Architecture

A wedge-shaped office building reaching 37 storeys could be built between Market and Park streets in Sydney’s Midtown precinct, under a proposal before planning authorities.
The building at 133–145 Castlereagh Street would deliver around 100,000 square metres of office space and include a series of terraces, above the podium and across the sloping top of the tower. It would serve as an expansion of Stockland’s Piccadilly Complex, which currently comprises two office towers of 14- and 32-storeys and a two-level shopping centre.
3XN has produced a reference design to support the application, which will require an amendment to planning controls, and a design competition will be held for the final design.
The building would incorporate a three-to-ten-storey podium to match adjoining building and podium heights, with floor space to be used for the Wesley Mission/Uniting Church, and a mid-block through-site link aimed at accentuating Piccadilly Complex’s active frontage along Castlereagh and Pitt Streets.
The proponents note in planning documents that Sydney’s Midtown was not long ago considered a retail shopping district with “antiquated” commercial office space, but that a handful of recently approved redevelopments within the immediate context of Piccadily would breathe new life into the area.
“The redevelopment of Piccadilly will not only add pedestrian activity to the public domain of the revitalized precinct, but it will also provide a variety of large, contiguous commercial floor plates in the heart of the CBD to meet market demand,” reads the urban study report. “The large floorplates utilise an elongated central core that eliminates the deep, sub-optimal daylight zone in the middle of most large office floorplates.
“The podium terraces over-look the dynamic, active urban street-scape while the tower terraces created by the sloped, solar access plane to Hyde Park provide valuable views to Sydney’s, large green space and Harbour views beyond.”
The planning amendment is recommended for approval and will go before a full City of Sydney council meeting on 28 June. It will then go to the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment for gateway determination, followed by public exhibition. More

The Victorian government has announced two sites for building new social and affordable housing as part of its $5.3 billion Big Housing Build program. To be built alongside existing public housing in Collingwood and South Yarra, the houses will join a number of other projects already underway in the program to deliver more than 12,000 […] More

The Northern Territory government has submitted a development application for the new State Square art gallery designed by Darwin practice Ashford Architects with Clare Design and Hully Liveris, revealing the design for the first time.
Part of the wider development of Darwin’s CBD funded through a 10-year city deal with the federal government, the gallery will be located on the former Juror’s carpark adjacent to the Supreme Court on Smith Street.
Lindsay Clare, director and co-founder of Clare Design, said the gallery would promote contemporary dialogues across Indigenous, non-Indigenous and Asian art while facilitating high-profile events, competitions and festivals.
“The gallery’s architecture is inspired by the Territory’s unique geology, landscape and climate,” he said. “It addresses the environmental imperatives of the tropics through a mix of innovative and traditional solutions to protect occupants and artworks from the heat, glare, rain and humidity.
“The solutions include a fly roof and rain-screen walls that ventilate and shade the Gallery envelope, protecting it from direct heat-gain and weather. Importantly these solutions, combined with landscaping reduce the ‘heat island’ effect and create a cool zone around the Gallery.”
A masterplan for State Square and Darwin Civic completed by TCL and Troppo Architects in 2020 outlined how the area around the historic public park will be transformed. The former Chan Building has been demolished and will be replaced by an open, grassy area, while a former 90-bay carpark will also be replaced with a landscaped public space for events.

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State Square Art Gallery by Ashford Architects with Clare Design and Hully Liveris.

The art gallery will sit adjacent to the park’s “Central Heart” a “playful, shaded, flexible and active” space for events and the everyday. The gallery itself will have a “generous grand veranda with cafes and room for events and festivals.”
The Northern Territory arts minister Chansey Paech said the gallery would help make the park an iconic tourist destination.
“This project will provide quality exhibition space to showcase our significant art and material culture collections, host Australian and international exhibitions, and deliver learning and participation opportunities for the community,” he said.
The development application for the gallery is now with the Development Consent Authority and will be placed on public exhibit from 25 June. If approved, construction is expected to be completed by late-2023. More

Dulux has announced the finalists of its 35th annual colour awards. From 437 entries across six categories, 105 finalists have made the cut.
Dulux colour and communications manager Andrea Orr said that along with recognizing the innovative and excellent use of colour the entrants in the 2021 awards demonstrated an increase use of biophilia in design, which resulted in nurturing tones and natural finishes.
“The prevalence of concrete, stone and timber, as well as warm metals, paired with warm earthy hues and deep greens and blues, indicates the need for a return to nature and its grounding effect in chaotic times,” Orr said.
“Reflecting the mood of the time, we are seeing a trend towards dark cocooning exteriors, with deep greys, charcoals and black contrasted with light, warm interiors, especially in residential projects. These combinations are no less innovative, but they are suggestive of designers and clients seeking reassurance, permanence and security.
“Externally, we noted the increased use of natural tones to blend harmoniously with the surrounding environment, particularly in commercial categories. Yet, despite these tendencies to earthy, natural tones, there is still an evident willingness to be playful with the use of colour, in unexpected highlights and accents.”
The judging panel for the 2021 awards comprises Jefa Greenaway (Greenaway Architects) Melissa Bright (Studio Bright), Patrick Loo (Common Space, NZ), Sarah-Jane Pyke (Arent and Pyke), and Suzannah Waldron (Searle x Waldron Architecture).
Winners of each category will be announced at a gala event later in 2021 along with the winners of the Australian and New Zealand Grand Prix respectively.
All finalists can be viewed on the Dulux website. More

