Architecture

PTW Architects has designed a 17-storey tower for Sydney’s Haymarket, by Chinatown, that will house 336 student rooms along with a range of retail spaces.
The $52 million project for developer Elegant Dixon will see the demolition of a four-storey brick warehouse-like building at 80 Dixon Street, while a historic pair of recently listed face-brick retail buildings at 82-84 Dixon Street will be retained.
The heritage buildings will be incorporated into the three-level podium, containing a lobby providing escalator access to upper-level retail uses along with a dedicated lobby for student use. Podium and tower have been designed to be visually distinct, with the 14 storeys of the tower accommodating the 336 student rooms and associated communal spaces, and a two-level basement housing dedicated student storage and bike parking for 108 bicycles.

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82-84 Dixon Street, Haymarket tower by PTW Architects.

“The street façades of the podium to Dixon, Little Hay and Sussex Streets will be articulated differently from the tower,” PTW states in planning documents. “In addition to this strategy, the parapet to the tower will be detailed to visually terminate the composition and here an open framed arcade will be used.”

Altogether, the design aims to reinforce the fine grain urban character of Chinatown through careful articulation. “The parapet of the podium will be detailed as a projected blade and this will replicate a traditional ‘cornice line’,” the architects write. “The vertical lines in the podium seek to acknowledge the old subdivision pattern of the block.”
The proposal also includes a communal rooftop garden, with landscape architecture by RPS Group.
The development application is on public exhibition until 8 February.

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A 46-storey office building would be built on the eastern edge of Brisbane’s CBD under plans before the city council.
Designed by BVN, the tower at 25 Mary Street will look over Brisbane’s botanic gardens to the east, and will be a key component in the ongoing development of eastern quarter of Brisbane’s CBD Botanic Gardens Precinct.
It will include around 42,000 square metres of office space, with each floor providing a ventilated “mixed mode” workspace of approximately 180 square metres. In a design statement, BVN describes how biophilia, sustainability and occupant wellness are the primary design catalysts.

“In addition to meeting contemporary workplace requirements for flexible use floorplates the building has a distinctive appearance provided through its ventilated and sparkle façade types that respond to orientation and opportunities of the site,” the statement reads. “Each tower floor features an indoor/outdoor mixed mode ventilated “wellness” peninsula overlooking the Botanic Gardens to the east. The tower is crowned by a subtropical landscaped penthouse featuring an up-lit sculptural sun and wind screen canopy that will be a memorable contribution to the city skyline.”

Along with the office space, the tower will accommodate a two-level wellness centre with gym and pool and a ground floor pedestrian laneway with retail tenancies. An existing synagogue on Margaret Street will be retained, with an integrated rear annexe housing ancillary facilities for the place of worship.
Form Landscape Architects is the project’s landscape architect.
The development application was submitted by Bellevue Terrace Properties Unit Trust and Mary Street Holdings Unit Trust.

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Construction has begun on a $2 million arts hub at Lake Macquarie designed by University of Newcastle student Samantha Bailey.
Dubbed Multi Arts Pavilion (MAP), the project consists of a hybrid stage for a variety of performances along with spaces for contemporary arts installations, digital art screens and audio presentations. It will also have a paved courtyard for outdoor activities such as markets and events, and a licensed café.
Lake Macquarie City Council held a design competition with the University of Newcastle in 2018. Undergraduate student Samantha Bailey’s concept was chosen from a pool of 90 submissions. Bailey has been working with University of Newcastle lecturer Chris Tucker and other students in collaboration with Council and the NSW Government on the project.

“We want to build an immersive experience that creates a connection between location, art and audience that visitors won’t find anywhere else,” said Jacqui Hemsley, Lake Macquarie City Council’s manager of arts, culture and tourism.

“MAP is an agile and flexible venue in a high-use location. It will be an ideal stepping-stone for emerging artists, and a platform to present alternative productions to new audiences.
“We will be hosting engaging, experimental and unusual works and public programs from local, national and international artists. MAP will form part of the newly established Lake Arts Precinct, an arts and cultural hub in northern Lake Macquarie featuring the recently renovated Museum of Art and Culture and the Creative Lake foreshore art tourism trail.”

University of Newcastle vice-chancellor Alex Zelinsky said, “We can’t wait to see Samantha Bailey’s design come to life.”
The council is calling for expressions of interest for two major public art installations – a light installation on the exterior of building, and an installation in the grounds of the surrounding Speers Point Park.
The Multi-Art Pavilion is jointly funded by the NSW government through its Regional Cultural Fund and the Lake Macquarie City Council.

