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Corian White Onyx was used for curved elements in the recent clinic expansion of Lumiere Cosmetic Clinic. The medical aesthetic institution is one of the largest in Sydney thanks to the Level 3 addition. Level 3 has inherited some of the original design style – such as the use of timber, white and grey colours, […] More
Chairity Project to relaunch during Melbourne Design Week 2022 Cult’s Chairity Project will return to Melbourne Design Week, with 18 creatives from multiple design disciplines reimagining Hay’s Result chair for two nationwide exhibits and one “chair”-ity auction. Cult founder and director Richard Munao sees the project as a positive step forward from a challenging two […] More
The National Gallery of Victoria has announced a new series of major commissions that will showcase significant work of internationally renowned female designers and architects.
The five-year series, made possible through a significant contribution from cosmetics retailer Mecca, aims to champions and elevate women in art and design.
The gallery made the announcement on International Women’s Day in 2022 and also revealed Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao has been commissioned for the inaugural exhibition, which will be be unveiled in September. The gallery intends to reveal commissioned designers each year coinciding with International Women’s Day.
“Tatiana Bilbao’s is a compelling voice from outside of the traditional canon of architecture, offering a unique perspective on both its history and its future. A woman from North America, an advocate and a spokesperson for change, Bilbao creates work that is as intellectually rigorous as it is visually dynamic,” said Tony Ellwood, director of the NGV.
Bilbao established Tatiana Bilbao Studio in 2004, based in Mexico City. Her work spans a number of typologies from institutional to residential and low-cost housing, as well as urban planning and landscape design. She has been an advisor in the Ministry of Development and Housing of the Government of the Federal District of Mexico City.
Her studio focuses on challenging historical conventions and making spaces more inclusive and people-oriented. She often collaborates with other architects, artists, communities, as well as business people to enrich the culture and built landscape of Mexico.
She presented at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and her has also been collected by the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Art Institute of Chicago.
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Collage by Tatiana Bilbao.
Bilbao often uses collage, drawing and model-making in her work and her commission for the NGV will create a large-scale installation that will combine textiles and architectural structure.
“I am deeply honoured and grateful to have been chosen for the Women in Design Commission by the NGV and Mecca. This is contributing in many ways to advance the discourse of the importance of opening channels for people that have been left out of opportunities. When chosen, I took this responsibility very seriously and I am truly thankful for the opportunity.”
The Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission will provide a platform for topical and world-premiere works. “The ongoing Women in Design Commission will highlight the ground-breaking work of women in this field from Australia and around the world, as well as strengthening the NGV Collection for future generations,” Ellwood said.
The contribution from Mecca is the biggest the company has made to any Australian cultural institution.
The 2022 Mecca x NGV Women in Design Commission will open in September 2022 and close in March 2023. More
Methven predicts that in 2022 the focus for the bathroom, more than any other room in the home, will incorporate key wellness and self-care trends, with an emphasis on the importance of creating harmony. Focusing on quality items that last and provide comfort above all else will be the priority. Trends for 2022 dictate that […] More
Smart Design Studio has designed an “imaginative” revamp of a heritage-listed former apartment building for a private girls school in Sydney’s Darlinghurst. Wilkinson house at 215 Forbes Street was constructed in 1928 and originally designed by Emil Sodersten (who lends his name to the top award for interior architecture at the National Architecture Awards, of […] More
The site of the former Perth Girls School in East Perth is set to become a vertical residential community, under plans to redevelop the site submitted to Development WA.
The precinct designed by MJA Studio and Nic Brunsdon will see more than 700 residential dwellings across four towers including 500 build-to-rent apartment, 242 build-to-sell apartments and 100 affordable housing units.
The project will also see the former Perth Girls School buildings converted into office spaces for creative industries, restaurants and cafes, art gallery spaces, and a yoga studio in the turret.
A microbrewery and forecourt designed by Cast Studio (formerly David Barr Architects) and Benson Studio will also be created on the site.
