Architecture

Designs for the upgrade of the Albert Hall in Launceston have been released, featuring improved visitor facilities and a stronger connection to the City Park.
Originally built in 1891, the Albert Hall it is one of Launceston’s most significant heritage buildings in Launceston today. Featuring classical Victorian architecture and covering an area of 1,300 square metres, it also houses Australia’s largest surviving organ, predating 1860.
The $10 million redevelopment, designed by Terroir, is being delivered under the Launceston City Deal – a 10-year, $569 million partnership aimed at transforming Launceston into one of the country’s most liveable regional cities.

View gallery

Tasmanian-founded architecture practice Terroir is the primary practice leading the redevelopment. Image: Terroir

The redevelopment is intended to revitalize the building, while preserving the integrity of its historical features. The classical Victorian elements will be retained while ensuring the hall is fit for purpose as a contemporary meeting and exhibition space.
One of the major alterations to the hall will involve a significant redevelopment to the eastern wing. A new entrance and extension to the hall fronting City Park will “reimagine” the intrinsic connection originally planned between the hall and the park, Launceston’s acting mayor Danny Gibson said.
“Through the body of work Terroir has undertaken, their design concept is clear – to integrate Albert Hall with City Park, and to engage visitors more deeply and meaningfully,” he said.
“This was one of the key recommendations made by our independent heritage consultant during the development of the Heritage Conservation Management Plan.”
The redevelopment will be delivered in three stages: the first stage includes upgrades to the hall’s heating, lighting and audiovisual capabilities, while the second stage will see major improvements to the hall’s amenities and meeting rooms.
Stage one and two developments are expected to be completed this year, while stage three, which is the civil works, is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
The City of Launceston has engaged significantly with current users and operators following a four-week public engagement process in order to progress the project in a meaningful way. Gibson said the city will continue to engage with the local community moving forward.
Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher has identified the hall as an important drawcard for the city’s regional identity.
“The redevelopment of one of Launceston’s most significant heritage buildings will serve the Northern Tasmanian community for many years to come, providing the region with a venue that will help attract local visitors and tourists,” Minister Fletcher said. More

Award-winning Australian architect John Andrews has died aged 88. The Australian Institute of Architects issued a statement on 28 March saying it was “saddened” by his passing.
Born in Sydney in 1933, Andrews was known internationally for his work in Canada, the United States and Australia.
He designed significant buildings including Harvard University’s Gund Hall (1968), the Miami Seaport Passenger Terminal (1967), the Canadian National Tower (1970) and Australia’s Cameron Offices and Toad Hall in Canberra.
The death of the University of Sydney and Harvard graduate was announced on 24 March.
The Institute’s national president Tony Giannone said Andrews was a “giant” of the Australian architecture community and one of Australia’s first internationally recognized architects.
Andrews established his practice John Andrew Architects in Toronto, Canada, in the 1960s, where he also taught the local university. He designed a number of university residences as well as higher education facilities across Canada and the United States.
In 1967, Andrews received Canada’s Centennial Medal followed by the Arnold W. Brunner Award in 1971. He received both the American Institute of Architects Honour Award and the Bartlett Award in 1973.
He returned to Australia in the 1970s and established John Andrews International. His Australian buildings also include Sydney’s King George Tower (1970), Garden Island Parking Structure (1980), Eugowra Farmhouse (1980), Little Bay Housing (1981), Perth’s Merlin Hotel (1983), the Sydney Convention Centre (1989), the World Trade Centre and Hotel in Melbourne (1989), and the Veterinary Science complex for Sydney University (1995).
In 1980, he received the RAIA Gold Medal and he was also presented with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sydney. The following year, Andrews was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to architecture.
Giannone said the industry ought to reflected on the work and legacy of Andrews’ “outstanding” contribution to the profession. “We often fail to listen to the elders and statesman of our profession,” he said. “We are too busy trying to disrupt everything and anybody. Perhaps the greatest lost opportunity of the year was not to reconnect with John Andrews.” More

BVN Architecture has been awarded the tender to design the National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs alongside Northern Territory firm Susan Dugdale and Associates. Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Chansey Paech announced the award of the $7 million tender on 25 March following the release of a $250 million investment into Alice Springs, […] More

The CFMEU’s Nettleton Tribe-designed Brisbane development has been given the go-ahead by building authorities to commence construction.
The union turned developer is now poised to enter the build-to-rent sector after it put forward plans for a 29,000 square metre apartment complex across an amalgamated site at 19-25 Campbell Street in Brisbane’s CBD fringe.
The CFMEU acquired the site, which sits in a priority development zone in Bowen Hills, for $17 million back in 2020. A development application for the 30-storey building was lodged in June 2021.

View gallery

The proposal indicates plans for a vegetable garden, a boules court, indoor and outdoor gyms, terraces and alternating gardens and balconies between floors. Image:

Nettleton Tribe

Nettleton Tribe said it designed the building as a tower-on-podium form, with residential uses contained within the lower levels and retail uses incorporated on the ground.
“The use of concrete, glass, and bronze metal on the ground level are intended to create a strong base while maintaining a level of transparency with aesthetic details,” the practice said.
“Concrete, landscaping, bronze perforated sheet metal, and breezeblocks create a singular banded facade language to the podium levels along the three street frontages.”
The project site fronts Campbell, Hazelmount and Edgar Streets, with the podium edges designed to act as contours that “meader” around the street edge, moving in and out to create vertical space for street tree canopies to fill out.
Approval has been granted for 380 appartments instead of the proposed 377, with a combination of studio units and single and multi-bedroom apartments.
Amenities will also include co-working spaces, a private residents’ lounge, a pool and outdoor dining facilities.
The proposal indicates plans for a vegetable garden, a boules court, indoor and outdoor gyms, terraces and alternating gardens and balconies between floors.