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Michael Bryce.
Image: Office of the Governor of Queensland
The Australian Institute of Architects has paid tribute to architect and designer Michael Bryce, who died on 16 January 2021 after a long illness.
Bryce was born in Brisbane in 1938 and undertook architectural studies at the University of Queensland. In 1966, he and his wife Quentin (who later became Australia’s first female Governor General) moved to London where Michael worked as an architectural illustrator. He returned to Brisbane in 1968 and established an architectural practice as well as a graphic design and signage business.

“Bryce won multiple awards for graphic and environmental design, including the Institute’s own Civic Design Award (Qld), the House of the Year Award, and the President’s Award,” said Institute president Alice Hampson.
In 1981, his practice turned its attention away from designing buildings. In the following decades, his practice worked with institutions such as the National Trust, the Australian War Memorial and the Commonwealth Games. He designed logos for the Wallabies rugby union team, the Australian Dolphins swimming team and Sydney’s 2000 Olympic bid, which led to his appointment as principal design adviser to the 2000 Sydney Games.

“More than anyone else, Michael Bryce recognized that architecture, urban design, environmental design, graphic design and industrial design are all aspects of a professional continuum devoted to design as an intellectual and aesthetic pursuit,” Hampson said.

“More than anyone else, he promoted design professionals from the backroom to the boardroom, and placed them at the forefront in the culture of political and business decision-making. He was a powerful advocate for the value of design not only with clients, but also with government, business and industry.

“He was a luminary who, after a long and distinguished career, leaves behind a design and placemaking, the benefits of which will continue to be felt long into the future.”
Bryce was a Life fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and in 2006 he was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia’s hall of fame. In the same year, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. He was also made a Knight of Justice in the Order of St John of Jerusalem (KStJ) and awarded the Air Efficiency Award (AE) for his service with the Royal Australian Airforce Reserve.

He was the inaugural patron of Good Design Australia, and has been a member of the boards of Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Orchestra and a trustee of Queensland Art Gallery.
Bryce was also awarded Honorary Doctorates by the Universities of Queensland and Canberra. In 2020, he received the Australia Design Prize, the country’s highest design accolade.
“He once said that ‘Architecture is the fulcrum of our national design identity and this highly visible art form leads the way in so many other design endeavours, from furniture design, automotive design and urban design through interior, graphic and fashion design,’” Hampson said.
“Our profession and our nation are poorer after the loss of such a great talent and steadfast supporter.
“Our thoughts at this time are with his wife, Australia’s former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO, his five children, his grandchildren, his wider family, and his extensive network of colleagues, friends and admirers.” More

The University of Sydney and the NSW government have reached a framework agreement to build a new multi-disciplinary campus in western Sydney at Parramatta-Westmead.
To be located within the Westmead Health and Innovation District, the campus is expected to attract 25,000 students and 2,500 staff by 2055.
The campus will include teaching infrastructure and research along with community facilities and services. It will build on the district’s role as one of the largest health, education, research and training precincts in Australia.

The agreement comes more than two years after the state government and university begun negotiations in in November 2018.
University of Sydney’s outgoing vice-chancellor Michael Spence said the agreement was a major step in expanding the university’s presence in Western Sydney over coming decades.
“This once-in-a-century opportunity in Western Sydney would build on our 40-year history at Westmead and create a genuinely multidisciplinary major campus that enables new partnership and innovation opportunities for all of Sydney,” he said.

“We are committed to offering students in Western Sydney more opportunity to study and pursue research with our incredible academics to help solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.”
The state’s Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said, “A globally recognized University campus in the Central River City at the core of the Westmead Health and Innovation District will drive innovation and catalyse future growth, ensuring we become a world leader in lifelong education and research partnerships that save lives and cure diseases.”

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The NSW government has approved plans to build three towers of 21, 17 and nine storeys above Crows Nest metro station as part of the latest major “over-station development” for Sydney.
The design of the metro station and integrated development is being overseen by Woods Bagot and the Crows Nest Design Consortium, which is led by SMEC also includes Robert Bird, NDY and landscape architect Oculus.
In September 2020, Sydney Metro submitted an amended concept application reducing the biggest tower from its original 27 storeys to 21 storeys. The tower will also be changed from residential to commercial, and will now house 40,300 square metres of office space.

