garden as part of the whole project. I wanted the garden to be in harmony with the house. A friend of mine had just finished a renovation and she had worked with Jonathan Kopinski for the landscape design of her house. When I mentioned this to Nicholas and Zuzana, they laughed and said “he’s a good friend of ours and that’s a great idea.” Jonathan and I shared ideas and he came back with this beautiful design, which was about extending the architectural plan itself. Jonathan and I then spent a whole week planting the garden together, as I was determined to complete the landscape before moving the family in – I didn’t want to bring children and a dog into a big dirt pit.
GB: What are your highlights from the architectural process?
TC: I would certainly say [Zuzana and Nicholas] were pretty amazing in terms of how responsive they were to my suggestions. I love their aesthetic but they were quite encouraging of my ideas, particularly about colour. The conversations were respectful and it wasn’t a case of, “this is what you should do because I’m the architect.” However, occasionally they would politely say, “actually I think it should be this way …” That’s how you know you’ve got a good relationship.
GB: Was working with an architect what you expected?
TC: I would say it’s given me an enormous respect and appreciation for what architects do. There is so much more to it than I had ever realized. The way they think about light, spaces and the integration of new and old was absolutely worth it. Also, there was a drawing for everything. The builders were very complimentary when they talked about Zuzana and Nicholas’s documentation.
GB: What advice would you give to someone thinking about using an architect, and would you do it again?
TC: I would definitely do it again. I would advise people to think about the aesthetic you’re after and investigate the architect’s completed projects. You need to find someone you have a real affinity with in that regard. What is equally important is finding someone that you can imagine yourself having a really good working relationship with.
GB: You did a lot of research to find the right architect. Would you recommend this process for those looking to engage an architect?
TC: Yes. You want to actually like the person because you’re going to have a lot to do with them – you could be working together for a couple of years. It’s funny, I would liken my relationship with my architects to being a little bit like my relationship with my obstetrician [laughs]. You just see so much of them because you are preparing for a big life event!
For more, read the review of Annerley House.
Tamsin Cull and Zuzana and Nicholas Architects will be speaking about Annerley House at the Our Houses even in Brisbane, part of the Asia Pacific Architecture Festival. Book tickets here. More

Victorian Minister for Planning Richard Wynne has released updated plans for the Preston Market Precinct with new protection overlays for the fresh food market and stronger height limits on new builds following an eight-week community consultation period.
In May 2021, the Victorian Government released draft plans for community consultation, which saw a total of 386 written submissions made to the planning authority.
Retaining neighbourhood character and maximizing access to light were among the top priorities identified from community feedback that have heavily influenced the latest iteration of precinct plans.
These recommendations have led to a reduction in building heights and in the number of homes in the precinct, enabling a more open and light-filled space.
The Victorian Planning Authority forecasts that Preston’s population will double in size to 68,000 people by 2041. “We expect 4,500 to 6,000 new residents will call the precinct home with a minimum of 2,200 extra dwellings,” the VPA’s May 2021 community brochure stated.
In the original plan, buildings in the centre of the precinct were designed to reach up to 16 storeys, and up to 20 storeys near Murray Road, to accomodate new homes and workplaces.
“Planning for sustainable growth in the precinct while protecting the neighbourhood’s unique character is essential to tackle urban sprawl and housing affordability for Victoria’s growing population,” the update for the precinct plans read.
“We’ve listened to the community and updated the draft plan in line with their feedback around neighbourhood character, open space and sunlight,” Minister Wynne said.
Strong protections for the 51-year-old market have been retained, with the existing fruit and vegetable shed to remain in its current location, and its character safeguarded by a heritage overlay.
The 5.1-hectare precinct will include the market, new housing, jobs, and infrastructure to support the growing community. This also includes public open spaces, walking and cycle paths, and improved public transport access.
Objectives for the precinct include a thriving fresh food market; a diversity of land use and amenity; culturally diverse character and adaptable community spaces; a sustainable, liveable and accessible precinct; and flexible and efficient parking and access.
The new draft plan will be considered by the Projects Standing Advisory Committee and will be subject to further community consultation.
For more information visit the Victorian Planning Authority website. More