View gallery

The podium edges are designed to act as additional layers of site contours. Image:

Nettleton Tribe

In its design statement, architect Nettleton Tribe said would emphasize the direct line connecting the Bowen Hills Rail and the route to Brisbane Exhibition showgrounds by providing a landscaped internal laneway through the site. More

The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has unveiled a new large-scale public installation as part of its architecture commission series.
Launched in 2018, the series provides emerging Australian architects with the opportunity to design and build a project for the museum’s Ultimo site, taking into account the constraints, location and the needs of the visiting Powerhouse community. Architects are invited to transform the public space into an immersive, multifunctional environment.

View gallery

The commission emerged from a desire to recontextualize objects and space. Image:

Zan Wimberley

As the third instalment in the series, the 2022 commission “Cadeau,” by Newcastle-based Curious Practice, is a moveable, modular installation that can be enjoyed by individuals or large groups. Borrowed from the French word for “gift,” Cadeau was inspired by artist Man Ray’s 1921 sculpture of the same name.
The installation is a habitable, prefabricated structure intended to enhance Powerhouse’s central courtyard space. According to Curious Practice directors Warren Haasnoot and Greg Lee, the collection of individual pieces creates a verandah space that visitors can explore and engage with. The moveable nature of the modular components also means the installation can adapt and change with the conditions of the future site.

View gallery

The moveable nature of the modular components means the installation can adapt and change with the conditions of the future site. Image:

Zan Wimberley

Haasnoot and Lee said that, like the 1921 sculpture, the commission emerged from a desire to recontextualize objects and space. “Cadeau takes domestic architectural elements and plays with their scale, exaggerating and fusing components to create a new, shared narrative between site, installation and those who visit it,” the pair said.
The commission was created in collaboration with engineering firm Arup and Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH). Cadeau is made using American oak by ASH, which was selected for its uniquely straight plain, and the dark coating helped to accentuate its crown cut grain, and finished with a black Rubio wood cream.
Cadeau follows two previous commissions: “Four Periscopes” by Trias and “Agora” by Penhale and Winter. More

Construction has commenced on The Standard, Fitzroy, six months after the announcement the international hotel brand was preparing for a Melbourne arrival. Architecture practice Woods Bagot has designed the building, with interior design practice Hecker Guthrie taking on the task of the interior fit out. Reportedly costing $60 million, the project will feature 126 rooms […] More

Kerstin Thompson Architects’ (KTA) collaboration with Hume City Council on the Town Hall Broadmeadows has received best in category for Architectural Design in the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards.
The category accepts entries for architecture, interior design, landscape design and urban design. It focuses on the design and planning of buildings, interior and exterior spaces, with particular emphasis on space creation, and factors that influence our engagement with the public environment.

View gallery

Historic elements like the distinctive steel-and-timber detail have been preserved. Image:

Dan Preston

The brief for Town Hall Broadmeadows required maintaining the cultural significance of the site while reviving the aesthetic quality and community relevance of the existing town hall.
KTA’s approach for the renewal was recognized for its sensitivity to the building’s fabric while simultaneously being able to lift the building to better respond to the contemporary needs of the community.
“Kerstin Thompson has been able to maintain [the building’s] grandeur by upgrading and improving the [its] performance without diminishing its capacity to trigger memories of the past,” said Celina Clarke, jury chair of the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards. “This is a virtuoso example of what can be achieved when outdated community builds are skilfully reused and improved, rather than simply replaced.”
KTA was careful to conserve as much of the original two-tone brick facade, so intrinsic to the hall’s character, in the redevelopment.

View gallery

Where possible, the original two-tone brickwork has been repurposed into the renewal. Image:

Dan Preston

Key historic elements like the grand staircase have been preserved, while a new hub has been added to the south of the hall to provide additional floor area. The civic character of the Town Hall has been preserved, while the new design incorporates a new level of flexibility and amenity to accommodate future needs and functions.
“Clever internal planning carefully considers each new element while the best of the existing fabric is respected and championed,” the jury citation reads.
Hume City Council co-ordinator of major projects Dan O’Loughlin said, “Since its construction in the 1960’s, the Town Hall Broadmeadows has played a central role in the civic and social life of the Broadmeadows community.
“The redevelopment expands on this legacy through adaptive re-use, transforming this culturally significant building into a landmark contemporary facility, tailored to meet the needs of residents and businesses in Broadmeadows.”
O’Loughlin said the renewal has ensured that the Town Hall will retain its place in the social and economic matrix of the Broadmeadows community for years to come.
KTA’s renewal of Town Hall Broadmeadows was selected from a shortlist of 15 finalists. Springvale Community Hub (by Lyons, Rush Wright Associates and City of Greater Dandenong) and ACMI Renewal project (by BKK Architects, Razorfish an ACMI) were also highly commended by the jury.
The Victorian Premier’s Design Awards for 2021 were announced as part of the 2022 Melbourne Design Week. Managed by Good Design Australia on behalf of the Victorian Government, this was the 25th anniversary of the award, recognizing achievements in design strategy, fashion design, architectural design and more.
Australia’s first emission-free, full-sized, high-performance electric motorcycle, the Savic C-Series designed by Dennis Savic and David Hendroff, received the top accolade, the Victorian Premier’s Design Award of the Year.
The complete shortlist of Architectural Design 2021 finalists, and winners and finalists of the other categories, can be found on the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards website. More

A draft masterplan for the next phase of the Victorian government’s Revitalizing Central Dandenong project has been released. The draft masterplan calls for a new central hub, at least 470 new dwellings, a hotel and conference centre, offices and community spaces. DKO Architecture is the architect behind the designs, which also include plans for the […] More