Architecture

A design competition is asking emerging Australian architects and graduates to transform an Adelaide mansion into a community hub for a chance at a $20,000 prize.
The Living Village Design Competition is being organized by the SA Housing Authority, Citylab, the Australian Institute of Architects and the City of Unley.
Open exclusively to the Institute’s Emerging Architects and Graduate Network (EmAGN), the competition is offering three prizes: a first prize of $20,000, a second prize of $10,000 and a third prize of $5,000.
The brief calls for designs that incorporate an existing building, Mornington House, as a potential “Innovative Entrepreneur Community Hub.” Located on Thomas Street, Mornington House was built in 1857 and is today owned by the SA Housing Authority.
The competition will be judged by a jury featuring 2019 Gold Medallist Julie Eizenberg of Koning Eizenberg along with Jeremy McLeod of Breathe Architecture and Laura Harding of Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects.
The jury will be seeking “exemplary architectural designs that showcase high quality and affordable residential housing developed upon the principles of energy efficiency, environmental, community and cultural sustainability in the heart of a vibrant precinct in the City of Unley, South Australia.”
Registrations close on 10 December and entries are due by 17 December. The winner will be announced at the Institute’s conference in January. For further information head here.
Jury
Julie Eizenberg, Koning Eizenberg
Jeremy McLeod, Breathe Architecture
Laura Harding, Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects
Andrew Atkinson, SA Housing Authority
Erin Crowden, EmAGN
Peter Tsokas, City of Unley
Shannon Battisson (chair), Australian Institute of Architects More

A design competition is asking emerging Australian architects to transform an Adelaide mansion into a community hub for a chance at a $20,000 prize.
The Living Village Design Competition is being organized by the SA Housing Authority, Citylab, the Australian Institute of Architects and the City of Unley.
Open exclusively to Institute members, the competition is offering three prizes: a first prize of $20,000, a second prize of $10,000 and a third prize of $5,000.
The brief calls for designs that incorporate an existing building, Mornington House, as a potential “Innovative Entrepreneur Community Hub.” Located on Thomas Street, Mornington House was built in 1857 and is today owned by the SA Housing Authority.
The competition will be judged by a jury featuring 2019 Gold Medallist Julie Eizenberg of Koning Eizenberg along with Jeremy McLeod of Breathe Architecture and Laura Harding of Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects.
The jury will be seeking “exemplary architectural designs that showcase high quality and affordable residential housing developed upon the principles of energy efficiency, environmental, community and cultural sustainability in the heart of a vibrant precinct in the City of Unley, South Australia.”
Registrations close on 10 December and entries are due by 17 December. The winner will be announced at the Institute’s conference in January. For further information head here.
Jury
Julie Eizenberg, Koning Eizenberg
Jeremy McLeod, Breathe Architecture
Laura Harding, Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects
Andrew Atkinson, SA Housing Authority
Erin Crowden, EmAGN
Peter Tsokas, City of Unley
Shannon Battisson (chair), Australian Institute of Architects More

The Light Catcher pavilion designed by Venice firm Map Studio will play host to the longest ever MPavilion season, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation has announced.
The first season back in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens since the pandemic, starting 2 December, will feature more than 500 guests from across Australia and around the world, including some big names in architecture.
Francesco Magnani and Traudy Pelzel from Map Studio will discuss their pavilion design in conversation with architect and Grand Designs Australia presenter Peter Maddison, while a host of other firms will be represented, including Sean Godsell Architects, MVRDV (Netherlands), Snøhetta (Norway), SO – IL (USA), UN Studio (Netherlands) and Zaha Hadid Architects (UK).
The program also includes the fifth outing of BLAKitecture: The Manifesto, a three-day forum on Indigenous architecture. The forum will focus on education, asking the question: “As architecture curriculum changes, how can the wisdom of Indigenous culture become a mandatory part of university education?”

View gallery

The MPavilion staff uniform by Erik Yvon.

