Architecture

The WA government has unveiled the masterplan for the rejuvenation of a key precinct in the centre of Perth.
The masterplan for the $35 million redevelopment of the Perth Cultural Centre will create a “transformational space and a new identity” for the precinct, said architect Fred Chaney, whose practice TRCB worked on the masterplan with landscape architects TCL.
“We’ve identified some really fabulous opportunities and some issues and challenges of the place,” he said.
Perth Cultural Centre occupies a city block in Northbridge bound by Francis Street to the north, Beauford Street to the east, Roe Street to the south and William Street to the west. It is home to the state’s major cultural institutions including the State Library of Western Australia, State Theatre Centre by Kerry Hill Architects, WA Museum Boola Bardip by Hassell and OMA.

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The central heart will be surrounded by large shade structures. Image:

TRCB and TCL

“The precinct is blessed by all these incredible institutions co-located in effectively one city block […] but there’s nothing really that ties them all together and there’s certainly not space that works as a breakout space for all the institutions,” Chaney said.
“One of the things that really excites us is the idea of a new major public space right in the heart of the precinct.”
The “central heart” space is one of six key moves that will rejuvenate the precinct. The central heart will be a flexible green space at the middle of the precinct that would become a meeting place and draw people in. It will be surrounded with large shade structures that will be visible from a distance.
Other key moves including creating a distinct formal east-west promenade along James Street, composed of an avenue of trees; constructing a north-south axis of gardens that would celebrate the botanical and cultural environments of the Perth region with place for sitting, lounging, eating; opening up the building edges to the public domain and creating clear and recognizable connections beyond the precinct; and developing under-utilized sites, such as a hotel or student accommodation.

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A north-south axis of gardens that would celebrate Perth’s botanical and cultural environments. Image:

TRCB and TCL

“At the moment when you go to the cultural centre, you go to the museum, but you don’t go there for its own sake and that’s a really critical outcome and objective for this project,” Chaney said.
“We can create a space where people just want to go there because it’s a fabulous place to be.
“The great advantage of that is that once people are in the Cultural Centre and they can then start to take advantage of the all these fabulous cultural institutions that they may not have been aware of in the first place.”
The project will also see the demolition of an existing amphitheatre to create more a more accessible and graded landscape.
The WA government has allocated a further 15 million towards the project in its 2022-23 state budget, in addition to the $20 million the project has already received from state and federal governments. More

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FJMT has submitted detailed designs for a tower extension on a crucial corner in Sydney’s CBD for assessment by the City of Sydney. The 11-storey, 45-metre-tall extension to the north of an existing modernist tower at 201 Elizabeth Street would reinstate a historic street wall in the city and improve the existing tower’s relationship with […] More

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The NSW government has unveiled designs a new children’s hospital building at Westmead in Sydney’s west.
The $619 million Paediatric Services Building designed by Billard Leece Partnership forms part of the stage two redevelopment of Westmead Health Precinct.
It will consolidate state’s most critical health services for children and teenagers, including a neonatal intensive care unit paediatric intensive care unit, cancer services, operating theatres, cardiac catheterisation and interventional laboratories, a pharmacy and inpatient units.
The project will also include a revitalized forecourt and playground, an Aboriginal Meeting place, village green, and retail spaces.
“BLP has created a purpose-built, playful, and supportive place for children, their families, and society as a whole,” said Tara Veldman, managing director of BLP.

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The design of the Paediatric Services Building by Billard Leece Partnership uses biophilic design principles to create a stress-free, non-threatening environment for patients.

BLP’s design translates evidence based research into the physical environment with “positive distraction” and “atmospheric inclusiveness” to aid children’s wellbeing. Some paediatric patients may be in care for long periods and the architects intend to create uplifting and interactive space.
The ground plane of the building will be integrated with the “Kids Park” to create a non-threatening, stress-free environment when paediatric patients arrive.
The design also incorporates principles of biophilic design, with natural light, physical and visual connection to green spaces. A nearby river is also reinterpreted in the architecture of the building.

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A separate car park building will accommodate 1,000 car spaces as well as generate solar energy for the hospital.

A separate multi-storey car park building will provide 1,000 parking spaces, as well as solar panels on the facades and roof that will generate 600kW of energy for the hospital.
The project follows stage one redevelopment of Westmead Health Precinct designed by HDR, which includes a new Acute Services Building that houses the children’s emergency department, short stay unit and operating theatres. The Paediatric Services Building will connect the Acute Services Building.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said, “This is a once-in-a-generation project that will strengthen our frontline services by delivering world-class healthcare facilities and services for families to provide them with the care and support when they need it most.”
The government has allocated a further $658 million for the redevelopment of Sydney Children’s Hospital and Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre at Randwick, also designed by Billard Leece Partnership. More

Hames Sharley has released concept designs for a $160 million tower as part of a proposal to revamp a retail stretch along Barrack Street in Perth. Revealed plans are for the design of a 22-storey multi-use tower that will transform a portion of the Hay Street Mall between Murray and Hay streets. Four of the […] More

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.

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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.

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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.

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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