Four student accommodation towers designed by four different architecture firms will be built along Anzac Parade in Sydney’s Kensington and Kingsford, with development approvals granted.
The projects are all being built by developer Scape, the largest student accommodation provider in Australia, which is spending around $1 billion on these four projects plus a fifth tower for which it says approval is “imminent”.
The towers range from six to 18-storeys. Design competitions were held for each tower, with SJB, BVN, PTW and Plus Architecture appointed for the four approved towers.
SJB is designing the largest of three projecs, Scape Lachlan at the Todman Square intersection, which will comprise a cluster of three towers atop a shared base with community, communal and retail functions.
Joseph Loh, SJB studio associate, said the design prioritizes public space. “The building is modulated into components which play against the skyline and scale to enhance the street character,” he said.
“Materials shift in colour, texture and transparency creating a rich, varied experience at pedestrian level. Concrete, glass and brick structures are contrasted with fine steel details, pattern and landscape. At the internal intersection of the through-site link and newly formed Lachlan Lane, the community work hub is a space that everyone can engage in. Generous shared spaces at the heart of the precinct emphasize public access and social blending of users.”
Plus Architecture will design the tower at 182-190 Anzac Parade, BVN the tower at 172-180 Anzac Parade and PTW Architects the building at 391-397 Anzac Parade.
Stephen Gaitanos, managing director and co-founder of Scape said, “Scape’s trophy assets will deliver much needed residential and student rental accommodation and deliver an economic hub for Randwick’s expanding health and education precincts.”
Scape said in a statement the buildings would include rooftop pools with gyms, outdoor cinemas and relaxation zones, co-working and study zones and other kinds of shared space to encourage social interaction. More

Australia’s largest collections of insect, plant and wildlife specimens will soon be located in one “state-of-the-art” facility at Canberra’s Black Mountain.
The science agency CSIRO revealed plans for the National Collections Building, designed by Hassell, in a submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works.
To be built within the 37.3-hectare Black Mountain Science and Innovation Park, the building will provide interactive spaces, office areas, laboratories, storage vaults and landscaped areas, and accommodation for 128 CSIRO staff and affiliates.
It will become the home to the bulk of the specimens in the CSIRO’s National Research Collections Australia, which include 15 million specimens in six collections, “representing 240 years of data and approximately 20 percent of all biological collections in Australia.”
The new facility will house the collections that are currently in Canberra, which include 13 million specimens across the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC); Australian National Herbarium (ANH); Australian National Wildlife Collection (ANWC); Australian Tree Seed Centre (ATSC); and Dadswell Memorial Wood Collection (DMWC).
These collections were currently housed in disparate buildings across the agency’s Black Mountain and Crace sites “in outdated facilities which are no longer fit-for-purpose and present significant ongoing operational challenges.”
CSIRO’s submission notes that bringing the Canberra-based collections into a precinct environment would remove duplicated work functions, standardize workflows and encourage collaboration.
The aim is to “deliver state-of-the-art biodiversity research facilities that incorporate curation, technical, digitization, science and interaction spaces that support and enhance access and use, thus enabling CSIRO and its national and international research collaborators to better deliver science for national benefit; remove operational risk to specimens and guarantee long term preservation relating to CSIRO’s ageing properties portfolio, mitigate any building operational risk to the collection specimens, and guarantee their long-term preservation and security.”
The CSIRO’s collections have origins dating back almost a century. The agency started collecting insects in 1928, before beginning its wildlife and herbarium collections in the 1930s.
In all, the National Research Collections Australia represents the largest specimen-based, continent-wide sample of Australian biodiversity anywhere.
Costing an estimated $70 million, the National Collections Building will need to be approved by the Parlimentary Works Comitee and the National Capital Authority. Construction is expected to begin in January 2022 with completion in mid-2023. More

The South Australia government has released concept designs for a new $1.95 billion Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide.
Designed by Woods Bagot with Bates Smart, Jacobs and UK practice BDP, the hospital will be co-located with Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide Biomed City on Port Road in the central city.
The co-location will “will maximize the potential” of both hospitals, said Woods Bagot associate principal Edwina Bennett.
The new Women’s and Children’s hospital will have 500 treatment spaces, 170 outpatient consultation rooms, 14 women’s assessment service treatment spaces and two air bridge links that will provide direct access to the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit and helipad.
The co-location of the hospital will facilitate the transition of adolescents to adult services.

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The proposed new Women’s and Children’s Hospital by Woods Bagot with Bates Smart, Jacobs and UK practice BDP. Image:

courtesy Woods Bagot

The new hospital will also have improved mental health care facilities and enhanced education, training and research capacities with its proximity to Adelaide Biomed City.
Another bridge over the rail line will allow children and their families to access the Adelaide Park Lands.
“For children, women and their families visiting and spending time at the hospital this offers both a place to play as well as supporting recovery and recuperation,” said Matthew Holmes, global solutions director of health infrastructure at Jacobs.“We have been particularly mindful to maximize the facility’s connection to Country to provide a comfortable and unique health care setting for all users.”
The architects say the design responds to the hospital’s multi-faceted role as a workplace, sanctuary, assembly point, “accidental playground,” and landmark, and have drawn on the design team’s collective experience in a range of sectors to create an integrated health campus.

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The proposed new Women’s and Children’s Hospital by Woods Bagot with Bates Smart, Jacobs and UK practice BDP. Image:

courtesy Woods Bagot

“From the outset, collaboration and innovation have driven our approach to this significant project,” says Bennett. “We’re here as a team rethinking the normal, to deliver a place dedicated to more than health alone.”
The new Women’s and Children’s Hospital will be Australia’s first to use 100 percent electricity for all servies, including heating, hot water and kitchen functions, which will save 2,178 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
South Australian energy minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan the government is committed to a 100 percent renewable electricity grid by 2030, which will make the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital the most sustainable hospital in the country.
““The WCH has been delivering exceptional care to millions of South Australians for more than 140 years and now it will have the facilities to match,” premier Steven Marshall said. More