Architecture

Group GSA has delivered a cluster of integrated housing developments that combine affordable build-to-sell apartments alongside social housing. Located in western Sydney – a region identified by housing provider Anglicare as in urgent need of social and afordable housing – development comprises three sites at Mount Druitt, Fairfield and Liverpool. The social housing element of […] More

Works are underway to transform the Central Goldfields Art Gallery in Victoria’s Maryborough, designed by Nervegna Reed Architecture. Originally established in 1996, the gallery occupies the town’s iconic 161-year-old fire station. The refurbished interior will have a new floor plan that will make use of the building’s natural assets, such as the original 19th century […] More

The New South Wales government has marked a date to open doors to the Art Gallery of New South Wales expansion project, also known as the Sydney Modern.
Premier Dominic Perrottet announced on 26 April that after several years in the pipeline, an official opening has been scheduled to take place on 3 December 2022.
“This is a major investment in art, artists and culture, and sends a strong signal of confidence for a vibrant and exciting future,” Premier Perrottet said of the $344 million expansion.
Pritzker Prize laureates Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, of Japanese practice SANAA, were announced the winners of the international design competition for the expansion in 2015. Architectus is the executive architect for the project.
Construction began on the expansion in November 2019 that would double the exhibition footprint of the gallery and make use of the space to the north of the original building.
“A new standalone building, public art garden and revitalized historic building will bring together art, architecture and landscape in spectacular new ways, with dynamic galleries, site-specific works by leading Australian and international artists, and extensive outdoor spaces for everyone to enjoy,” said the Art Gallery of NSW.
Sejima and Nishizawa designed the modern wing as a lightweight matrix of pavilion-like structures that respond to the site’s natural topography.
The interlocking steel-framed pavilions sink into the landscape and integrate the land bridge over the freeway below and the subterranean heritage structures.
The Sydney Modern wing will be home to a permanent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander gallery, and museum curators have already commissioned nine original artworks of which more than half are by female artists and three by Indigenous artists.

View gallery

A decommissioned World War II naval fuel bunker will be repurposed as an immersive underground art space for special commissions and performances, designed by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Image:

Art Gallery of New South Wales

A decommissioned World War II naval fuel bunker will be repurposed and reimagined as an immersive underground art space for special commissions and performances.
Alongside the new building by SANAA and Architectus, local architecture practice Tonkin Zulaikha Greer has been engaged to restore and revitalize a series of spaces in the 150-year-old gallery as part of the project.
The Sydney Modern is poised to be one of the most ambitious cultural landmarks since the opening of the Sydney Operah House almost 50 years ago. More

A comprehensive review of unprotected heritage buildings across Melbourne’s CBD has been adopted, securing the future of 126 buildings and spaces within the Hoddle Grid. The Hoddle Grid Heritage Review was prepared for the City of Melbourne in 2020, recommending the protection of 137 buildings and five precincts built throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. […] More

Studio Nine Architects has been engaged to design a $50 million visitors centre, microbrewery and whisky distillery for Coopers Brewery in Adelaide.
The new development will be an addition to the existing facility in Regency Park. Studio Nine will strive to create a continuous narrative on the site, to “bridge hospitality and industry through history,” the architects said.
The new development will include a restaurant and bar, tasting facilities, outdoor plaza, microbrewery, whisky distillery, and underground stillage for whisky maturation.
A 50-metre glazed bridge will connect the new development with the main brewery facility. The visitor centre will house an interactive history display, telling the story of Australia’s largest independent, family-owned brewery.

View gallery

A processional, tree-lined promenade will extend from a new entry from Regency Road leading to the new facility. Image:

Studio Nine Architects

“The circular plan is inspired by the vessels of the brewery and the rondel of the famous Coopers label,” said Studio Nine. The distinctive, elevated form will be visible from flightpaths, the architect said.
It will also providing an infrastructure link to the main operations building, leveraging off the efficient water heating and cooling processes of the factory to service the new distillery.
“The idea of connecting the brewing operations with the future of Coopers via a bridge […] became a fundamental driver for the design,” said Studio Nine’s project lead Simon Tothill.
“It quickly developed an essential link to their whole operation; not just transferring people and infrastructure but elevating the whole experience of the brewery.”
The new microbrewery will allow Coopers to develop more craft-style beers to supplement its existing portfolio.
Studio-Gram will oversee the interior design, which will feature a restrained palette of natural and locally sourced materials.
Construction is expected to commence mid-2022 for completion by the end of 2023. More

The Australian Institute of Architects has issued a statement declaring that Australia should have a national construction supply chain strategy to increase sovereign capacity and ensure the availability of high-quality, low-carbon construction materials. As the impacts of the global pandemic have demonstrated, relying on international sources for essential building supplies puts Australia’s construction sector in […] More

Woods Bagot, in a joint venture with the City of Adelaide, has completed designs for what could be Adelaide’s greenest office building.
Located within the commercial portion of the city’s $400 million Central Market Arcade redevelopment, the tower will be a 15,000 square-metre, all-electric office building targeting a six-star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council Australia (GBCA).
To achieve this level of accreditation, a building must be “fossil fuel-free, powered by renewables, highly efficient, built with low carbon materials and offset with nature,” according to the GBCA.
Woods Bagot said it wanted to focus on long-term sustainability solutions to help address looming global challenges. Plans for the Market Square tower reveal the building would use locally sourced recovered and recycled materials wherever possible.
Developer ICD Property said the building will feature other “unique earth-friendly initiatives” including rooftop solar, rainwater capture for irrigation, and a targeted minimum of 90 percent diversion of waste from landfill.

View gallery

Aerial view of the Market Square precinct. Image:

Woods Bagot

ICD said it would also maximise the use of biophilic design elements like natural light, raw materials and vegetation.
City of Adelaide lord mayor Sandy Verschoor has expressed her support for the proposed project, calling it a “significant green milestone” in the journey towards a renewable economy.
“We all know the journey towards a green economy is not quick, but in Adelaide we are making real progress thanks to commitments like this,” said Verschoor. “We are thrilled that Market Square is enabling us to deliver one of the first all-electric buildings in South Australia.”
Market Square is also on track to achieve a five-and-a-half star rating for the National Australian Built Environment Rating System, as well as Gold WELL accreditation rating from the International WELL Building Institute.
ICD managing director Matt Khoo said the sustainability initiatives were “non-negotiable.” He added that ICD, as a developer, has a responsibility “to influence tangible change in Australia’s landscape by future proofing all our projects with best-in-class sustainable practises.”
“Aside from the obvious benefits to the community and environment, there are also flow-on effects to tenants who will receive significant savings through lower ongoing operational costs,” said Khoo.
Construction of the precinct is earmarked for July and will be built by Multiplex. More