Architecture

A 10-storey timber-framed office building proposed for a CBD site in Perth has been recommended for approval. Designed by local firm Donaldson Boshard, the building will be built at 78-90 Mounts Bay Road, north of the state heritage-listed Bishop’s House, a two-storey Victorian Georgian-style residence built in 1859 for WA’s first Anglican bishop. The proponent […] More

Cottee Parker has designed a 16-storey tower for 63–67 McLachlan Street in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane with “an abundance of tree and plant life” grafted onto it. Dubbed The Olive Branch, the tower includes 12 levels of office space, a wellness centre, and a rooftop restaurant. A terracotta breeze block screens the wellness space on the […] More

The Tasmanian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects has announced Stuart Tanner has been elected chapter president. Tanner is director of Tanner Architects, based in Hobart. He will assume the role from for the remainder of the 2021-2022 term from Craig Rosevear, who was elected chapter president in February 2021. Tanner will also be […] More

Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi has been named the winner of the Royal Gold Medal 2022 by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Given in recognition of a lifetime’s work, the medal is one of architecture’s top honours. The honours committee said Doshi has influenced the direction of architecture in India and abroad over a 70-year career that has spawned more than 100 built projects.
“He has influenced generations of architects through his delightfully purposeful architecture,” said RIBA president Simon Allford.

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Atira Guest House, Ahmedabad. Image:

Fabien Charuau

“Influenced by his time spent in the office of Le Corbusier, his work nevertheless is that of an original and independent thinker – able to undo, redo and evolve. In the twentieth century, when technology facilitated many architects to build independently of local climate and tradition, Balkrishna remained closely connected with his hinterland: its climate, technologies new and old, and crafts.”
Doshi said it was an honour to receive the award. “The news of this award brought back memories of my time working with Le Corbusier in 1953 when he had just received the news of getting the Royal Gold Medal,” he said. “He said to me metaphorically, ‘I wonder how big and heavy this medal will be.’ Today, six decades later I feel truly overwhelmed to be bestowed with the same award as my guru, Le Corbusier – honouring my six decades of practice.”

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Aranya Low Cost Housing, Indore. Image:

Vastushilpa Foundation, John Panicker

Doshi was born in 1927 in Pune and studied at the Sir J. J. College of Architecture in Bombay (now Mumbai), before working for four years with Le Corbusier as senior designer in Paris and for four more years in India to supervise projects in Ahmedabad. He also worked with Louis Kahn as an associate to build the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and they continued to collaborate for over a decade.
His practice, Vastushilpa, which he founded in 1956 with two architects, is today a multi-disciplinary practice with 60 employees and five partners spanning three generations.
The 2022 Honours Committee, chaired by RIBA president Simon Allford, included last year’s Royal Gold Medal recipient Sir David Adjaye, architect Alison Brooks, architect and academic Kate Cheyne, and cultural historian and museum director Gus Casely-Hayford. More

Fitzpatrick and Partners’ competition-winning design for an apartment and office complex in Sydney Olympic Park has been submitted for planning approval. The proposed development would include a 45-storey tower with 464 serviced apartments, a 12-storey office building with ground-floor retail, and two pavilion structures of two and five storeys. The pavilions are intended to act […] More

Concept designs by John Wardle Architects have been released for the redevelopment of the Port of Devonport in Tasmania, the headquarters for the Spirit of Tasmania ferries and the fastest growing port in the state. The Tasmanian government said the $240 million “Quay Link” development would be timed to cater for a new fleet of […] More

A new planning policy for New South Wales that prioritizes walkable neighbourhoods, housing diversity and thermal performance has been welcomed by the Australian Institute of Architects but slammed by developer and property groups.
The new Design and Place State Environmental Planning Policy, now on public exhibition, is being described by the government as the state’s first comprehensive design policy. It has been designed to deliver greater housing diversity and choice, while ensuring that dwellings have adequate sunlight, more storage and usable balconies. It calls for more, better quality parks, as well as greater permeability in new subdivisions to make walking and cycling easier.
It also requires new commercial buildings to operate at net zero emissions “from day one,” as was signposted by planning minister Rob Stokes in November.
The president of the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, Laura Cockburn, said communities across the state would benefit from the proposed updates.
“It is imperative that the planning and design of cities and towns evolves to address the challenges of climate change, as well as social and cultural divides, if we are to ensure a high quality, sustainable built environment legacy for future generations,” she said.
“People’s basic rights to access sunlight, ventilation, privacy and open space must be protected and placing good design at the heart of the planning process will significantly improve outcomes for our communities. The Institute supports planning policy which enables community input in shaping the future of places, delivers certainty for investors and the resulting confidence in the system.”
The policy has been months in development, with the government consulting with industry, local government and environmental groups, and the Institute. In a submission made as part of the development of the policy, the Institute called for planning controls that protect solar access, cross-ventilation, privacy and access to open space; strengthen the role of BASIX; increase sustainability targets; focus on connection with Country; and demonstrate clear and consistent design principles in development applications.
“We welcomed the opportunity to work alongside government in the development of the Design and Place SEPP and strongly endorse what it aims to achieve,” said Cockburn.
NSW government architect Abbie Galvin said proposed changes to the Apartment Design Guide and Urban Design Guide aimed to respond to changing needs.
“During the pandemic we’ve seen our homes and apartments become schools, offices and gyms, and many of us have enjoyed walking or cycling more in our neighbourhoods. This timely policy seeks to reflect our new way of living,” she said.
“There’ll be quality apartments with outdoor space and plenty of room for growing families and friends. There’ll be quality streets, public spaces and neighbourhoods that are cool and connected. Places where people love to live.”
Planning minister Stokes said principles-based policy was an important step in defining what matters in planning. “This policy will allow designers to think outside the box and support innovation and creativity when building new homes, suburbs and cities,” he said. “Great places aren’t always the product of rules and regulation, they are the result of place-based design that puts communities at their heart.”
Property developers’ organizations Urban Taskforce and the Property Council have been less than glowing in their assessments, however, claiming that the policy will act as a break on investment.
“There are lots of pressures on costs at the moment and the last thing we need is a utopian SEPP designed by architects that further bumps out the costs of delivery at a time when we can least afford it,” Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest said, according to The Urban Developer.
The draft Design and Place State Environmental Planning Policy is on exhibit until 28 February 2022. More

Blight Rayner has designed a 14-strorey tower for 388 Brunswick Street in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, overriding a proposal for the site from earlier in the year for a 29-storey tower by Elenberg Fraser. Whereas the previous tower was to house apartments and a hotel, the new proposal is for an office tower with retail at […] More