Architecture

The revitalisation of the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings in Canberra has started with restoration of the buildings’ facades. Repainting has begun on the Melbourne Building at the corner of Alinga Street and Northbourne Avenue, which includes the business frontages of Amici Wine Bar and Deli, Bistro Nguyen’s and Smith’s Alternative.
Recognising the historical significance and unique architecture of the heritage-listed buildings, the facade restoration is a collaborative project between the ACT government and building owners to restore and preserve these cherished Canberra landmarks.

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In the ACT Heritage Council’s submission for recognition of the project’s heritage significance, they note that the complex was the earliest major development in Civic – the suburb home to Canberra’s CBD. Australian architect Sir John Sulman designed the Sydney and Melbourne buildings in 1920s, with work finalised by John Hunter Kirkpatrick. For at least thirty years after their completion, they were the only shops in the city’s centre.
The four buildings – which are paired across courtyards on two city blocks – are linked by their Inter-War Mediterranean-style homage to Brunelleschi’s Foundling Hospital in Florence. According to the ACT Heritage Council, the colonnade device which underpins the architecture of the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings is now an important element throughout Canberra’s city centre. Having established “the early character and scale of the city’s retail and business area … [they remain] valued by the community today,” the submission’s Statement of Significance reads.
Unique to the buildings is their protracted construction, in which individual lots were auctioned off and built by individual owners according to the design specifications. As a result, the buildings are privately owned and comprise approximately 100 separate land titles, multiple owners, and no common management body.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr noted, “The Sydney and Melbourne Buildings present a unique challenge due to their large and diverse ownership structure with no common management body. This complexity has led to challenges in maintaining a consistent appearance, worsened by informal and uncoordinated refurbishment efforts.”
Over the last five years, the ACT government has engaged with building owners, businesses, and the broader community about the potential for legislation to maintain the buildings.
Grants from the state government’s City Renewal Authority have been enabled to support building owners to repaint their facades in colours consistent with the original Mediterranean-influenced palette.

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A final round of consultation on the legislative process for the buildings’ Revitalisation Plan will open soon to gather feedback on the plan before legislation to maintain the buildings is tabled with the ACT Legislative Assembly. The legislation would allow the government to carry out and charge for the painting works if the building’s owners do not complete it themselves.
The ACT government estimates that the facade repainting of both buildings will take 18 months to complete. The project follows pavement, lighting and infrastructure upgrades to the buildings’ Odgers and Verity Lanes, which were completed in 2023. More

The Tasmanian government have unveiled designs for a hospice on Howick Street as part of their redevelopment of Launceston General Hospital. The plans, soon to be lodged with the city’s local council, have been designed by Tasmanian practice Jaws Architects.
On their website, the state’s Department of Health noted that with the closure of Phillip Oakden House in 2007, Launceston has been without a dedicated public palliative care hospice facility. The new hospice aims to alleviate this need by providing “a minimum of ten beds to cater for community members with life limiting conditions,” the government’s media release reads.

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According to the Department of Health’s website, the Allambi Building has been selected as the location of the new hospice due to its proximity to the General Hospital precinct and to public transport and parking.
Director at Jaws Architects Hanz Lee commented, “The Launceston Hospice project is deeply rooted in honouring the legacy of the historic Allambi Building, which first opened its doors in 1921 as an Infectious Diseases Hospital. The building stands as a testament to the evolution of health care in Tasmania throughout the twentieth century.”

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Lee added, “Designing the Launceston Hospice has been an inspiring challenge, offering the opportunity to thoughtfully integrate the rich historical significance of the Allambi building with the modern needs of a hospice facility. Our focus has been on preserving its heritage features while enhancing functionality to meet contemporary care requirements.”
Minister for Health Jacquie Petrusma noted that the proposed facility has been designed to replicate a home-like environment. “The design promotes dignity, access, and connectivity to the existing established garden and courtyard that are unique to the Allambi site.”
The hospice will include day rooms and inpatient rooms alongside features such as calm spaces and landscaped areas that are intended to “promote connectivity to outdoor spaces for both patients and visitors,” the department’s website reads.

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In addition, the design will incorporate artwork, “adding a layer of beauty and emotional resonance that complements and elevates the building’s purpose,” Lee noted.
Welcoming the release of the new designs, Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler observed, “Giving people the greatest possible dignity and comfort at the end of life is so important, not only for the individual but for their families as well.” More

Major works on the new $38.9 million, 200-metre-long Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway ramp are commencing this December.
The cycleway will link the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Milsons Point, with the new ramp eliminating the need for cyclists to climb 55 stairs and improving the accessibility of the bike route for riders of all ages.
Aspect Studios are lead consultant for the design team, comprising Collins and Turner, Eckersley O’Callaghan, Design 5, Electrolight and Yerrabingin. Global design director of Aspect Studios Sacha Coles said the cycleway is the “culmination of over 40 years of advocacy by cycling groups and Sydneysiders, championing an equitable and inclusive connection between Sydney City (Gadigal Country) and North Sydney (Cammeraygal Country).”
He added, “Our design respects the heritage fabric of the bridge by minimising the connection point to the bridge itself and reusing a piece of the removed parapet in the park’s design. The ramp’s gentle 1:25 grade ensures accessibility for all abilities and bike types.

