Subterms
A 50-storey tower will be built above Sydney’s 125-year-old City Tattersalls Club building on Pitt Street, after council approved the development application. BVN won a design competition for the design of the tower, while FJMT was appointed to oversee all heritage design aspects of the redevelopment. The redevelopment of the club will include upgrades to […] More
The development application for the BVN-designed Lang Walker AO Medical Research Building in Western Sydney has been placed on public exhibit.
The $47.5 million research centre, which was known as the Macarthur Medical Research Centre before it took the name of its property developer benefactor, will be built on the Campbelltown Hospital Campus. It will be home to the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research – a partnership between Western Sydney University, the South Western Sydney Local Health District and the University of New South Wales – and will focus on five key research areas: diabetes/obesity, mental health, paediatrics and adolescents, Indigenous health, and addiction medicine.
The building will connect to the adjacent Campbelltown Hospital Building D and Macarthur Clinical School (MCS), “strengthening relationships between clinical, research and education spaces,” according to BVN.
In contrast to these existing buildings, which feature relatively imposing facades with minimal visual transparency, the new building will have a porous envelope, encouraging through-site movement and opening onto a planned “village green” to the east.
“The building form, arrangement and positioning responds to the existing steep topography, the austere and monolithic character of the adjacent buildings, and the site’s predominant east and west facing orientations,” BVN states in planning documents.
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The Lang Walker AO Medical Research Building by BVN.
“Pulling apart the building form into a series of twisted boxes allows the north and south volumes to respond to the different orientations of Building D to the north and MCS to the south. This breaking down of the mass creates an undulating form, providing visual interest and variation along Parkside Crescent, and a natural entry point between the north and south wings.”
The building will be five storeys high, with spaces for “dry research” (office-based research) and clinical research spread across four levels, encouraging interaction and collaboration. Shared public spaces, including an amphitheatre, an outdoor terrace and a coffee kiosk will be concentrated on the ground and lower levels. A central atrium offers connection between floors, while outdoor terraces on level 2 offer a clam space for staff to retreat to.
A modular curtain wall system will be used for the façade, with a regularly spaced grid shifting at each level in response to internal planning and the ratio of glazed to solid panels varied according to internal usage. The curtain wall facade will be grounded by a textured masonry base enclosing the plant areas.
The centre is expected to open in 2023. The state-significant development application is on exhibit until 16 December. More
The City of Greater Geelong has unveiled the design for a library in Armstrong Creek, a new southern suburb of Geelong. Billed as the suburb’s first civic and social infrastructure development, the library is designed by Buchan, who won a design competition for the project.
The three-level, 2,500-square-metre library will house a collection of 40,000 books and resources, along with spaces for children’s learning, youth programs and dedicated meeting spaces on level one, and creative spaces and bookable co-working amenities on level two. The ground floor will serve as the civic interface with direct access to the external terraces and the town centre.
To be built on the land of the Wadawurrung people, along Armstrong Creek, the library will take in views to Wurdi Youang (the You Yangs) and Mount Duneed. Buchan worked with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation in developing the design, based around the “living water”narrative.
“The waterways of this landscape to the Wadawurrung People are part of a much larger ecology and have been a natural meeting point and travelling route for centuries, offering a place of sustenance, fluidity, fertility and spirituality, known as ‘living water’,” said lead architect Aleksander Borek.
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Armstrong Creek Library and Community Hub by Buchan.
“Just as living water gathers and nourishes us, our vision for the new library and community hub is to create a destination for the people of Armstrong Creek to gather and nourish at a central meeting point; a place of inspiration where the community and future generations can thrive together.”
The building’s distinctive circular windows are intended to reference concepts of solidarity and a united local community, while also framing views of the landscape.
“We’ve used the round window compositions to frame specific natural forms significant to Armstrong Creek, such as the You Yangs, and other meeting spots in the landscape,” said Borek. “There are also proposed educational plugs on the walls, describing to the user the cultural significance of landmarks they can see.”
The $18.48 million library is expected to be completed by early 2024.
Greater Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said, “As the first social civic infrastructure in the suburb, the Armstrong Creek Library and Community Hub will be incredibly important for local residents as a place for lifelong learning, social connection and building a sense of community.”
The suburb of Armstrong Creek wa gazetted in 2012 from largely undeveloped land. At the 2016 census it was home to 4,247 people, but that number is expected to grow to up to 65,000. More
The chief executive officer of the Australian Institute of Architects Julia Cambage has resigned after three years in the role. Cambage was appointed in January 2019 and has been responsible for 70 employees across the Institute’s state chapters and at the national level. “We thank Julia for her many valuable contributions to the Institute including […] More
The organizers of the World Architecture Festival have announced the first round of winners of the 2021 WAF Awards. Australian projects have taken out three of the first 19 categories announced. They are Olderfleet by Grimshaw, Ken Rosewall Arena Redevelopment by Cox Architecture, and Atlassian Headquarters by Shop Architects and BVN Architecture, with engineers Eckersley […] More
John Wardle Architects has designed three towers for a riverfront site in Brisbane’s Toowong that has sat empty for more than a decade.
The site at 600 Coronation Drive previously belonged to developer Sunland, which had engaged Zaha Hadid Architects to design a trio of towers shaped like champagne flutes that would have reached 24 and 27 storeys in height, well above the 15 storey limit for the area.
