Architecture

A University of Queensland proposal to change the strategic direction of the School of Architecture has caused major concerns and uncertainty among its academic staff, whose roles would be “disestablished” to facilitate the new direction.
The shift in strategy emerged from the school’s Septennial review, conducted in 2019. Since the review, the school has introduced a new Master of Urban Development and Design degree and in 2021 it will begin teaching a Bachelor of Design degree.

Under its proposal, 20 (19.5 full time equivalent) continuing academic positions will be disestablished and replaced with 18 positions – nine will be architecture-focused roles and the remaining nine will be in a new design stream. Fixed term academic staff and casual staff are not affected.
The proposal has blindsided the academic staff, who were aware of the two new degrees but had not expected the transition to happen through what they have described as a “spill and fill” process.

“The staff in the school knew that change was coming because of these new degrees,” said Kelly Greenop, a senior lecturer at UQ School of Architecture.
“But we weren’t prepared for the fact that that would mean the disestablishment of positions and especially this recategorization of architecture and design.

“A spill and fill like this is a really extreme measure. As a union delegate, I’m concerned not only for the school but for the precedent it sets for the university.”
A spokesperson for the head of school told ArchitectureAU that UQ was seeking to grow and diversify to ensure its future success. They said the new direction “echoes feedback from industry, students, and academics.”

“The school now requires new discipline streams and an appropriate academic profile to support the introduction of new teaching programs and research fields if it is to achieve its strategic profile and remain competitive in the global market,” the spokesperson said.
Greenop believes the proposal lacks necessary detail and may not meet the criteria to trigger a major organizational change under and The University of Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2018 – 2021.

“It seems to us that since we’re still going to be teaching two architecture degrees – the Bachelor of Architectural Design and the Master of Architecture ­– that there is going to be substantial continuation of what staff would do at the school.

“In our opinion as a union the school hasn’t fully answered all the requirements of such a proposal under the enterprise agreement, such as the likely effect on workload. And if there’s a shift in established positions, what work is no longer required? Which is what would be a trigger for the disestablishment of positions. That’s what I’m really not clear about.
“Having said that, this isn’t the final proposal, this is one for consultation and we are hoping to get more information from the university.”

The consultation period concluded on 2 December. Submissions made to the university included a petition to stop the “spill and fill” which had gathered more than 1,100 signatures.
The Queensland chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects also submitted a letter outlining concerns from its members, which include students and graduates. The letter, provided to ArchitectureAU by the Queensland chapter president reads, “The changes appear significant and the way they are occuring is of considerable concern to many members of the Institute.”
The letter also asked the school to address the Institute’s concerns regarding the level and standard of education offered and research capacity under the proposal.

“How will the School manage the continuity of specialist knowledge and research, along with providing supervisors with equivalent qualifications, standing and backgrounds for those currently undertaking high degrees through research?”
“How will the proposed changes to the School achieve balanced and relevant research?
“With the proposed increase in courses offered and reduction in full-time equivalent academic staff, how will the School meet the Architectural Accreditation Council of Australia’s course accreditation requirements? Will the student size be reduced in line with the reduction in FTE dedicated architecture staff to maintain an optimal teacher/student ratio?” the letter continued.
Greenop said the proposal should have been discussed with staff in a more strategic way first. “But that isn’t how UQ has chosen to roll it out, which we find is one of the most disappointing things,” she said.
“We understand the university landscape is changing, that higher education is really under pressure. But there’s a lot of things we can do if we work in a much more consultative, collaborative fashion and that’s what we would really like to see happen.”
The school stressed that the change is not financially motivated or related to issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The decision to issue a Change Proposal to disestablish 20 positions was taken to give effect to a new operating model and academic profile,” a spokesperson for the school told ArchitectureAU. “It is not in response to current financial circumstances or pressures.”
Negotiations with the university are ongoing. More

SJB has designed a “boutique” commercial building for a prominent inner-city intersection at 117 Flinders Street, Surry Hills, in Sydney. Development approval was granted for an apartment building on the site in 2017 by the Land and Environment Court. SJB was also the firm behind that project, but the latest proposal indicated that a commercial building is better suited to the site.
The building will rise to four storeys along Flinders Street with an additional lower ground level along Hutchinson Place and basement levels throughout. The massing has been designed to correspond to adjacent buildings; on the northern edge level four is set back to allow the top volume and parapet to align with the building ay 99-115 South Dowling Street; and the southern end steps back in height and along South Dowling Street to match the scale of the adjacent terraced houses.

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The Hutchinson Place elevation.

