Architecture

The architecture industry is suffering from a “collective COVID hangover,” even as the effects of the pandemic and ongoing lockdowns continue to be felt, new research released by the Australian Institute of Architects reveals.
The survey of Institute members found that firms in all states and territories were largely in recovery mode after the initial shock of the pandemic, while there continued to be changes in the type of opportunities available to architects and a consolidation in remote working.
A similar survey undertaken in July 2020 revealed a substantial slowdown in projects as well as cutbacks in employment and wages. This year’s survey found that 55% of respondents had retained and grown their client base, while a further 7% had retained and sustained; 35% had lost and replaced their client base, with only 3% losing and not replacing clients.
There has been a significant shift in the type of project opportunities available to architects, however. One-off residential opportunities have increased, while there has been a marked decrease across some sectors, including commercial (–30%), multistorey residential (–29%), retail (–21%) and culture and entertainment (–21%).
The findings also underscore the importance of face-to-face contact with new clients. While only 10% of respondents reported that their relationships with existing clients had been negatively impacted by the shift to exclusively virtual interactions, 29% reported a negative impact on relationships with new clients. One respondent remarked, “Nothing beats a face-to-face meeting.”
The pandemic has had a lasting impact on practices’ remote working policies, with 36% reporting that they had now introduced a flexible approach to work, with time both in the office and working from home. This is on top of the 26% who already had a flexible work policy in place and in contrast to the 25% who expect their team to eventually return to full-time work in the office.
Views diverged on whether working from home impeded creativity, with one-third of respondents (33%) believing it did while the majority (60%) said creativity was unchanged.
An overwhelming number of respondents thought design outcomes were unaffected by remote working. On questions of communication, productivity and collaboration, the results were mixed, with respondents more or less evenly split on whether working from home has had a positive or negative impact.
Institute CEO Julia Cambage said the survey results were encouraging. “As we have learnt over the last year and a half, the world can change overnight,” she said. “While the pandemic continues to affect the operation of architectural practices around the nation, this survey shows that members are responding well with agility to changing market dynamics.”
Some of the key findings of the survey were:

76% of firms said their relationships with existing clients remained unchanged as a result of forced online networking and meetings.
The negative impact of solely connecting with clients online jumps from 10% with existing clients to 29% with new clients.
55% of respondents reported that they had retained and grown their client base, with only 3% losing and not replacing clients.
78% of respondents are now networking with clients through a new COVID-19 norm (a combination of online and face-to-face engagements), with 17% returning to face-to-face only and 5% remaining online only.
The percentage of practice participation among respondents has dropped across all sectors other than one-off residential projects.
The sectors where respondents identified the largest decrease in project opportunities over the last 1.5 years included commercial (30%), multistorey residential (29%), retail (21%) and culture and entertainment (21%).
27% of respondents said that they have explored new services to sell to clients over the last 1.5 years.
70% of practices reported that the change to remote working had not impacted design outcomes.
36% of practices surveyed now offer a flexible approach to work, with time both in the office and working from home.
As at July 2021, 48% of practices surveyed reported observing somewhat of a decline in mental health within their practice due to COVID-19.

The data within the report was collected in July 2021 and represents the views of more than 135 practices around the country that collectively employ approximately 4,700 architects. Download the report here. More

Tasmanian firm Artas Architects has drawn up plans for a $60 million cultural centre on the kanamaluka (Tamar River) in Launceston that promises to be a “beacon for performing arts.” A joint venture between the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and developer Errol Stewart, the kanamaluka Cultural Centre would house a 750-seat concert hall, large flexible spaces […] More

The second stage of Woods Bagot’s transformation of the Younghusband wool and grain store has been given the tick of approval by City of Melbourne planners, despite not complying with the council’s heritage policies and height requirements.
The transformation of the historic sawtooth red-brick warehouses into a commercial and creative hub is being delivered over three stages, with construction of stage one having begun in 2020.
Going before the Future Melbourne Committee on 7 September, the application for stage two calls for the partial demolition of Tallow Store (Store No. 3), fronting Elizabeth Street, and the complete demolition of the adjacent Wool Store No. 5.
An eight-storey tower articulated with an undulating, “silo-inspired” facade would replace Wool Store No. 5, while a six-storey building would be built at the site of the Tallow Store, with the Elizabeth Street facade of the historic building to be retained, along with part of the southern facade.

View gallery

Younghusband Wool Store Stage 2 by Woods Bagot.