Outside of architecture, there will be the Melbourne launch of Skywhalepapa, Patricia Piccinini’s newest giant hot-air-balloon sculpture, fashion shows, and a series of talks and DJ sessions that celebrate the nightclub as a space for culture, design and expression.
The program begins with online events in November, before the in-real-life events begin in December.
“Following two years of uncertainty, MPavilion 2021 provides an optimistic beacon of post-pandemic recovery for the creative life of our city,” said Naomi Milgrom.
“Map studio’s MPavilion will bring the community together and renew connection in a safe environment for our first season back in the Queen Victoria Gardens … The diversity of this year’s program promises to reinvigorate the dialogue between Melbourne and the rest of the world.”
Along with the program, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation also revealed the designs for the MPavilion furniture and staff uniforms. Melbourne’s Nüüd Studio, led by designers Bradley Mitchell and Kerli Valk, won the chair commission with their design for a yellow bench-type seat dubbed The Dancer. In collaboration with Melbourne’s MUSK Architecture Studio, Castlemaine-based furniture design studio Like Butter has designed a periscope-inspired feature seating installation, which will be seen at the MPavilion in January. And Melbourne-based fashion designer Erik Yvon has designed this year’s staff uniform, drawing inspiration from his Mauritian heritage and the November program theme “Island Life.”
See the program here. More

A blue pavilion on display at the Seoul Biennale for Architecture and Urbanism is “an architectural postcard from Brisbane to Seoul,” its designers say.
The Blue Bower pavilion is a collaborative effort, with design leads Nicola White and Paul Hotson of Phorm Architecture and Design working with Silvia Micheli and Antony Moulis of the University of Queensland School of Architecture, together with select students.
It takes its name from the Australian satin bowerbird, which builds its nest from pieces of blue detritus – from pen lids to clothes pegs. The pavilion concept similarly takes bits and pieces of inspiration from here and there.
“For us, the colour blue is an iconic tie between the material identities of Seoul and Brisbane,” the design team notes.

View gallery

Blue Bower under construction in Seoul.

“When viewed from above, Seoul is a city of blue fragments: blue titles, blue roofing materials, the presidential Blue House. In Brisbane, the skeletal forms of blue-coated steel and blue-treated timber are a common sight across the city.”
The pavilion is made of Australian blue true core steel, in reference to this conceptual exploration.
Beyond the allusion to blue building materials connecting the two cities, the concept also interrogates some deeper shared urban characteristics and challenges, including how heritage is valued, and how boundaries between public and private and between work and home are mediated.

View gallery

A concept image of Blue Bower.

“As urban life atomizes, there is an urgency for architecture that can sensitively articulate the character of our urban histories,” the designers state. “For both cities, the ubiquity of blue construction materials presents a key to reconciling the changing nature of the modern city against the backdrop of urban heritage.”
The third iteration of the Seoul Biennale for Architecture and Urbanism, directed by Dominique Perrault, was titled Crossroads: Building the Resilient City. Running from 16 September to 31 October, it aimed to “gather different forms of intelligence to reflect on the city of the future as a more sustainable, resilient and comfortable place for its inhabitants.” More

A “long-forgotten” corner of Melbourne’s Federation Square whose tenancies have sat empty for more than three years will be revamped and adapted for a new restaurant, cellar door and tasting centre, under a proposal submitted to the City of Melbourne.
The ground-floor tenancies on the southern side of the Yarra Building, facing the river, have struggled to attract patrons throughout their lifetime, due to its limited visibility from the rest of the square and Swanston Street, and poor connection to the riverfront. The struggle to activate this part of the square was often cited by proponents of the plan to demolish the Yarra Building and build an Apple store.
Now Macedon Ranges-based practice Agents of Architecture has drawn up plans for hospitality group Renascence Gippsland to open up the underutilized corner and turn it into a food and wine venue.
The new tenancy will include a restaurant with a rotating, regionally-sourced menu; an “experience centre” in which food and beverage samples will be combined with visual and sensory experiences; and a “wine library,” that promises to “move beyond the cellar door experience to provide an educative approach with a focus on climate and soil.” There will be a focus on food and wine from reginal Victoria, emphasizing Federation Square’s role as “a place for Victoria not just Melbourne.”
Agents of Architecture’s design will see the existing terrace adapted for use as a dining area, with a steel portal frame, fixed to the slab, carrying retractable awnings between the existing fixed canopy and the proposed wine library, which will sit within the undercroft space at the east end of the terrace.