The rich textural material palette also seeks to reinforce the masonry character of Surry Hills while incorporating contemporary detailing to ensure the building speaks of its own period.

“Playfully combining interesting textures and surfaces, the use of a simple and high-quality material palette for the building’s interior and exterior creates a beautiful workplace with a timeless and sophisticated identity,” states SJB in planning documents.
“The blond brick facade provides a highly textural warm tone, complemented by the crisp colour-matched metalwork around windows, awnings and balustrades.”
Black Beetle Landscape Architecture and Design has drawn up landscape plans for the project, which is being developed by Stasia.
The estimated cost is $14.7 million. The development application is on exhibition until 11 December. More

Brisbane City Council has finalized its vision to transform an 18-hole inner-city golf course into a 64-hectare public greenspace replete with revegetated forests, native bushland pockets and restored waterholes.
The release of the Victoria Park Vision follows a lengthy public consultation process which included the gazetting of five speculative designs for the space prepared by Conrad Gargett, Urbis, Lat27, Place Design Group and Tract.
Brisbane City Council partnered with Lat27 to deliver the vision document. Lat 27 was the lead consultant, supported by Aurecon, Wilkinson Eyre Architects, CDM Smith, Codesign, Design Flow, Project for Public Spaces and Catherine Brouwer Landscape Achitects. Council also engaged an Aboriginal engagement consultant to work with Traditional Custodian groups.

A draft vision was released in January of this year, with public feedback incorporated into the final version. The design shown in the visions is not a fixed plan but a “flexible spatial framework,” which will provide the foundation for a masterplan to be developed from 2021. The golf course is scheduled to close for construction to begin in July 2021.

“Victoria Park will strengthen Brisbane’s reputation as one of the world’s most liveable cities, while providing a uniquely Brisbane destination for people of all ages and abilities,” said Brisbane mayor Adrian Schrinner.

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Conceptual design for Victoria Park (Barrambin), Brisbane.

Known to many Aboriginal people as Barrambin, the area officially known as Victoria Park is on the traditional lands of both the Turrbul and Jagera nations.
The vision document says the project will celebrate Aboriginal cultural heritage and connection with the landscape, with the restoration of the park’s natural biological systems potentially providing Traditional Custodians a space to “practice and revitalise their cultural traditions and customs in the park.”

Key to this will be the restoration of a chain of waterholes that once flowed into the Brisbane River, as well as the creation of a large lake.
The park will also feature a cultural and visitor centre that will “welcome residents and tourists and take them deeper into the park’s natural environment and the city’s heritage.”

The vision statement notes that buildings in the park could offer a modern interpretation of traditional architecture, “mimicking the form of the landscape and the design of Aboriginal gunyahs (shelters) or traditional fish traps.”

Another key proposal depicted in the vision document is a sculptural canopy walk, winding through the trees of the park.
Also proposed is the transformation of a gentle slope on the park’s southern side into community gardens, a small urban farm or urban orchard.
The current driving range and putt-putt course will be retained along with a bistro and function centre as part of a hilltop precinct.
When the golf course is closed in mid-2021, the council will prioritize public access, “allowing visitors to enjoy the greenspaces while it is being transformed into a natural retreat and urban park for adventure, discovery and reconnection.” More

Two of the world’s most prominent architecture practices have withdrawn from a climate change action movement they helped establish.
Foster and Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects are both founding signatories of Architects Declare, which began in the UK in May 2019 and kicked off a global movement of architecture practices signing a declaration acknowledging that “the twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issues of our time.”
However, the two founding signatories have fallen out with the rest of the steering group over a prolonged and public spat about their involvement with aviation projects.

In withdrawing from the declaration, Foster and Partners founder Norman Foster issued a statement saying, “Agriculture and aviation are not going to go away and they will both need the most sustainable buildings to serve them together with the architects who can most responsibly design them.”

Foster and Partners came under fire for various airport projects including a luxury resort in Saudi Arabia that will have climate-controlled aircraft hangars for private jets. The practice formally withdrew from the declaration on 2 December.

“We are disappointed that Foster and Partners has chosen to withdraw from the declarations and we would welcome a conversation with them on the points raised,” said Architects Declare UK in a statement.

“We recognize that addressing the climate and biodiversity emergencies challenges current practice and business models for us all, not least around the expansion of aviation. We believe that what is needed is system change and that can only come about through collective action.”

