Architecture

The Heritage Council of New South Wales has made moves towards placing an interim heritage order on the modernist MLC Building, as the campaign to save the building gains momentum.
Designed by Bates, Smart and McCutcheon and completed in 1956, the office building at 105-153 Miller Street, North Sydney was the largest building of its type in Australia at the time of its construction.
Plans to demolish it and replace it with a new commercial office tower designed by the same architecture firm (now known as Bates Smart) are currently before North Sydney Council. But residents, architects, and modernism enthusiasts have blasted the demolition proposal, arguing that the North Sydney MLC building is “one of the most important mid-century modernist buildings in Australia.”

North Sydney Council has been flooded with around 70 submissions related to the proposal, while more than 1,680 people have signed a petition protesting the development launched by modern architecture preservation organization Docomomo.

On 1 September, the Heritage Council noted that the building “may be of state heritage significance” and resolved to notify the owner that it will be considering whether or not to list the item. The council will also invite public submissions on the potential listing over a period of 28 days.
The MLC building currently has only local heritage status, with its listing describing it as “a seminal work in the development of high-rise buildings in Australia.”
Scott Robertson, president of Docomomo, says that it is at least of state significance and, because of its size, quality, early date of construction and the national attention it drew upon opening (being opened by the then prime minister Robert Menzies) it is of national importance.

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The existing North Sydney MLC building by Bates Smart and McCutcheon, completed in 1956.

“Demolition of heritage items can only be justified in the most exceptional circumstances and every effort must be made to find compatible uses for heritage items and to apply re-use and refurbishment strategies,” he writes, in a submission to North Sydney Council.
“One has only to regard examples such as the Queen Victoria Building in the Sydney CBD to find an example of a development that worked with the building to find a suitable modern, viable use.
“The evidence presented in the development application for the replacement of the MLC Building does not demonstrate in any detail that alternative strategies to demolition have been pursued with any rigor.”

Developer IOF Custodian has said that redevelopment of the site is necessary, since a study found it would cost $118 million to adequately restore the building.
Bates Smart states in planning documents that while it recognizes the significance of the building, it was also “flawed from the beginning” due to its east–west orientation. The firm accepted the commission to design the new building on the basis that it could “design a building in the spirit of MLC that is as pioneering for the 21st century as MLC was for the late 20th century.” More

A Sydney housing complex made from half a million recycled bricks has taken out the top sustainability award in the 2020 Good Design Awards.
Arkadia, designed by Breathe Architecture and DKO for Defence Housing Australia, was judged to be both environmentally and socially sustainable by the jury. Comprising four buildings and located on a busy road, the complex forms a protective wall and creates a new park, which is shared with its neighbours.
The use of brick is in reference to the site’s industrial history and is an almost entirely carbon neutral skin. The complex also uses other recycled materials and passive solar technologies.

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Arkadia by Breathe Architecture and DKO Architecture.
Image: Tom Ross
Brandon Gien, CEO of Good Design Australia, said, “Our world is crying out for cutting edge-design innovations that are solving problems, improving our quality of life and helping our planet move towards a more sustainable future for us all. The Arkadia development is an example manifest of outstanding form and function, using technologies of the present to evoke memories of the past and be true to all elements of great design.”

Arkadia was also awarded Best in Class in the Architectural Design, Commercial and Residential category. “This is an exceptional design on all levels. It is truly innovative and applies strong environmentally sustainable principles. A real game-changer for defence housing,” the jury said.
The Best in Class winner in the Architectural Design, Interior Design category was 100 Creek Street Redevelopment by Cameron and Co Architecture. The jury commended the designer’s “clever approach to renewing existing buildings.”

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100 Creek Street Redevelopment by Cameron and Co Architecture.
Image: Toby Scott
“This refurbishment is an exemplar of what’s possible in the upgrade of the existing tired building stock,” the jury said.
A design project that creatively and safely diverts the public from major infrastructure construction sites was awarded Best in Class in the Architectural Design, Urban Design and Public Spaces category. Metro Tunnel Creative Program by Cross Yarra Partnership Project Co., The Place Agency and Global Arts Projects “successfully coordinates a highly creative, original and engaging program of public art activities,” said the jury.