View gallery

Yarra Building ground floor tenancies adaptation by Agents of Architecture.

Within the footprint of the tenancies, the rhythm of the transparent curtain walls will be maintained but some panels that are currently fixed will be replaced with sliding doors.
Other proposed works within the terrace include: a new illuminated sign at the south-west corner of the tenancy; new soffit-mounted lighting; movable furnishings, such as a food cart, seating, chairs, umbrellas, planter boxes and a demountable bar; and a green wall facing the stairway.
Federation Square, designed by Lab Architecture Studio and Bates Smart and completed in 2002, was granted heritage protection in 2019 following the furore over the Apple store proposal.
In a heritage impact statement prepared for this latest proposal, Lovell Chen states that the reactivation of the riverside tenancies will not have a detrimental impact on the square’s heritage significance.
“The proposal does not involve the demolition of significant fabric or elements,” Lovell Chen states. “Further, there will be no threat to the dominance of the distinctive architectural language that defines Federation Square, with the new works being generally plain, simple and recessive.
“The works will also enable public use and access to a long-forgotten corner of Federation Square, in the process supporting the civic function of the place and facilitating connectivity with River Terrace.” More

The first designs have been unveiled for a new high school that will be built on a former intertidal mudflat area in Western Sydney.
Designed by Woods Bagot, the Sydney Olympic Park high school will sit on Wangal land towards the northern tip of Wentworth Point, on the southern bank of the Parramatta River. It will be delivered in two stages, the first catering to 850 students and the second expanding the student body to 1,530. Classrooms will be accommodated within a single six-storey building while a hall for sport and performance is proposed to the north of the site.
A state-significant development application has been submitted for both stages of the development. Planning documents note that there will be enough open play space within the school’s site to cater for the students in the first stage, but that there will likely need to be additional play space found once all 1,530 students are at the school. An 8,800 square metre play space is proposed next to the school, opening onto the planned four-hectare Wentworth Point Peninsula Park.

View gallery

The Sydney Olympic Park high school by Woods Bagot.

The school will be built using the Design for Manufacture and Assembly process, which means much of the building will be manufactured in a factory before being assembled on site. Two equal wings of contiguous teaching space based on a consistent structural grid and floor-to-floor height will be fitted-out with modular components.
Wood Bagot describes how the design keeps the school as low as possible to connect students to ground level while maximizing available play space and respecting the viewing corridor linking Burroway Road to the river and parklands.
A masonry base will anchor the school, “visually and physically locks the school to its site.” Above, each floor is defined by a different colour, from “translucent pale blue” to “stormy indigo”, with the colour spectrum celebrating the river and landscape, while also serving a wayfinding purpose.
“Textured, subtly reflective metal screens change in response to the shifting colours and patterns of the sky,” Woods Bagot notes.
“The composition seems at first random, but the observer will find their own meanings and connections – as we do in the clouds.”
Construction is scheduled to begin in mid 2022, with completion expected in 2023. More

South Australia’s State Commission Assessment Panel has granted planning approval to the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre in Adelaide, clearing the way for what will be the country’s premier Aboriginal art centre.
To be built on Kaurna land, in the Lot 14 precinct at the site of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital, the major building is designed by Woods Bagot and Diller Scofidio and Renfro, with landscape architect Oculus.
The panel found the proposal to be an “interesting and innovative design” that interfaced well with North Terrace and responded positively to its setting between the Park Lands, university campuses and the CBD. “The overall development is compatible with the topography of the land and the built form interfaces well with the soft and hard landscaping surrounding the building – providing a seamless connection to the public realm,” the assessment report states.