The New South Wales chapters of the Australian Institute of Architects and the Institute of Landscape Australia have voiced their disappointment in the NSW government’s decision to revoke planning reform intended to deliver sustainable development.
Minister for Planning and Homes Anthony Roberts announced that he would be “discontinuiting” the Minister’s Planning Principles in order to prioritize the delivery of new homes and housing affordability.
Released in December 2021, the Minister’s Planning Principles comprised a state-wide plan for sustainable development in New South Wales. The nine principles outlined in the plan included initiatives aimed at improving planning systems, developing greater resilience, strengthening biodiversity and conservation efforts, and designing for better quality of life.
Roberts justified the backflip by stating that the government had to retain its focus on delivering a pipeline of housing supply and affordability.
“The premier has given me a very clear priority – delivering more homes and our principles must help me deliver on that priority,” Roberts said. “I want to work with our stakeholders on ways to boost the supply and affordability so as we do that I have discontinued the Minister’s Planning Principles.”
President of the Australian Institute of Architects NSW chapter Laura Cockburn has deemed the decision unwise, as a move that will effectively sideline sensible principles protecting land use and risk management.
“In the midst of our current flood and housing crises, why would a government choose to remove planning principles aimed at disaster resilience, and delivering affordable housing?” said Cockburn. “This is a short-sighted decision that could have enduring negative impacts.”
Cockburn said she had been hopeful the change in planning regulation would not impact the efforts to design places to meet the needs of the community under the State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPP).
She added that constant change from government would only undermine its mission by unsettling the investor confidence in affordable housing that the backflip is intending to secure.
The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects has also expressed its concern with the decision, with NSW chapter president Tanya Wood stating it “defied logic” to remove the nine planning principles.
“These principles were aimed at creating healthy, green, liveable places across NSW,” said Wood. “To remove these ideals lacks common sense and indicates a concerning approach to future state planning.” More

Australia’s only Pritzker Prize laureate Glenn Murcutt and two-time recipient of the Australian Institute of Architects’ Sulman Medal for Public Architecture Angelo Candalepas have been appointed to design a mixed-use project for Sydney developer Central Element. Located at 271 Elizabeth Street, the project will deliver 53 residences along with ground-floor retail. The site is currently […] More

Architect, educator and social activist Diébédo Francis Kéré has been awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize for 2022.
The Pritzker Prize is awarded to a living architect or architects whose built work combines the qualities of talent, vision and commitment to the built environment. The prize is awarded each year and is referred to as the profession’s highest honour.
Kéré is the 51st laureate and the first African to win the prestigious award since its inception in 1979.
The Burkina Faso-born architect currently resides in Berlin and has a repertoire of built works spanning schools, housing, health facilities, civic buildings and public squares across eight countries in Africa.
His work has expanded to include structures in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The 2022 jury describes his body of work as demonstrating the “power of materiality rooted in place,” making use of locally sourced materials that respond to the natural climate.

View gallery

Gando Primary School. Image:

Erik-Jan Owerkerk

Kéré first garnered international respect for his work on a primary school in his home village of Gando, completed in 2001. Kéré used indigenous clay fortified with cement to form bricks with bioclimatic thermal mass, retaining cool air inside while allowing heat to escape through the brick ceiling.
Kéré was the first in his community to attend school. tThe overcrowded, dark and poorly ventilated classroom of Tenkodogo lead then seven-year-old to vow to one day make schools better for his community.
Today, Kéré said he strives to change the paradigm, making quality facilities available to all – not only the wealthy.

View gallery

Gando Primary School Image:

Erik-Jan Owerkerk

“Everyone deserves quality, everyone deserves luxury, and everyone deserves comfort. We are interlinked and concerns in climate, democracy and scarcity are concerns for us all,” he said.
His work in primary and secondary schools has been heralded for its sensitivity to environment and locality-specific sustainability considerations.
“Francis Kéré, he has served as a singular beacon in architecture,” the jurors said in their citation. “He has shown us how architecture today can reflect and serve needs, including the aesthetic needs, of peoples throughout the world.”
For more information visit the Pritzker Architecture Prize website. More

Australia’s leading and largest design event is back and bigger than ever, with an 11-day program running from 17 to 27 of March featuring over 300 events across the spectrum of design disciplines.
The 2022 schedule has been informed by the pillars of “civic good” and “making good,” under the umbrella theme of “design the world you want.” The concept of civic good implores participants to consider their responsibilities beyond personal interest and encourages them to strive for collective betterment. Making good explores impact of design beyond function and aesthetic and considers the social and environmental consequences of the built world.
Responding to these themes, the line-up includes a rich and diverse selection of zero footprint repurposing, interplanetary housing solutions, biophilic design principles, and First Nations knowledge and thinking.
A network of hubs will be activated around the city, including Collingwood Yards, MPavillion, Scienceworks and the NGV. As well, Castlemaine and Ballarat have been added to the list of regional destinations hosting design events and exhibitions.
Find ArchitectureAU’s selection of 10 of the festival’s architectural highlights below.
AA Prize for Unbuilt Work 2022
17 March to 26 March, RMIT Design Hub
Presented by Architecture Australia and ArchitectureAU.com, the 2022 AA Prize for Unbuilt Work showcases 40 shortlisted entries for compelling works in their conceptual stage. The exhibition rewards provocative ideas, inventive thinking and conceptual rigour in a selection of works that have not yet been realised. This award aspires to promote debate, generate ideas and address the challenges faced by the world today.