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“The serpentine sweep of the ramp has been carefully designed to provide adequate clearance around the Milsons Point station entrance while aligning closely with the existing bridge viaduct.”
The ramp paving design by Aspect Studios is inspired by an artwork from Aboriginal artists Maddison Gibbs and Jason Wing, which depicts interconnecting eels. “Their design of intersecting ribbons of movement symbolises the journey from south to north, celebrating the theme of connection,” Coles said.
Another notable feature of the cycleway is the use of Moruya granite, which the landscape architects mentioned is the same granite used for the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons.
The NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said, “Around 2,000 trips are taken across the cycleway each weekday, making it not just our only cross-harbour bike link, but one of Sydney’s most heavily used – and we’re expecting those numbers to rise once the ramp is complete.”
“Every cyclist deserves to have safe and easy access to what is undoubtedly one of Australia’s most famed bike routes. Whether you’re eight or 80 – this ramp has been designed with riders of all ages and abilities in mind,” added the minister.
An updated collection of design renders have also been released, since the unveiling of an earlier iteration in August 2023. The project is anticipated to be complete by 2026. More

On the site of an existing carpark, a nine-storey commercial office tower has been greenlit for approval from the City of Hobart. Authored by Hanging Garden Group – a company partly owned by founder of the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) David Walsh – the development includes a mix of retail and office spaces designed by Fender Katsalidis.
The project is the first stage of a broader masterplan, which seeks to transform an entire city block bordered by Bathurst, Watchorn, Liverpool and Murray Streets into a hospitality precinct with a hotel, apartments, co-working and performance spaces, and retail.
Melbourne-based property development group Riverlee and local creative agency Darklab (the studio behind the iconic Dark Mofo festival), worked together with Fender Katsalidis and Six Degrees Architects to develop the vision for the 9,000-square-metre site, which has been slowly amassed by the developer over a twenty-year period. It currently houses the creative team’s earlier project for a series of green spaces and hospitality venues, which are united under the banner “In The Hanging Garden.”

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According to the Riverlee’s website, “The ongoing evolution of The Hanging Garden precinct will see it expanded to create a place that will serve the community now and into the future. Once completed, the precinct will retain the original site’s rich history while establishing one of Australia’s most intriguing cultural destinations and setting a new benchmark for Hobart’s ongoing cultural development.”
Several culturally-significant buildings, including the historic Odeon Theatre, completed in 1916, are located within the precinct. The office proposal itself is located adjacent to the modernist Construction House by Bush Parkes Shugg and Moon Architects in 1956, and opposite The Commons, designed by Core Collective Architects and completed in 2020.
Residents of the latter expressed concerns with the massing and visual bulk of the development – which exceeds the permitted height standards – while the plans were on exhibition from late October until early November. According to the minutes of council’s Planning Authority Committee Meeting on 4 December, these sentiments were echoed by the city’s Urban Design Advisory Panel. “The panel had some concerns particularly in regard to the public amenity for the surrounding streets, especially the fine-grained Watchorn Street, however the panel was generally agreeable to the height and bulk in its townscape context,” the minutes read.
The approved tower includes close to 9,500 square metres of office space over eight storeys, and approximately 330 square metres of retail space located on the ground floor. Similar to the Mondrian-inspired, mosaic-tiled facade of the neighbouring Construction House, the new building’s concrete facade is intended as a random and playful ordering of solid and void, and will be treated with a palette of warm tones and textures.
As design lead for the project, Fender Katsalidis partner James Pearce commented that the building’s massing was envisioned as being “composed of two parts: a solid, textured part that would be more of the human scale […] to break the building up along the long length of the site, to the rhythm of the street […] and then a lighter, glassier, smoother form, recessed behind that street wall […] that blends a bit into the sky and is more recessive.”
In the proposal, existing trees on Watchorn Street are complemented by new planting to the side of the entry at 116 Bathurst Street. Pearce notes, “By being set back from Bathurst Street, it [the entry] reveals more of Construction House, so you still see the side of that building that has the actual name of the building on it.” The building’s landscaping also extends onto several upper level terraces.
Having recently acquired Construction House, Hanging Garden Group are in the process of upgrading and renaming this building to “Max Angus House,” in honour of the mosaic artist behind its heritage-listed facade. Elsewhere in the precinct, Hanging Garden Group is working with Six Degrees Architects to develop the hotel, residential and other commercial components of the masterplan.