The Kambri precinct at Australian National University by BVN, Lahznimmo and Aspect Studios was named Best in Class for Precinct Design, a new category added to the awards in 2020. “This is clearly a very attractive place to study and will entice the broader community to gain a stronger connection and better understanding of the university,” said the jury. “The design intent has resulted in the creation of ‘connection and intimate spaces’ as well as big boulevard statements.”

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Kambri ANU by BVN, Lahznimmo and Aspect Studios
Image: Florian Groehn
Interior designer Mia Feasey was named winner of the 2020 Women in Design Award. Feasey is the founder and CEO of Siren Design, which has studios in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore. The practice’s clients include large multinational corporations such as Google, Facebook, Uber and Atlassian to Visa, KPMG, PWC and Pfizer.
The Good Design Awards program recognizes design across a wide range of disciplines, including architecture, fashion, engineering, communications and products.
The overall winner in 2020 was a wearable and portable medical device that provides doctors with on-demand data for the assessment of brain health. More

A major new public space designed to be “cool and green” will be developed at Sydney’s Central Station, under plans unveiled by the council.
First proposed by Danish architect Jan Gehl, as part of the 2007 Public Space, Public Life study, the new public space will be a critical component of the wider redevelopment of the area, under the state government’s Tech Central precinct plan, which aims to attract start-ups and tech-orientated firms.
The council has prepared early concept plans for the space, to be known as Central Square, in consultation with Spackman Mossop Michaels and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer. They envisage the spaces as one square made up of four distinct spaces.

“Central Square is envisaged as a collection of connected public spaces, with public plazas, tree-lined walkways and the transformation of Railway Square into a cool, green space,” Sydney mayor Clover Moore told media. “It’s an idea that will underpin Tech Central and give identity to the precinct as a whole.”

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Central Square, Sydney.
Image: City of Sydney
Overall, the hopes for the square are that it will be vibrant and active day and night, with a focus on youth activities and places for visitors, public transport users, the university population, workers and others surrounding the city. The design will also celebrating the unique heritage of the place, carefully balancing heritage intervention with broader benefit to the public.
Located to the west of the sandstone train station, the space will include a tree-line “Western Walk,” allowing for the safe passage of large numbers of people to nearby destinations; the Lower Square, which will be an active space 24 hours a day; the “quiet and passive” Upper Square; and the re-imagined Railway Square, which will be cool and green, “an urban setting under a copse of trees.”
A structuring principles report for the project is going before the City of Sydney’s Transport, Heritage and Planning Committee today, 14 September. The report to the committee notes that “a major new public place at Central is a critical part of the reenvisioning of this area of the city. High quality open space will help to attract and retain talent in the new precinct and support the younger demographic including university students. More

A modernist pavilion in a Melbourne park is facing partial demolition by the local council.
Architecture practice Kennedy Nolan is petitioning the council and its councillors to halt the demolition and reconsider its decision.
The structure, known as the Riverside Pavilion, consists of a double-storey building designed by Carter Couch in the 1980s. It has a pyramid-shaped roof with a tall, ventilating chimney.
In October 2019, the council made the decision to demolish part of the structure in order to make way for a storage shed for the neighbouring Ivanhoe Northcote Canoe Club, despite receiving nine objections to the demolition plan.

One objection was from University of Melbourne chair of architecture professor Philip Goad. In his submission to the council Goad said that the pavilion is a “rare, non-residential work by the highly regarded Paul Couch [and an example of his] long-held interest in tilt-slab precast concrete panel construction system that is often a defining feature of his better-known residential works.”

“Couch has been a pioneer in using tilt-slab concrete panels in small-scale settings,” he continued.
“In my opinion there is definitely a case for, at the very least, listing the pavilion structure and workshop/change rooms together with the bluestone amphitheatre as being of local heritage.
“I also believe that with further investigation there could be a possible case for considering the entire complex and its site as being of even greater significance.”

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Riverside Pavilion by Carter Couch.
Image: Tom Ross
A council heritage advisor agreed with Goad and told a senior statutory planner, “The existing bluestone amphitheatre and adjacent pavilion structure and workshop/change rooms have iconic, longstanding (and currently active) connections with the diverse recreational uses of the park along the Yarra. There is strong evidence that the bluestone amphitheatre and adjacent pavilion structure and workshop/change rooms have contributory social significance in and of themselves, as well as being related objects that contribute to the cultural significance of the place.

“Furthermore, research produced by professor Philip Goad and architects Kennedy Nolan in response to this application have demonstrated the potential of the structures (both amphitheatre, change rooms and barbecue area) to have both local and state level architectural significance in and of themselves.