View gallery

The view from level one of the gallery.

South Australia’s government architect Kirsteen Mackay supported the design, saying it had the potential to “create an immersive curatorial and cultural experience, and to be a place of pride, connection and belonging for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.” However, she also recommended further design resolution and stressed the importance of the material selection for the facade, the quality of the interior spaces and the integration of the basement ramp and service areas with Bice Road.
Several conditions have been placed on the planning approval, including that the final facade design and material selections and the landscape plan be resolved in consultation with the government architect and submitted to the satisfaction of the State Planning Commission.
Woods Bagot and Diller Scofidio and Renfro originally won a design competition to design the Adelaide Contemporary art gallery at the Lot 14 site, before a change in state governments saw the brief change. The architects have developed their design for the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre in consultation with an Aboriginal Reference Group bringing together Kaurna representatives and others from a range of Indigenous institutions and organizations. The landscape architect Oculus has also collaborated with Aboriginal landscape architect and visual artist Paul Herzich on the design.

View gallery

Woods Bagot, Diller Scofidio and Renfro and Oculus prepared a number of drawings showing the interface with Bice Road, in response to queries from the government architect.

In planning documents, the architects describe how the centre will become a showcase for all facets of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and cultures, including visual art, music, dance and theatre, spirituality, kinship and family, lore, science, technologies, engineering, language, food, medicine, environmental practice and land use.
“The­ building design originates from the Aboriginal conception of the elements that link us to place: earth, land and sky,” they note.
The lower-level exhibition spaces and terraced landscapes are designed to appear “carved from the earth” while the upper-level exhibition spaces each frame a view to the sky and natural surroundings.
“At the heart of the building, a series of structures grow from the lower-level circular gathering and flexible performance space – anchoring the upper exhibition spaces back to the ground,” reads the design statement. “A crafted metal skin pleated at ground plane, rises to form the building’s inherent structure. A series of spiralling forms elevate above ground, tilted and open – connecting Aboriginal art and culture back to the public and to Country.”
Early works are scheduled to begin in late 2021 with completion pencilled in for September 2024. More

The South Australian government has released new vision of the proposed Women’s and Children’s Hospital, designed by Woods Bagot with Bates Smart, Jacobs and UK practice BDP.
The updated design almost halves the footprint of the hospital car park in order to reduce the impact on the adjacent Park Lands. Adelaide City Council had previously rejected a proposal to build the car park within the city’s closely guarded Park Lands.
The government said the new design of the car park would enhance opportunities to enjoy the Park Lands with a new outdoor space, as well as improved pedestrian and cycling links to Port Road, North Terrace, the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital, as well as connecting to Bonython Park and the River Torrens Linear Park trail.
The footprint of the proposed car park has been reduced from 15,400 square metres to 8,350 square metres, while still maintaining 1,215 car parks.

View gallery

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, designed by Woods Bagot with Bates Smart, Jacobs and UK practice BDP.

The government said the updated design was more sensitive to the heritage and environment of the Park Lands, “which we know are incredibly important to the Adelaide City Council, Women’s and Children’s Hospital patients, staff and visitors, and the broader South Australian community.”
The design also includes the rejuvenation of existing unused land, which will allow for increased outdoor spaces and respite for consumers and families.
“We have listened to the Adelaide City Council, the Adelaide Park Lands Authority and the general public and changed the configuration of the proposed car park to adopt a more vertical structure to minimise the building’s footprint,” a statement from the Women’s and Children’s Health Network reads.
“We believe the refined design provides better integration to the Park Lands and an improved traffic solution to pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles.” More