Architecture

Construction is underway for the 27-storey tower at 130 Little Collins, Melbourne designed by Cox Architecture with interiors by Hecker Guthrie and landscape by Jack Merlo. The $190 million tower will house column-free office floorplates from levels two through 27 with a wrap-around garden terrace on level eight and a communal rooftop garden. At ground […] More

Poor quality “featureless glass boxes” and towers that are effectively “spreadsheets in the sky” are in the firing line as City of Melbourne councillors consider an overhaul of the city’s design assessment protocols.
On 6 July, the City of Melbourne’s Future Melbourne Committee will considering the establishment of two new bodies that would aim to improve architectural and design quality in new developments.
Both proposed to commence this year, the Melbourne Design Review Panel and Design Excellence Advisory Committee are two key components from the city’s draft Design Excellence program, which was endorsed by council in November 2019.
The design review panel would be an expert advisory group comprising experts from the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design. It would include five experts at any one time, sourced from a pool of eight, who would provide formal design advice on development applications and on council-led projects.
The advisory committee, meanwhile, would be a looser grouping, offering a “platform for community, industry and academia to informally engage on a range of design challenges and opportunities within the City of Melbourne.” It would include eight technical experts, including one representative of the Office of Victoria Government Architect, up to four community members and a chair and deputy chair from the council’s planning department.
Deputy lord mayor Nicholas Reece is a vocal advocate of the changes. “We want to support designers and developers to do what they do well. That means working in partnership to improve design quality so private developments add to our city’s character and liveability,” he said.
“Melbourne has produced some brilliant home-grown local architects and has a distinctive design culture, without the reliance on global ‘starchitects’ we’ve seen in some other cities.”
“Eureka Tower, the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Federation Square and the new Parliament House Annexe are all examples of local designers creating amazing buildings that we should celebrate.

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Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre by STHDI and MCR (Silver Thomas Hanley, DesignInc and McBride Charles Ryan).

“But the painful truth is that Melbourne has suffered from far too many poor developments. Featureless glass boxes that could be in any city in the world. Tall towers that set out to be seen from afar, but offer nothing to the pedestrians walking the streets of the city.
“Too many new towers are nothing more than spreadsheets in the sky, leaving the city poorer because of bad design and low-quality materials, particularly at street level. If we do not take a stand and lift standards then our world-famous liveability and appeal are at risk.
“This is about setting in place expectations and processes to shape Melbourne’s streets, buildings and skyline for decades to come.”
If Melbourne councillors endorse the establishment of the two bodies, applications will be sought for up to four community members for the advisory committee, and up to eight architecture, urban design and landscape architecture experts for the Melbourne Design Review Panel. The review panel will initially be set up as a 12-month pilot program.
In May, Perth’s deputy lord mayor Sandy Anghie, a registered architect, also initiated a motion for the city’s CEO to investigate the establishment of a City Architecture and Design Advisory Group to review council-led “significant” projects. Council supported the motion seven to two. More

Group GSA managing director Mark Sheldon, who founded the firm more than 40 years ago, is handing the reins to the leadership team comprising four long-serving directors, supported by eight principals located across Australia and two principals based in Asia. From July, Lisa Maree Carrigan, Peter McCamley, John Holland and Nancy Piazzolla will together take […] More

A 53-storey office tower designed by Woods Bagot and New York practice Shop Architects is set to transform the skyline of central Sydney, with a development application submitted to council.
The firms’ “soaring but seductive” design for the $1.5 billion tower at 55 Pitt Street was selected through a design competition early in the year.
Should it be approved, the tower will deliver around 70,000 square metres of office space, along with retail uses at ground level.
The site is part of the block bounded by Alfred, Pitt, Dalley and George streets known as the APDG Block, a key centre for financial, professional and business services in Sydney.
In planning documents, the architects describe how the design was inspired by “the natural landscape of stone, water, and the lush plants that surrounds Sydney cove.”

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55 Pitt Street by Woods Bagot and SHoP Architects.

Large sandstone blocks, bronze coloured metal, and the use of water and lush planting at the ground level work to connect the building to Country, while also grounding the tower in heritage context.
“The sandstone blocks will have an aged look and quality connecting back to the nearby laneways of Sydney CBD as well representing the sandstone base that the building is located on,” the architectural design report notes.
A key feature of the ground plane and the public domain interface is the so-called “Cove,” an open but protected sanctuary at the north east corner where Pitt Street meets Underwood Street.
The colour and solidity of the sandstone base is carried up the tower though the solid panelling to one side. Elsewhere, a dynamic operable facade will maximize natural ventilation and support biophilia.

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55 Pitt Street by Woods Bagot and SHoP Architects.

