Architecture

Angelo Candalepas and Associates, and a team of 20 architecture, design and engineering firms, have won the national design competition for a new landmark contemporary art and design gallery for the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).
The winning design for the building has a colossal 40-metre-high spherical hall at its centre, as well as dramatic arched entry ways facing onto a future public park.
“This dynamic and exciting design for NGV Contemporary creates a unifying civic space that all visitors will remember. With its uplifting and generous architecture, this design provides all Victorians will a timeless building for arts and culture that will be loved for generations,” said NGV director Tony Ellwood.

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The winning design for NGV Contemporary by Angelo Candalepas and Associates et al. Image:

Secchi Smith

Angelo Candalepas said, “Melbourne is the cultural capital of this nation and NGV Contemporary marks its next great offering to the world. Art and design matters to all Australians: it speaks to who we are as a community. This project signals Australia as a great contemporary nation with a significant creative force. This building will be a beacon of the culture of our time.
“I hope NGV Contemporary will personally and emotionally resonate with all members of our rich and diverse community and deepen their understanding of the possibilities of human creativity.”
The design of the large hall is based around the Ancient Greek concept of “omphalos,” which means “centre of the earth.” The hall will be surrounded by a spiralling pathway that will allow the visitors to ascend the various levels of the gallery. It will also be topped with a “lantern in the sky.”

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The winning design for NGV Contemporary by Angelo Candalepas and Associates et al. Image: Darcstudios

The proposed gallery will also have a public rooftop terrace, with views of the CBD, neighbouring parklands and even towards the distant Yarra Ranges. A sculpture garden will be accessible from the rooftop. The building will also have a restaurant and members’ lounge as well as education spaces, studios and laboratories for conservation work within its 30,000 square metre footprint.
Externally, the building’s facades feature large arched entries that will open onto a future public park designed by Hassell and So-il. The eastern facade will also include a multi-level verandah with external pathways between the building’s levels.
The building will have 13,000 square metres of large format, highly flexible spaces, which will allow international blockbuster exhibitions to be display simultaneously with gallery’s expanding permanent collection of contemporary art and design.
“This ambitious project offers an extraordinary opportunity to support our country’s local design and architecture sector,” Ellwood said.

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The winning design for NGV Contemporary by Angelo Candalepas and Associates et al. Image: Darcstudios

The NGV held a national design competition for the project in early 2021. Angelo Candalepas and Associates was one of four shortlisted teams who were invited to submit designs.
The Angelo Candalepas and Associates team includes Aspect Studios, Carr Interiors, Andy Fergus Design Strategy, BoardGrove Architects, Richard Stampton Architects, Steensen Varming, Mott MacDonald, TTW, Affinity Fire Engineering, Freeman Ryan Design, AX Interactive, and Art of Fact.
The competition was judged by an international jury that comprised Dutch architect Francine Houben of Mecanoo, Xu Tiantian from DnA Architecture in Beijing, Australian architect Gerard Reinmuth of Terroir, Indigenous artist Maree Clarke as well as NGV director Tony Ellwood, Victorian government architect Jill Garner and architect and NGV trustee Corbett Lyon.
“Australian architecture and design is of great interest around the world – Angelo Candalepas and Associates’ NGV Contemporary will be an intriguing new landmark showcasing how architecture can respond to and enhance the cultural history and life of our city,” said Jill Garner. “This concept embeds a vision to harness and nurture a spirit of creative communication, collaboration and engagement.” More

With Architecture Studio and OMA have been appointed as lead architects for the redevelopment of the iconic late-20th-century Perth Concert Hall. The $52.4 million project will aim to restore the heritage-listed concert hall’s architectural integrity and enhance its acoustics, already considered among the best in Australia, while the forecourts will be refurbished to suit festivals […] More

Ian Hannaford, the architect behind one of Adelaide’s most recognizable landmarks and a footballer who played in three premierships for the Port Adelaide Magpies, has died aged 82.
Hannaford was the original architect of Rundle Mall, the 1970s project led by premier Don Dunstan which transformed the centre of the city, closing off part of Rundle Street to cars and creating a pedestrianized retail destination. The mall and the artwork The Spheres by Vienna-born artist Bert Flugelman, known to locals as the “Mall’s Balls,” have become synonymous with Adelaide as a city and tourism destination.

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Rundle Mall, Adelaide, looking west from near the Adelaide Arcade by Adam.J.W.C., licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5

Hannaford also designed private residences, including modernist houses inspired by Mies van der Rohe, as well as resorts, apartment buildings and the Victor Richardson gates at Adelaide Oval.
Before he was an architect, he was a goal scorer for Port Adelaide, kicking 108 goals from 123 matches between 1958 and 1964. He won his first premiership with the club at the age of 18 in 1958 and won back-to-back flags in 1962 and 1963. He retired from the game early, at the age of 24, in order to train as an architect. Despite his relatively short football career, he was named by The Advertiser among Port Adelaide’s 150 greatest players in the club’s first 150 years.
Port Adelaide chief executive Matthew Richardson said in a statement, “The Port Adelaide Football Club extends its heartfelt condolences to son Nicholas, daughter Rachel, grandchildren Darcy, Oliver and Jesse, stepchildren Sam, Digby and Fiona and the entire Hannaford family during this time.
“Ian played a pivotal role in the Port Adelaide side through the golden era of the late 1950s and early 1960s that has created such a great legacy for our club today.
“Upon his early retirement, Ian focussed on his career becoming one of the preeminent architects in South Australia designing a number of landmarks around Adelaide, most notably the Victor Richardson gates at Adelaide Oval.
“Despite his success, Ian was humble and understated in his demeanour, articulate and passionate.” More