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On the masterplan’s website, creative director at Darklab Leigh Carmichael noted, “We want In The Hanging Garden to provide space for creativity to emerge, for joy and laughter and celebration to continue, for friendships to grow, and we want the precinct to be a symbol for the new Tasmania, one of inclusion, hope and tolerance.” More

The Victorian government has unveiled designs for a $900 million hospital project in Melton, 50 kilometres west of Melbourne. Designed by Designinc and Architectus Conrad Gargett, the project is touted by the government as Victoria’s first all-electric hospital.
Located close to Cobblebank Station, the hospital is situated to cater for the growing communities in Melton, Caroline Springs, Rockbank, Bacchus Marsh and Gisborne. Minister for the Department of Health Infrastructure Mary-Anne Thomas noted, “Melbourne’s west is one of the fastest growing regions in the country and it is critical that families moving to the area can rely on 24-hour […] health care right on their doorstep.”

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Along with a forthcoming public hospital in Footscray, designed by Cox Architecture and Billard Leece Partnership, and an existing hospital in Sunshine, by Lyons, the new Melton Hospital is expected to relieve pressure from Melbourne’s busier hospitals.
In partnership with the Victorian Health Building Authority and Western Health, a consortium comprising investors, facilities managers and Lendlease as builder are set to deliver the project. In a combined statement, Designinc director Darryl Suttie and Architectus Conrad Gargett principal Sannah McColl commented, “The new Melton Hospital is officially underway, and once completed, will have the capacity to treat 130,000 patients each year and see almost 60,000 patients in the emergency department.”
According to the government’s media release, the new hospital “will include a 24-hour emergency department, at least 274 beds, an intensive care unit, maternity and neonatal services, mental health services, radiology services, outpatient care, and teaching, training and research spaces.”

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Architectus’ website notes that the design draws inspiration from local landscape and ecosystems, encompassing themes of healing, learning and living. Natural light, access to nature and outdoor spaces are key aspects of the project, according to the government’s release.
The project is on track for completion in 2029. Suttie and McColl said, “We’re looking forward to working alongside all project partners to deliver this brand new hospital for the people of Melbourne’s west.” More

The Victorian government has announced revisions to the Small Lot Housing Code, enabling new homes on lots less than 100 square metres to be built without a planning permit if they adhere to specific design standards.
The pre-existing 2019 amendment to the code allowed homes on blocks less than 300 square metres to be built without a permit if design standards were met. In a communique, the state government noted that the decision to revise the code with a new set of standards for smaller lots was influenced by industry feedback that indicated increasing demand for greater housing diversity.
Victorian minister for planning Sonya Kilkenny said, “While the large, detached family home continues to be popular in Melbourne’s new suburbs, we’re seeing more demand for smaller homes and these changes will give Victorians more choice.”
The Small Lot Housing Code applies to residential and mixed-use Precinct Structure Plans in Melbourne’s Urban Growth Zone, as well as special purpose zones in Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Mitchell, Whittlesea, and Wyndham, Geelong, Ballarat, Baw Baw, Cardinia and Knox.
Other modifications to the code include updated design standards for homes situated on lots under 300 square metres. These new standards target larger balconies, more street-facing windows, more tree plantings and the removal of the requirement for a double garage.
According to the state government communique, “The updated code allows for more greenspace, smarter housing designs and homes up to four-storeys. […] These updates aim to increase housing diversity and affordability, making it easier for smaller families and single-person households to find homes that meet their needs.”
Developers can begin using the new code immediately, while the existing code will remain in effect until the end of 2026. More

Sydney Opera House is accepting expressions of interest for a First Nations heritage expert to join its Conservation Council.
The ten-member Conservation Council – established in 1996 – provides specialist conservation and heritage advice to the Opera House Trust. The prescribed advice is guided by the Opera House’s Conservation Management Plan, Utzon Design Principles, Heritage Action Plan and other relevant principles. The council also monitors implementation of heritage and conservation matters, including policies, plans and heritage values.
According to the position advertisement, the council’s organisational strategy for 2024–2026 highlights an objective that “First Nations voices and culture play a vital role in shaping the opera house and its future – being at the forefront of the continuation of the cultural care, truth telling and storytelling about this place.”
Sydney Opera House acting CEO Kya Blondin said the council “is committed to First Nations voices and culture being central to our [the Sydney Opera House’s] identity and future.”
To be eligible for the position, candidates must have experience in First Nations heritage management and conservation, demonstrated knowledge of NSW and Commonwealth heritage frameworks, and a proven track record of providing advice on a similar committee or panel.
The council has a maximum of 10 members, consisting of an Opera House trustee, who is chair of the council; three members of the Opera House executive team; a representative of NSW government heritage; a representative of NSW government planning; the NSW Government Architect or their nominee; an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person with suitable experience in First Nations heritage or conservation issues; and other specialists with recognised expertise in some or all of the following areas: architecture, heritage and conservation, design, engineering or performing arts.
The membership term is three years, with extensions for further terms at the discretion of the Sydney Opera House Trust. The council holds at least three formal meetings per year, however members may be asked to attend additional sessions to review time-sensitive matters.
A typical council meeting may cover planning and heritage approvals, Design Advisory Panel activities, Conservation Management implementation, interpretation strategies, collections management, building and maintenance projects, as well as precinct events and activations.
The expression of interest portal closes on 6 January 2025. To find out more, visit the NSW government website. More

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