“…windows respond to the Sydney climate through a network of sensors in real time, bringing fresh air into the space as desired when conditions are optimal and providing a continuously modulated connection to the outdoors.”
Atop the tower a rooftop garden will offer space for events and town hall style meetings, along with more intimate spaces, with views to the east, west and south of the city.
The development will require the demolition of three existing commercial buildings ranging from 10 to 13 storeys, while the adjacent Telstra Exchange and Ausgrid Substation buildings will be upgraded as part of the project.
The development application is on public exhibit until 29 July. More

The resurrected AA Prize for Unbuilt Work is returning for the second year in a row after its decade-long hiatus. Entries are now open for the 2022 edition of the prize, which seeks to promote debate and generate ideas about architecture by rewarding compelling work in its conceptual stages. Winning last year’s prize – the […] More

Brisbane architecture firm Blight Rayner and landscape architecture practice Aspect Studios are part of the consortium appointed to deliver Brisbane’s Kangaroo Point bridge.
The city’s mayor, Adrian Schrinner, announced the appointment of the Connect Brisbane consortium this week and revealed new renders of the bridge, which will include an overwater bar and restaurant.
Crossing the Brisbane River from the corner of Alice and Edward streets in the CBD to Scott Street at Kangaroo Point, the new bridge will be around 460 metres long and will cost $190 million. It will have a single-mast cable-stayed structure, designed to complement the city skyline and minimize visual impact.
Shrinner told media the bridge would be a “game changer” for the city, providing practical connections across the river, while becoming a tourist attraction in its own right.

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Kangaroo Point green bridge by the Connect Brisbane consortium, which includes Blight Rayner and Aspect Studios.

“This will be one of the only bridges in the world where you can have a restaurant or boutique bar opportunity on the bridge itself,” he said. “This is going to be unique to Brisbane and will create a great tourist attraction for our city.”
Detailed designs will now be developed over a five-month period, with construction work expected to begin at the end of 2021. Connect Brisbane is led by construction company BESIX Watpac and, along with Blight Rayner and Aspect Studios, includes Rizzani de Eccher, WSP, Dissing and Weitling, RWDI, F-POV, Right Angle Studios and Rowland.
The concept design for the bridge was developed by Cox Architecture and Arup.
Greens councillor Jonathan Sri has expressed concern about the privatization of public space through the inclusion of the restaurant, the ABC reports, noting that he “would rather see a picnic area with some public barbecues and picnic facilities on the bridge.”
The Kangaroo Point bridge is one of several car-less “green bridges” the Brisbane City Council is looking to build across the river. The $60 million Breakfast Creek green bridge is also expected to begin construction at the end of the year and two planned West End bridges should begin construction in 2022. More

Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects has prepared a design framework for a new village at the intersection of John Gorton Drive and Fred Daly and Steve Irwin avenues in Canberra’s Molonglo Valley.
Prepared for the ACT government’s Suburban Land Agency, the Coombs and Wright village design and place framework lays out a vision for a “distinctive, mixed-use precinct that embodies the best of contemporary Canberra [and] builds on its memorable landscape setting.”
Mixed-use and commercial sites in the village will be released to developers through a two-stage expressions-of-interest and design-based tender process.
A new community activity centre will be built fronting Coombs central park and the corner of Fred Daly Avenue and Beecroft Street. The Suburban Land Agency will also deliver public domain improvements, including the transformation of Steve Irwin and Fred Daly avenues into a pedestrian-friendly main street and the enhancement of Coombs central park with a shade structure, toilets and a children’s play space.
Hill Thalis’s design framework calls for “a complementary mix of uses, activities and events,” with “an integrated, permeable network of well-designed public spaces” and “buildings and structures of high architectural quality and environmental performance.”

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The new public square and laneway opening onto Steve Irwin Avenue. Image:

Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects

The design framework establishes firm limits on apartment layout and design, in line with the NSW government’s Apartment Design Guide, and mandates a mix of commercial, retail and hospitality uses at ground.
Hill Thalis notes that the community expressed a strong preference for food and beverage, retail and recreational facilities along with outdoor dining, community gatherings and markets. The community was also keen on green and comfortable outdoor spaces and a community activity centre within the village centre.
“The ACT government has listened to the Molonglo Valley community and their desire to see more retail, hospitality and community-focused facilities in the area,” said Yvette Berry, minister for housing and suburban development. “The village framework will create a buzzing suburban core and will be accompanied by a significant investment in offsite works, delivered by the Suburban Land Agency.
“Works include reimagining Steve Irwin and Fred Daly Avenue as a village main street with multiple rows of shade trees, and a new public square which will become a community meeting and outdoor dining space.
“The works also include a small public pavilion, toilets and a performance space in the nearby Coombs Park which will be welcome additions to what is currently an underutilised space.”
Expressions of interest for the commercial blocks are open until 19 August. More