Grimshaw Architects has been appointed architect for the first phase of the transformation of the Twelve Apostles tourism precinct on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. Working with the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, the firm will design a new vistor centre, amphitheatre at Twelve Apostles and the replacement of the viewing platform, as well a […] More

Wangaratta council in Victoria’s north-east has approved a 44-unit social housing complex designed Jackson Clements Burrows. The development located just outside the town centre will replace 16 dilapidated single storey units that are existing on the site. Uniting Care Vic/Tas will be the owner and operator of the complex. The design for the proposed complex […] More

The fourth edition of Cult’s esteemed Chairity Project invites leading Australian creatives to reinterpret an iconic chair design. The final pieces will be exhibited nationwide and sold at auction, with all proceeds donated to a selection of charities.
After a five-year hiatus, Cult is thrilled to re-introduce the Chairity project, partnering with one of the fastest growing Danish design brands in the world – Hay.
From 2014 to 2016, Cult invited creatives to reinterpret the CH33 by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen and Son, the Series 7 by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, and the Officina chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Magis.
For Chairity Project 2022, Cult has invited 18 creatives from industrial design, architecture, interior, art, scent, ceramics and graphic design backgrounds to reimagine Hay’s iconic Result Chair – a 1950s design by Friso Kramer and Wim Rietveld.
With Melbourne Design Week as the launchpad for Chairity Project 2022, the creative brief has been aligned with Melbourne Design Week’s theme of “Design the world you want,” which prompts the question: “How can we collectively work towards a better, healthier future?”
Cult is pleased to welcome back two creatives who have participated in previous editions of the Chairity Project – industrial designer Adam Goodrum and graphic design duo Design by Toko – along with 16 new contributors – Arnsdorf, Yasmine Ghoniem, Kelvin Ho, Claire Delmar, Craig Andrade, Retallack Thompson, Anna Carin, Tom Fereday, Zachary Hanna, Alexandra Donohoe Church, Pattern Studio, Shelley Simpson, Use Daily, Heather Nette King, Evi-O and William Smart.
The diversity of creatives taking part in the project will result in a wide range of chair reinventions and an enticing auction, which will take place online between 17 March and 3 April.
To mark the online auction opening, the final designs will be exhibited at Cult Design Melbourne during Melbourne Design Week, from 17 to 20 March. The exhibition will then be displayed at the new Hay Sydney store from 28 March to 3 April, with the online auction closing Sunday 3 April at 7 pm AEST.
“After what has been a challenging two years, we can think of no better initiative to re-instate after a five-year hiatus, than one that is centred around collaboration, creativity and a charitable cause,” said Richard Munao, Cult founder and director.
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Kingspan has agreed to fund a clean-up mission by Australian clean-tech start-up Seabin, using Seabin’s pioneering technology to collect microplastics and other ocean debris from the water.
Kingspan provides energy-efficient building envelope solutions and high-performance insulation products for buildings, as well as rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment, and energy storage. The partnership with Seabin is the result of Kingspan’s 10-year Planet Passionate global sustainability program, which includes a commitment to supporting five ocean clean-up projects around the world by 2025.
Seabin has classified Jones Bay Wharf, located in Sydney, as a high-volume marine litter accumulation point. Seabin recently conducted a pilot program in Sydney that collected more than 16 tonnes of marine debris and filtered more than 3.2 billion litres of water for microplastics, plastic, fibres, oil and other contaminants. The partnership with Kingspan will result in almost 1.3 tonnes of marine debris, the equivalentof 31,000 plastic straws, being collected from the Kingspan sponsored Seabin unit at Jones Bay Marina, as part of Seabin’s Sydney Smart City Program.
Seabin is now replicating its model around the world, with the goal of reaching 100 cities by 2050. Commercial partnerships, such as the one with Kingspan, will help Seabin achieve its aims by providing funding for environmental technicians to service and maintain the units, collect data, engage with local communities, and facilitate educational events. Kingspan plans to support a second Seabin unit in Los Angeles in 2022.
Seabin’s 100 Smart Cities Program – Sydney is the second ocean clean-up project to receive support as part of Kingspan’s Planet Passionate commitment. In 2019, Kingspan began a three-year partnership with the ECOALF Foundation to remove up to 150 tonnes of waste from the Mediterranean each year through the foundation’s network of fishermen. Kingspan is using as much of the ocean plastic recovered as possible in its production.
Pete Ceglinski, CEO and co-founder of Seabin, said, “Having a multi-national like Kingspan come on board and support our mission of cleaner oceans is nothing short of inspiring and an example for others to follow. The team and I look forward to working with Kingspan here in Sydney, and over in LA as we scale our operations to increase our positive impact across the globe.”
Bianca Wong, global head of sustainability at Kingspan, said, “Kingspan is delighted to partner with Seabin as part of our Planet Passionate program. Protecting the natural environment is a key focus of this program, and Kingspan is excited to work with Seabin to help improve ocean health and remove pollutants from waterways around the world.”
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Quality building products supplier Brickworks has opened a global flagship design studio on New York’s iconic 5th Avenue. Measuring 1,500 m², the Brickworks New York Design Studio provides architects, designers and homeowners with an upscale, stylish space to collaborate on projects, explore premium products and attend industry-leading events. The state-of-the-art studio offers the architecture and […] More