The precinct will also include two park, each connecting to adjacent existing public parks. Mala Studio is the landscape architect for the project.
The site is bisected by an existing road – Bronte Street, with two 25-storey towers housing build-to-sell apartments on the south site, which also contains the former Perth Girls School buildings.
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The redevelopment of the former Perth Girls’ School site designed by MJA Studio and Nic Brunsdon.
“Designed as two ‘siblings’, rather than twins, both build-to-sell towers share common traits and mannerisms that help reflect the symmetry of PGS and it’s vertical rhythms,” the architects said in a design statement. “A palette of colours are considerately integrated between both the towers and the PGS, reflects existing colours found within the heritage buildings.”
Two towers housing build-to-rent apartments, 15 and 37 storeys respectively will be built on the north site.
The 15-storey build-to-rent tower to the north will be a breezeway typology, “conceived as a heavy limestone block, with a cleave through its centre, creating a dark, verdant, and lush environment,” the architects said. “It is a space for vertical and horizontal circulation, encouraging incidental interactions and pedestrian movement between floors. It is seen as counter to the hard, and ordered building edges, a more private and cool space bringing small increments of domestic living into this semi-public space.”
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The redevelopment of the former Perth Girls’ School site designed by MJA Studio and Nic Brunsdon.
The facade design of the taller build-to-rent tower will be an inversion of the southern towers. A supermarket will be semi-underground beneath the proposed park on the north site.
The two northern towers will be connected by a podium housing a “mobility hub,” which is currently proposed to contain 400 car parks over three levels owing to Perth’s car dependency, however, the spaces are designed to be adaptable and can be converted in the future into apartments, flexible working spaces, or indoor urban agriculture.
The project will be developed by Australian Development Capital with Assemble and Housing Choices Australia to deliver the build-to-rent and affordable housing. More
The Australian Institute of Architects has awarded architect and public servant Fiona Gardiner the 2022 Paula Whitman Leadership in Gender Equity Prize.
Gardiner was CEO and director of heritage at the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and is now adjunct associate professor at University of Queensland School of Architecture.
“Fiona Gardiner is a pre-eminent and respected role model for women who has consistently demonstrated relevant, sustained and active leadership,” said Catherine Baudet, jury chair and winner of the inaugural Paula Whitman prize.
Gardiner graduated from the University of Queensland in 1978 and later completed a master’s degree in conservation at York University. She championed the conservation of important Queensland buildings at a time when they were under threat from the state government led by Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
In 1983, she became the inaugural president of Women in Architecture, a group that raised the profile of female architects through exhibitions, events, and radio interviews.
“These early years of promoting women architects provided the foundations of an attitude that has been fostered since then and passed on to the many women who have encountered her,” Baudet said.
As a public servant, Gardiner created flexible work environment employees to accommodate family demands.
“Gardiner navigated a challenging working environment in the public service with professionalism and grace, showing the world that women were valuable team members and great leaders,” Baudet said. “She advocated for other women and worked to develop and implement non-discriminatory policies.”
She promoted the hidden heritage of Queensland’s female architects through exhibitions and protected their work through heritage listings. She also helped develop heritage policies at state and local government levels.
Gardiner was awarded a Public Service Medal in the 2019 Australia Day Honours for “outstanding public service through management of cultural heritage in Queensland.
The jury for the 2022 Paula Whitman prize comprised Kylie-JoAnn Hughes (Chair of the National Committee for Gender Equity), Erin Crowden (Past EmAGN President and Senior Architect at Proske Architects), Leanne Haidar (SJB Architects and past SONA President), and Alison McFadyen (Parlour Representative and Associate Director at Stallard Meek Flightpath). More
A new supporter program, the Parlour Collective, will create long-term funding security for the gender equity organization and professional opportunities for its supporters. Celebrating its 1oth year in 2022, Parlour promotes gender equity in architecture and across built environment professions. The Parlour Collective will enable those who join it to increase and share knowledge, demonstrate […] More