“It is strongly recommended that the application to demolish the barbecue shelter be refused.”
The pavilion is located in Fairfield Park, which itself is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, however the statement of significance does not mention the pavilion. Its heritage significance is defined by Edwardian-era structures and plantings.

“Yarra City Council should consider nominating Fairfield Park for inclusion on the Victorian Heritage Register with the bluestone amphitheatre and adjacent pavilion structure and workshop/change rooms listed as important contributory or related objects,” the heritage advisor said.
However, a second heritage advisor told the council, “From the photos I have been provided it is clear that the subject shed is a pre-fabricated galvanised shed, of unknown age but possibly dating from the 1960s/70s.

“The shed certainly has no architectural significance and it is highly unlikely to be of any historical significance for its age or associations.”
After the council’s decision to proceed with the demolition, Nolan and others took the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which found in favour of the council.
“The Council submitted that the demolition of the post-war gazebo structure is of no consequence from a heritage perspective,” VCAT senior member Bill Sibonis said in handing down the tribunal’s decision.

“A key consideration is that the structures to be demolished are not identified as contributory to the heritage precinct. Whether this is a correct designation is not a matter for the Tribunal. I must take the planning scheme as I find it.

“The demolition of the structures would not be inconsistent with heritage policy, which only seeks the retention of significant and contributory buildings. Based on the Heritage Review and the Statement of Significance, the structures do not contribute to the significance of the heritage place. Accordingly, their loss would not represent an unacceptable outcome from a heritage perspective.”
Kennedy Nolan had prepared an alternative scheme that would retain pavilion and also provide additional storage spaces for the canoe club. However, “The Council have made no comments about our proposal – we [had] to pressure them to even acknowledge the receipt of the documents,” Rachel Nolan told ArchitectureAU.
The pavilion has been nominated for state heritage listing. Heritage Victoria will consider the nomination on 21 September.
At the time of publication, the petition has attracted more than 2,000 signatures. More

A survey of Victorian architects has found around $6.85 billion worth of the state’s construction sector is in jeopardy as a result of the pandemic lockdowns.
The survey conducted by the Association of Consulting Architects received responses from 196 practices, representing 1,215 full time technical staff and 161.5 full time equivalent casual technical staff.
Around 80 percent of practices reported having project cancelled or put on hold, with $2.3 billion worth of projects cancelled and $4.55 billion put on hold. This amounted to a total of $6.85 billion worth of projects or an average of $36.8 million worth for each firm. The cancelled or on-hold projects represent around 16 percent of the total construction sector, which included $42.4 billion worth of projects in 2018-2019.

The survey sample represents 18.7 percent of Victoria’s 1,046 architectural companies registered with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria. Most of the responding practices (67 percent) are very small enterprises employing five people or fewer.

The survey found widespread concern for current and future work with 28.49 percent of practices having less than two months of work in the pipeline and just 15.7 percent of practices having more than six months of work.

A majority of responding practices experienced declines in revenue, with just 10.5 percent reporting no decline. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of practices are receiving the federal government’s Job Keeper wage subsidy, which is preventing a majority of practices from staff losses. However, 11 percent reported that Job Keeper has not prevented staff redundancies or stand downs.

Around one in five (22 percent) of practices have had to make changes to employment arrangements, most commonly by reducing working hours (50 percent), changing roles (33 percent), reducing pay (32 percent), standing down staff (15 percent), or instituting redundancies (12 percent).

Responding practices reported that the residential sector was most sensitive to declines, with 66 percent contributing to project cancellations, followed by the commercial sector at 14 percent.
Respondents also reported that while the federal government’s Home Builder grant scheme had resulted in increased enquiries it was not having any effect in generating new projects due to the time restrictions of the grant, which stipulate that contracts must be signed before 31 December 2020 and construction must begin within three months of the contract date.