Council planners noted that the extent of the demolition did not comply with the council’s heritage policy. “However, when the loss of this fabric is weighed against the overwhelming conservation of original fabric achieved in Stage 1 … the overall heritage outcome for the site is considered to be highly positive, and the extent of demolition has been supported for this reason.”
Similarly, while the eight-storey tower exceeds the allowable limit of six storeys, the planners found that the conservation efforts of stage one, and the “sophisticated design response” of stage two, meant the additional height was supportable.
Woods Bagot explains in planning documents that the form of the eight-storey building will sit in dialogue with the nearby Allied Mills silos.
“A cylindrical form echoes the neighbouring silo whilst galvanised perforated screening captures the spirit of an industrial village,” state the architects.

View gallery

Younghusband Wool Store Stage 2 by Woods Bagot.

The building will adopt the principles of Passivhaus, with a variation in apertures and layering of screen densities working to shade it efficiently. Balconies will be provided at every level as social spaces.
The three additional levels at the site of the former Tallow Store will be recessed in order to reduce visibility from the street. “When viewed from the street the additional levels are hidden by the parapet of the existing facade and the overall additional form appears as a single level addition,” states the architect. Atop the new building, a roof terrace will be designed as an urban garden for the community and a place for occupants to temporarily escape from work.
The two new buildings will be primarily used as commercial office space, with supporting spaces for hospitality, manufacturing and sales and retail.
Should councillors approve the development on the recommendation of the council planners, the application will go through to the state planning minister. More

BuildHer student and design enthusiast Maddie Witter has put her skills to use transforming her inner-city Melbourne family home into a beautiful light-filled sanctuary, perfect for modern family life. The renovation began in 2019 with the help of Calibre Built Developments. As the team progressed with stripping out the internals of the home they uncovered […] More

A “hugely ambitious and brilliantly conceived” project has taken out the Australian Grand Prix at the 2021 Dulux Colour Awards. The judges lauded 22 William by SJB for “committing to a single colour and so artfully executing its use in such an impactful way,” they said. The judges awarded the New Zealand Grand Prix to […] More

Victorian planning minister Richard Wynne has granted planning approval to the University of Melbourne for its $2b engineering and design innovation campus in Fishermans Bend. Set to open in 2025, the campus masterplanned by Grimshaw will feature heavy engineering and large fabrication testing and prototyping facilities, purpose-built for the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology […] More

An entire block in central Wollongong could be developed into a mixed-use precinct including a 39-storey apartment tower, an aquatic centre and a range of commercial and cultural facilities.
The ambitious proposal would amalgamate 28 individual parcels of land within the block bound by Crown, Keira, Burelli and Atchison streets and add 400 apartments to the centre of the regional city. BVN won a design competition for the project in 2020, and has prepared the designs for the precinct now on public exhibition, alongside landscape architect Oculus and heritage consultants Weir Phillips Architects.
The proposal is going under the name of Win Grand, after its backer the Win Corporation, known for the regional television network founded in Wollongong.
Proponents say the development would make a positive contribution to the city by opening up the pivotal city block. Around 40 percent of the site would be fully accessible public open space, including new laneways across the site, a new east-to-west link connecting Wollongong Train Station to the city centre, an outdoor room at the corner of Crown and Keira streets and a gathering space at the centre of the site.

View gallery

Win Grand by BVN.

“The new precinct knits the city together through the sensitive integration of new public links and strengthening urban form,” states BVN in a design statement. “The precinct is designed as a composition of unique buildings that reflect their uses rather than a mono-architectural response.”
Along Crown Street, the buildings present as a modern interpretation of high street architecture, with a consistent 12-metre-heigh datum, strong awnings and active shopfronts.
A commercial building at the corner of Crown and Keira streets is lifted above the ground plane to allow pedestrian flow, northern light and views into the precinct. Tiered seating and landscaping in this space establish the “outdoor room” for the city.
The existing Grand Hotel will be retained with added steel framed elements and a screened facade. Behind the screens will be a performance venue, pub, cinema and exhibition spaces.

View gallery

Win Grand by BVN.

The heritage Marcus Clark building will also be retained and retored to the 1957 design that modernized the building, with the existing fabric “carefully edited and enhanced where needed.”
The three residential towers will be built along Burelli Street and will share unifying features such as the arches, exposed slab edges, vertical screen elements and awnings.
There are currently no residential buildings on the site, but a mix of commercial and retail with minor health facilities within approximately 22,000 square metres of GFA.
The proposed development would deliver around 22,000 square metres of GFA for non-residential use and 35,000s square metres GFA for residential use.
The application is on public exhibit until 1 October. More