Architecture

The University of Queensland is taking its second CBD campus to the bank, unveiling plans to adaptively re-use the state heritage-listed National Australia Bank at 308 Queen Street. In a planning proposal before the City of Brisbane, the university is proposing to refurbish both the bank building, and an existing contemporary office building at the […] More

A new 121-room hotel will be a sculptural addition to the south-east fringe of the Sydney CBD. The Surry Hills Hotel, now approved for development, is designed by Fox Johnston Architects. A two-storey former warehouse building straddling Goulburn Lane, Brisbane Street and Commonwealth Street will be adapted with a new seven-storey tower added above. The […] More

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