Respondents called for further government stimulus measures, including extending Job Keeper to sole traders and increasing infrastructure spending in public, education, health, community and housing projects.
They also called for the mandatory involvement of architects in design and construction of buildings greater than three storeys – something that architects have advocated for repeatedly throughout the development of Victoria’s apartment design standards.
The ACA’s survey was conducted between 20 and 27 August, three weeks after the stage four restrictions came into effect, which mandated that architectural services close their on site operations and limited workers on construction sites to 25 percent.
The full results of the survey can be found on the ACA website. More

Paint manufacturer Dulux has revealed its colour forecast for 2021. With the global pandemic causing immense social change and the collision of work and home life, the company says the palettes of the 2021 colour forecast reflect people’s desire for greater balance and continuity within their spaces.
Dulux colour and communications manager Andrea Lucena-Orr and trends forecaster Bree Leech conducted research with multiple digital trade exhibitions and found trends in an increased desire for digital detox, meaningful connections with outside world, and the need for comfort and familiarity.

The 2021 forecast includes three key colour palettes:
Retreat, which embodies tranquillity and sentimentality through warm whites, brown-based neutrals and dusty blues.
Nourish, a soft and warm palette with biophilic hues of mossy and sage greens and leather-based browns.
Reset which offers renewed energy and resilience, harking back to the eclecticism of the 1970s. The Reset palette includes putty and neutral whites with playful rich blues, terracotta and coral hues.
Dulux More

Infrastructure NSW has revealed the five finalists in a competition to design a waterfront pavilion in Sydney’s Barangaroo.
The pavilion will be a shade-and-canopy structure intended to provide an area for public gathering, relaxation and a range of events. It will be located at Watermans Cove, an extension of Wulugul Walk, which, when complete in 2024, will follow the Sydney harbour foreshore from Walsh Bay to Darling Harbour.
Watermans Cove will be situated adjacent to the under-construction Crown casino hotel designed by Wilkinson Eyre. The site is located on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.

Infrastructure NSW is running a two-stage competition with the first stage being an anonymous ideas competition.
The five entries selected by the jury are:
Entry #106 by Jessica Spresser (Spresser), Brisbane
Entry #238 by John Bohane and Luke Pigliacampo, Sydney
Entry #243 by Mitchell Thompson (Retallack Thompson), Sydney
Entry #257 by Amy Muir (Muir Architecture, Openwork and Sarah Lynn Rees), Melbourne
Entry #264 by Neil Durbach (Durbach Block Jaggers), Sydney
The finalists will now develop their ideas for the second stage of the competition.
The finalists were selected by a jury that comprised Robert Nation (Barangaroo Design Advisor), Bridget Smyth (city architect / design director, City of Sydney), Abbie Galvin (New South Wales Government Architect), Peter Poulet (professor of practice (Architecture), Western Sydney University), and Kim Crestani (city architect, City of Parramatta).

The winner of the competition will be revealed later in 2020.

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Adelaide architecture firm JPE Design Studio has prepared designs for a $23 million upgrade to the Adelaide High School campus.
The school is located with in the Adelaide Park Lands by West Terrace in the central city, on the land of the Kaurna people.
The major part of the upgrade would be the Hive Building, a new social and learning hub for students, containing flexible specialist learning areas, teacher preparation, storage, amenities, canteen café and outdoor learning areas.

Also being considered for the school is a new storey addition to an existing building to provide flexible specialist learning areas and an upgrade of the student.
The Hive Building would be located what has traditionally been seen as the back of the school, facing the Adelaide Park Lands.
“It is the first building on the campus to engage with the Park Lands, inviting the landscape to become part of the learning experience day-to-day,” write the architects.

“The new terraced student verandah and café adjacent to the parklands will signify that this is no longer the back of the school. The building will be the new face to community life and will represent the school’s entrepreneurial mindset and contemporary pedagogy.”

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The Hive Building at Adelaide High School by JPE Design Studio.

Adelaide High School’s original buildings were designed by Sydney architects Edward Fitzgerald and John R. Brogan, who won a national architecture competition for the project in 1940. Their Functionalist design was realized in 1951, having been delayed due to shortages of labour and materials during World War II. Today the buildings are listed on the state heritage register.
JPE Design Studio previously designed the first major contemporary addition to the school back in 2015, the New Learning Centre. Reviewing that building in Architecture Australia, Julian Worrall wrote “While the new building appears grown from the same seed as the original, what is revealed on closer inspection is just how far the constructional and spatial dimensions of educational architecture have changed over the past 60-odd years, complicating any straightforward attempt at continuity of design.”
For the Hive Buidling, JPE Design Studio states that the design does not seek to look the same as the historic brick buildings, but to be a counterpoint to them, “expressing a new future for the school where education design incorporates the ability to adapt, experiment, and encourage independent learning.” More