Zaha Hadid Architects, too, have faced criticism over its airport projects including Western Sydney Airport, designed in collaboration with Cox Architecture.
Tensions reached breaking point when Patrik Schumacher delivered a speech at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat conference on 17 November during which he said, “We need to allow prosperity and progress to continue, and that will also bring the resources to overcome [the climate crisis] through investment, science and new technology,” reported The Architects’ Journal.

“That must be built on continued growth and cannot be built on a panicked shrinking of the economy, [which would] lead to massive regressions and political upheavals.”
Architects Declare UK hit back and issued an ultimatum: “We believe these statements are fundamentally in conflict with the Architects Declare commitment to ‘advocate for faster change in our industry towards regenerative practices’. We also believe these statements are scientifically flawed and decades out of date in terms of informed intellectual thought.

“To date we have avoided calling out individual practices recognizing that we all struggle sometimes to do what is necessary. However, when statements are made that contradict the fundamentals of the declaration, we have no option but to speak up. Sadly, there remain signatory practices who appear determined to continue with business as usual. This is seriously undermining the effectiveness and credibility of AD, so we call on those practices to either join the wave of positive change or have the integrity to withdraw.”

One day after the withdrawal of Foster and Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects followed suit.
“Regrettably, we are withdrawing from Architects Declare. As a founding signatory, we agreed to continue and accelerate our work towards progressive change in our built environment. However today we need to recognise that we have a significant difference of opinion with the Architects Declare steering group on how positive change can be delivered,” the practice said in a statement.
“For us, how change is delivered requires discussion, co-operation and collaboration, and this must be debated without condemnation.
“Architects Declare’s steering group has unilaterally decided on its own precise and absolute interpretation of the coalition’s commitments. By doing so, we believe they are setting the profession up for failure. Redefining these commitments without engagement undermines the coalition and trust.

“We saw Architects Declare as a broad church to raise consciousness on the issues; enabling architectural practices of all sizes to build a coalition for change and help each other find solutions. We need to be progressive, but we see no advantage in positioning the profession to fail. In fact, it would be a historic mistake.”
Architects Declare Australia spokesperson Caroline Pidcock issued a statement calling for Australian signatories to stick together.
“Along with our UK colleagues, we are disappointed that Foster and Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects have chosen to withdraw from the commitments of Architects Declare UK,” she said.
“As the steering group of Australian Architects Declare, we don’t believe it’s our role to take a stand on issues on behalf of our signatories. That’s not what this movement is about. We’re not spokespeople for a passive group of professionals, we’re enablers – facilitating, building bridges, fostering a community of action – for tens of thousands of architects. From the largest practices in our country, to tiny practices in regional areas, every one of us signed because we want to take action and we want to do it together.” More

A 23-storey hotel tower would be built above the former Universal Film Manufacturing Co building in Sydney, under plans submitted to the local council.
The red-brick warehouse building at 499 Kent Street, variously described as being in the Art Deco or inter-war Stripped Classical styles, was designed in 1936 by architect P. William Ritchie.
The building was warehouse and film exchange for Universal Film Manufacturing Co. The original plans incorporated film storage vaults and a projection theatre. It is locally heritage listed for its association with the film industry as well as its architectural style.

The concept plan for the hotel development, prepared by PTW Architects, calls for the four-storey building to be adapted to house two storeys for retail use and two storeys for the hotel. Set back eight metres, the tower above would accommodate 220 hotel rooms.

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The concept proposal for 499 Kent Street.

PTW Architects states in planning documents that the design will contribute to an understanding of the building’s historic context within an evolving streetscape.

“The proposed tower envelope will seek to provide a physical and visual separation with the original face brick façade,” the urban design statement notes. “This will enable the urban form, scale and detailing of the former Universal Film Manufacturing Company Warehouse to continue to be an important historic urban element within the public domain of Kent Street.”
Should the concept proposal be approved a competitive design alternatives process will be undertaken to find a final design.

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Heritage Victoria has approved the development of new trader facilities at the Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market.
Designed by NH Architecture, the facilities will deliver essential service for traders and upgraded services for shoppers.
The approved works include new logistics, storage, waste and recycling services, customer toilets and dedicated trader toilets, showers and meeting rooms.
Heritage Victoria has also approved the demolition of the Meat Market Annex and toilet building, which was a 1980s addition to the 19th century market.

The building will be replaced with a New Trader Shed with loading docks and a four-level basement.
The permit also approves the development of the Northern Shed, which will house centralized waste and recycling facilities for the entire market as well as segregated loading facilities at ground level and street improvements.
However, Heritage Victoria has not granted approval for a proposed canopy structure to the Northern Shed that would have been a covered loading dock.