Sunland abandoned its proposal in 2018 after a series of drawn-out legal challenges and it sold the site to new developer Consolidated Properties Group in March 2021.
The 1.5 hectare site was formerly home to the Brisbane headquarters of the ABC, whose buildings have since been demolished. Only the historically significant Middenbury House and two associated weeping fig trees remain on the site.
John Wardle Architects’ proposal retains the 1866 house and trees with a design inspired by the natural topography of the site.
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Proposal for 600 Coronation Drive by John Wardle Architects.
“The design for 600 Coronation Drive has emerged from the remnant natural qualities of the site,” the practice said in a design statement. “It imagines how the site’s topography can be repaired to create a new landscape that connects the river’s edge to the heritage fig trees of Coronation Drive. Within this garden are set three new residential towers around the historic Middenbury House.”
“The siting and form of the towers responds to two key influences – the river, and Middenbury House.
“[The river’s] soft geometry of bends and curves, ripples into the footprint of the towers, and they jostle as if they are part of the river system. Early design studies also referred to images of circling fish and translated some of their qualities to the plan.
“The towers set within a new landscape expand the experience of the riverbank to Coronation Drive. This also provides a garden setting around the historic Middenbury House. The house was originally set upon a natural high point that afforded its inhabitants an imposing view of the river from its deep veranda. Our approach is to reintegrate the house into its landscape, so that it is connected to the public realm and gardens rather than remaining aloof and detached. The topography of the new landscape resolves the divergent levels in a convincing manner.”
The three tower forms take their cues from Middenbury House by using the plan proportions of the house to create a “village of smaller footprints.”
The south-east corner of the site has also been identified by the City of Brisbane as the preferred site for its Toowong to West End pedestrian and cycle bridge, which means that the proposal’s south-east tower is in doubt if the council proceeds with the green bridge location. The proposal includes pedestrian and cycle paths through the site which would connect with the green bridge. More
The Victorian Pride Centre has won the 2021 Architeam Medal, the top honour in the Architeam Awards, which recognize the work of small, medium and emerging practices.
The LGBTQI+ community building is located in St Kilda and was designed by two small firms based out of that suburb: Brearley Architects and Urbanists and Grant Amon Architects. The Architeam judges said the building had created a civic presence through its exciting facade and active edge. “The focus on community, sustainability, connectivity and co-existence allows it to surpass stereotypical beauty to experience the sublime journey beyond cultural labels,” its citation reads.
Other major winners include The Hutt 01 Passivhaus – A Beacon of Hope by Melbourne Design Studios, winner of the Sustainability Medal, and Spencer’s Slope by Cloud Dwellers, winner of the Small Project Medal.
Thinking Paddock House by Open Creative Studio won the People’s Choice Award.
This is the fourteenth year of the Architeam Awards. The judges are: Ray Cheung (chair, Krisna Cheung), Mary Featherston (Featherston), David Welsh (Welsh and Major), Melody Chen (Ateliler Chen Hung), Fleur Watson (Open House Melbourne), Isabelle Toland (Ailleen Sage); and Ross Brewin (Gilby and Brewin).
The winners are:
Architeam Medal
Victorian Pride Centre – BAU+GAA (Brearley Architects and Urbanists and Grant Amon Architects
Sustainablity Medal
The Hutt 01 Passivhaus – A Beacon of Hope – Melbourne Design Studios (MDS)
Small Project Medal
Spencer’s Slope – Cloud Dwellers
Residential Alterations and Additions: $1m +
Award
Arcadia – Architecture Architecture
Commendation
Open Shut House – WALA
Residential Alterations and Additions: $500k – $1m
Awards
Gantry House – OOF! Architecture
Vivarium – Architecture Architecture
Commendations
Terrace House 1 – Dreamer
Mosman Minka – Downie North Architects
Residential Alterations and Additions: Up to $500k
Award
Engawa House – Inbetween Architecture
Commendations
Norwood – Architecture Architecture
South Yarra Apartment – Rosanna Ceravolo Design
Spencer’s Slope – Cloud Dwellers
Innovation and Contribution Award
Award
Plan Rand – Regional Design Service
Commendations
Jenny Edwards – Light House Architecture and Science
Mini Maddern – Public Realm Lab
The Cobargo Santa Project – Breathe
Residential New: $1m+
Award
The Hutt 01 Passivhaus – A Beacon of Hope – Melbourne Design Studios
Commendation
Judo House – Nervegna Reed
Residential New: Up to $1m
Award
Corner House – Archier
Commendation
Macdonald Road House – Philip Stejskal Architecture
Commercial, Community and Public
Awards
Quakers Stage 2 – pH architects and Nervegna Reed Architects
Victorian Pride Centre – Brearley Architects and Urbanists and Grant Amon Architects
Commendation
Narrandjeri House – Public Realm Lab
People’s Choice Award
Thinking Paddock House – Open Creative Studio
Brickworks Materiality Award
Mainview Boulevard – Canvas Projects
Passive House Scholarship
Passive Hourglass – Aaron Cody of Reserve Studio More
Lysaght has announced the winners of the annual Lysaght Inspiration Design Awards (LIDA), with the major prize taken out by Jackson Teece Architects for their curved roof on The Waterhole Cafe at Taronga Western Plains Zoo. The awards are open to Australian-based architects, building designers, and architectural or design students. This year’s award groupings included […] More