View gallery

3D Printed Mars Habitat by Hassell Studio. Image:

Hassell Studio

Design Beyond Earth: Opening Night
25 March, Scienceworks
Presented by Scienceworks in collaboration with Hassell, this exhibition ponders how humans might live beyond earth, and how architects and designers can research and develop future habitat in space. It will consider interplanetary solutions to sustainable housing and to tackle rapid population growth. Opening night of the Scienceworks Hub includes a presentation by Hassell’s head of design Xavier De Kestelier and computational design lead Jonathan Irawan, sharing their current projects and collaborations with NASA and the European Space Agency envisioning new forms of human habitation in space.
Festival of Publicness at University of Melbourne
26 March, University Plaza, University of Melbourne
This day-long program of talks, workshop and music is hosted by the Melbourne School of Design in collaboration with the university’s museums and collections. It will explore the theme of publicness in architecture as both a statement of being in a public space and as a useful thread bringing together various disciplines connected with the public realm: art, architecture, landscape, urbanism, Country, and place.
Good Design – is Excellent for Local Government
25 March, MPavillion
The Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA) will lead a discussion with participants from three city councils – City of Ballarat, City of Greater Geelong and City of Casey – which are some of the fastest growing and most diverse urban areas with some of Victoria’s most well-preserved heritage. Victorian government architect Jill Garner will guide a conversation with key local government design leaders to identify how they are supporting good design, design thinking and creative city strategies.

View gallery

Buhrich HouseII, Castlecrag. Image:

John Gollings

The 50th anniversary of the Hugh Buhrich House in Castlecrag
17 March to 23 March, Brickworks Design Studio
This year will mark the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Hugh Buhrich House II in Castlecrag, which has been described as the “finest modern house in Australia.” Brickworks Design Studio will recreate a 1991 exhibition and catalogue to showcase the innovation and spectacle of this house, presented in conversation with architect Stephen Varady, co-creator of the original exhibition Neil Durbach, and photographer John Gollings.
Victorian Architecture Awards – Exhibition of Entries
17 March to 26 March, Melbourne School of Design
The Australian Institute of Architects’ Awards program showcases recent work by Victorian architects from residential through to education, that respond to the urban and public realm. The exhibition will feature a series of photographs extracted from the entries in the 2022 Victorian Architecture Awards, giving the public an opportunity to view the works as judging takes place.
Circularity in the Built Environment
22 March, Great Hall, NGV International
Presented in partnership with the NGV and Sustainability Victoria and moderated by Caroline Pidcock, this panel will consider what the circular economy can bring to the built environment. From regenerative practice to design for dismantling, this session will explore how integrating circular design principles into construction and demolition projects can lead to a better world.

View gallery

Zero Footprint Repurposing warehouse in Collingwood. Image:

Stephanie Neville

Zero Footprint Repurposing
25 March, Revival Projects, Collingwood
Revival Projects has invited the design and construction industry to use a 100-year-old warehouse to store demolished materials as one of the world’s first free repurposing hubs. For one day, the warehouse will be open to tours where visitors can assess the facility and discover how we can revolutionize the industry’s approach to repurposing. Tours will be followed by a talk hosted by Grimshaw Architects and Revival Projects.
MMeets: Blackitecture: The Manifesto
21 March to 23 March, MPavillion
This program features a series of six lectures over three days on subjects relating to how the industry can learn from listening to Traditional Custodians and knowledge holders. From “Answers to the questions you were too afraid to ask,” to “Indigenzing construction,” this series explores how the industry can embed Country, community and culture into its built projects for better outcomes.

View gallery

‘Magical Imperfection’ directed by Scott Calbeck. Image:

Scott Calbeck

MDW Film Festival
19 March to 27 March, various locations
Curated by Richard Sowada, the Melbourne Design Week Film Festival includes a suite of films exploring environments, cities, building and infrastructure, and the people who design and inhabit them. Screening at various locations around the city, there are seven films to choose from exploring the role of architecture in a swathe of different cultures and contexts. From Earth to Sky follows seven diverse Indigenous architects from North America who find common ground in their Indigenous identity. Magical Imperfection provides an account of the life of Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama.
For more information visit the Melbourne Design Week website.
ArchitectureAU is a media partner of Melbourne Design Week. More