The City of Melbourne welcomed Heritage Victoria’s permit decisions. Lord Mayor Sally Capp said, “I am very pleased that Heritage Victoria has approved plans for new facilities that will deliver significant safety, efficiency and sustainability improvements while retaining the market’s unique character.

“The renewal of the Queen Victoria Market precinct is an important project in Melbourne’s economic recovery from COVID-19, creating hundreds of jobs and helping small businesses to innovate and grow.

“Now, more than ever, we need to deliver this significant project that will protect this important National Heritage listed site and ensure Melbourne’s top visitor attraction is ready to welcome visitors back.”
Previous plans for the renewal of the market, designed by Grimshaw Architects, fell by the wayside after Heritage Victoria refused a permit application for the project.
The Grimshaw proposal would have seen the market’s Victorian-era sheds repaired, restored and rebuilt, with a three-level basement constructed beneath them. Heritage Victoria said the proposed works would be “unacceptably detrimental” and would have a “severe impact” on the cultural heritage significance of the market.
Following Heritage Victoria decision, the council established a “people’s panel” to inform the redevelopment of the market. A key recommendation from the people’s panel was the restoration of the more than 140-year-old market sheds. NH Architecture was appointed to design the restoration of the sheds in April 2019.
Construction on the new facilities will be staged, beginning in 2021. They are anticipated to be operational by 2024. More

A $74 million civic and cultural precinct for the NSW-ACT border town of Queanbeyan, designed by Cox Architecture, has been given the green light.
To be built on the site of the former council administration building, the precinct is described as a “catalyst” for the transformation of the CBD.
It will be the head office for the council and include a library, lettable commercial offices and offices for the NSW government.
Queanbeyan-Palerang mayor Tim Overall said the precinct would have a strong focus on community and cultural uses, with “more than 40 percent of the precinct comprising community spaces, gallery linkages to The Q [Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre] and Bicentennial Hall, new basement parking and public domain.”

The Southern Regional Planning Panel approved the development application on 2 December.

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The Queanbeyan civic and cultural precinct designed by Cox Architecture.
Image: Cox Architecture
“This is a significant milestone for this project and one that I am very pleased to see occur,” said Overall.

“The QCCP has been subject to extensive planning and community engagement and will have a lasting impact on the Queanbeyan CBD.”
Cox Architecture has designed the precinct alongside landscape architect Arcadia Landscape Architecture.
The Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council called tenders for the final design and construction of the QCCP in early November and expects to award the tender in early 2021, with construction to start soon after.

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Lake Macquarie City Council has announced the shortlisted teams in a $40,000 competition to design innovative housing.
Dubbed “dWell,” the competition challenged architects, building designers and students to conceive a new type of urban housing that focused on wellness, innovation, affordability and sustainability.
Entrants were asked to explore ideas of the future of housing and deliver passive cooling without the need for air condition while considering planning controls around density, scale and sizing.

The shortlisted professional teams are: Elk Design (Wade Fairley, Tim Graham, Peter Golema, Clint Stephenson, Ayrton Di Paolo and Daniel Hadley); Ben Berwick (Prevalent Architecture), Brooke Jackson (Informal Architects/University of Technology Sydney), and Arianna Brambilla (The University of Sydney); and Curious Practice (James Ellis, Warren Haasnoot, Greg Lee, Luke Grey).

The shortlisted student teams are: Natalie Keynton, Riley Sherman and Robert Snelling (all from the University of Melbourne); Matthew Hurley (University of Newcastle); and Jacob Bucci Ainsworth and Hugh Roberts (University of Sydney), and Hugh Beale (University of Melbourne).

In stage one, entrant were asked to submit an expression of interest and a description of their intended design for a vacant, council-owned site on Ocean Street in Dudley. The shortlisted entrants will now create detailed submisions in stage two.
“The overall standard of entries has been excellent,” said David Antcliff, manager of property and business development at Lake Macquarie City Council.
“The leading entries have extended beyond traditional urban housing models and taken into consideration how dwellings could be thought of and used in the future.

“From exploring different financial models behind a development to broadening a home’s ability to adapt to the needs of its occupants and the community, the concepts submitted have been brave and exciting.”
The entries were judged by Chris Tucker (University of Newcastle’s School of Architecture and Built Environment); Juliet Grant (Planning Institute of Australia NSW president), Steve Mann (Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW CEO) and Karstan and Maxine Smith (former The Block contestants).
Stage two will be judged in February and March 2021 and winners will be announced on 22 March.
The council will consider building the winning design on the hill-top site in Dudley. More