The 17-storey tower will include 13,000 for residential uses with the hotel proposed in earlier plans dropped.
The changes were made after a period of public exhibition attracted some 655 submissions from the public, the vast majority of which objected to the proposal, with the size and bulk of the proposal a major concern. North Sydney Council objected to the original proposal, citing excessive overshadowing of Ernest Place and Willoughby Road and the visual impact of the development which “has a high propensity to be quite overbearing and potentially inconsistent with the highly valued character of Crows Nest.” The council also suggested that affordable housing should be included in the residential component. The amended proposal includes an allocation of 5 percent affordable housing, to be managed by a community housing provider.

The amended concept proposal attracted 29 submissions, with the bulk of the public submissions again objecting to the proposal.
Speaking to media, planning mister Rob Stokes defended his decision to approve the concept proposal. “While I understand that some current Crows Nest residents won’t be happy about growth, this proposal has improved considerably,” he said
“Residents were concerned about overdevelopment, and for more focus on providing more jobs than more homes. In response, the building envelope has been reduced, jobs capacity doubled and the number of new homes halved.”
The government will now seek interest from the private sector to develop the precinct and progress to detailed design. More

The WA government has appointed architects for two multi-million-dollar school upgrades in the state.
Iredale Pedersen Hook has been selected to design the $22 million upgrade to Karratha Senior High School in the Pilbara region.
The upgrade will comprise a new specialist technologies building which will include nine teaching spaces for engineering, mechatronics, STEM, media, digital design and information technologies, as well as new student services facilities and the refurbishment of the existing food technologies studio.

Meanwhile, With Architecture has been appointed to design the $18.3 million upgrade to Lynwood Senior High School.
The project will include a new classroom building, student services, performing arts centre, sports hall and various refurbishments.
Both projects are part of the government’s recovery plan to upgrade and refurbish public schools in the state.

Construction on both school upgrades is due to start in December 2021.

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Denton Corker Marshall has unveiled designs for a “landmark” new building for Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, overlooking Carlton Gardens.
Under the plans before Yarra City Council, the hospital’s existing 11-storey brick Aikenhead Wing on the corner of Victoria Parade and Nicholson Street would be demolished to make way for a new 11-storey building housing the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD).
Denton Corker Marshall’s design for the building aims to respond to the transitional urban context between the CBD, Carlton Gardens and the wider hospital precinct “by presenting a respectful building mass, and providing high levels of visual connectivity between surrounding context and the functions housed within.”

In a design statement, the practice described how the southern facade references the crystalline structures associated with ACMD biomedical research, while the western façade features abstract vignettes of the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens.

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The Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery by Denton Corker Marshall.

“The building mass is interrupted along the western elevation with the insertion of a cantilevered block, that signposts the western entry, whilst also providing protection from the elements,” the design statement reads. “A picture window within this block enhances the sense of connection lecture theatre occupants have to the Carlton Gardens. Recessed vision glass cutouts step up the building, further articulating the west and south elevations, enhancing visual connections and facilitating the integration of landscape balconies.”

Part of the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, ACMD will be a translational medical technology research and training hub featuring laboratories, workshop and biofabrication facilities, start-up and industry spaces and education and conference facilities. It will unite eight partner research and academic institutions: St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, The University of Melbourne (UoM), St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Bionics Institute, Australian Catholic University, University of Wollongong, Swinburne University of Technology and RMIT University. The centre will have a focus on finding solutions for complex chronic diseases.

The site sits within a World Heritage Environs Area, set up to stop over-development near the Royal Exhibition Building, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004. The development has raised concerns it will negatively impact the World Heritage value of the Royal Exhibition Building.
Friends of the Royal Exhibition Building spokesperson Margaret O’Brien told The Age the building “seems intent on dominating and distracting.”
“At 12-storeys of glass, and massing over an entire block, it is as an alien,” she said.

Chair of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria Charles Sowerwine told the paper that the existing building should never have been built in the 1950s and that the new design was “attention-seeking” and at odds with the area. “[It] represents a betrayal of what the Australian government promised UNESCO,” he said.

A heritage assessment report by Lovell Chen submitted in support of the application notes that the new building will have a similar footprint and number of levels to the existing Aikenhead Wing and would have a minor heritage impact only. “The proposal provides an appropriate contextual response to the South Fitzroy Precinct and Royal Eehibition Building [and] Carlton Gardens and supports the ongoing health and community use of the place as an important contributory place within the precinct,” it states.
A heritage building on the site erected in 1889, Brenan Hall, will have its rendered masonry façade with prominent arched gable parapet retained.
Costing $206 million, the building project is funded by the Victorian and federal governments as well as St Vincent’s Hospital and the other research partners. More