Architecture

The Association of Consulting Architects’ final “pulse check” survey of 2020 has found around $10 billion worth of work has been cancelled or delayed and architects don’t expect the federal budget to help.
The survey generated responses from 511 practice that represent 5,600 full time equivalent technical staff.
The practices reported a total of $4 billion in cancelled work and $6 billion in delayed work. However, 43 percent of respondents have had projects restart and another 17 percent anticipate projects to restart soon. One-third of practices have had no cancellations.

A small number of practices have had a “worryingly high proportion of projects cancelled or delayed” and 20 percent of respondents face immediate work shortages.
The pattern of delays and cancellations in Victoria is similar to nationwide trends: the private residential, commercial and multi-residential sectors have had high proportions of delayed or cancelled work.

More than two-thirds of practices have experienced losses in revenue, with some experiencing as much as a 60 percent decline. In Melbourne, 80 percent of practices have experienced losses in revenue.

The survey also found that 529 employees have had hours reduced, 109 have been stood down and 97 employees have been made redundant. Of contract workers, 82 have been stood down or had their hours reduced.

More than 80 percent of practices reported that Job Keeper had prevented staff redundancies and stand downs.
However, respondents also expressed concern that some firms may be using Job Keeper to undercut the fees of others.
“One wonders if JobKeeper has artificially allowed architects to reduce fees to win jobs with extremely low quotes. If so architects have cut each others necks,” one responded.

Another said, “We have heard that some practices are deliberately not billing to make sure they are under 30 percent compared to previous year’s income to stay on JobKeeper. We have also heard that these practices are factoring JobKeeper when submitting fees and significantly undercutting their fees to win work. A dangerous practice that will lower client expectations of our value in the long term. We have lost several jobs recently where the winning architect was less than half the fee of the other architects. It looks like JobKeeper has created an uneven playing field to the detriment of the profession.”

The survey also questioned practices on whether they would take advantage of measures announced in the federal budget, including the instant asset write-off, the temporary loss carry-back scheme, and the JobMaker Hiring Credit Scheme.
“Few respondents envisage definitely taking advantage of the initiatives in the budget,” the survey found. “It is clear that the JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme will not offset the impact of reduced JobKeeper and will be of little benefit to architectural practices or the people they employ.” More

Another group of prominent Australians have penned an open letter calling on the prime minister, Scott Morrison, to halt the proposed $498 million redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.The letter comes after the Australian Heritage Council made submissions against the proposal as part of the consultation process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.“We urge the Australian Government not to accept the current proposal. It should be withdrawn and significantly amended, or EPBC Act approval should be refused,” the group said.Signatories to the letter include architects Roger Pegrum, Penelope Seidler and Penleigh Boyd, professor of architecture Don Watson, heritage architect Eric Martin and architectural historian Peter Freeman. Also signing was John Denton, whose practice Denton Corker Marshall designed the under-threat Anzac Hall. Five organizations, including Docomomo Australia and the Australian branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, are also signatories.Many of the signatories are part of a group of 88 prominent Australians who signed an earlier open letter to the government in March 2019, which also called on the government to abandon the redevelopment plans.Despite the growing chorus of critics, the Australian War Memorial continues to defend redevelopment plans, describing the existing Anzac Hall as “no longer fit for purpose.”
The Australian War Memorial development project will have major heritage impacts on the Memorial, a place that has deep meaning for all Australians. The intervention by the Australian Heritage Council, the government’s principal adviser on heritage matters, shows that reconsideration of the project is imperative.
The Council is chaired by the Hon. Dr David Kemp AC, a former Cabinet minister. Its recent submission to the Memorial under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) 1999 concluded thus:
Regrettably the Council cannot support the conclusion that the proposed redevelopment will not have a serious impact on the listed heritage values of the site and recommends that the matters above [set out in the Council’s submission] be given serious attention.
While the signatories to this open letter have multiple perspectives on the many issues raised by the project, we strongly support the Council’s views and are united in our concerns about the heritage impacts. These impacts include:
the proposed demolition of the award-winning Anzac Hall (2001);
the loss of the free-standing form of the Memorial building, to be swamped by a huge glazed addition (that will also be visible down Anzac Parade);
the loss for most visitors of the existing commemorative entry, with entry mostly being via the lower ground level; and
on the overall landscape setting of the Memorial from changes to the Parade Ground in front of the Memorial, the expansion of other buildings on site and the overall hardening of what is currently a respectful balance of built and landscape elements.
The Memorial must be supported to achieve its core functions, but this should (and can) occur without damage to its core commemorative strength – the iconic heritage building and site.
We urge the Australian Government not to accept the current proposal. It should be withdrawn and significantly amended, or EPBC Act approval should be refused.
In view of the importance of this issue, a copy of this letter has been forwarded to the Ministers for the Environment and Veterans’ Affairs, the Acting Chair of the Public Works Committee and Members of the House of Representatives.
Yours faithfully, the following organisations and individuals,
Organisations
Australia ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites): Helen Lardner, President
Australian Historical Association: Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, President
Docomomo Australia: Dr Scott Robertson, Australian President (Docomomo is the international organisation concerned with the documentation and conservation of buildings and areas of modern architecture)
National Trust of Australia (ACT): Gary Kent, President
Walter Burley Griffin Society (Canberra Chapter): Brett Odgers
Individuals
Geoff Ashley, heritage consultant
Blake Ayshford, screen writer
Vicken Babkenian, researcher, Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Paul Barratt AO, former Secretary, Department of Defence
Professor Emerita Joan E Beaumont AM FASSA FAIIA, Australian National University
Dr Margaret Beavis, Vice President, Medical Association for Prevention of War
Professor Diane Bell
Professor Frank Bongiorno AM
Max Bourke AM, founding Director, Australian Heritage Commission (later Council)
Penleigh Boyd, architect
Dr Alison Broinowski AM, former Australian diplomat
Richard Broinowski AO, former Australian diplomat
Bishop George Browning, former Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn
Pamela Burton
Richard Butler AC
Professor Marie Carroll
Dr Peter Cochrane FAHA, historian, Hon. Associate, University of Sydney
Peter G. Corlett OAM, sculptor
Associate Professor Martin Crotty, University of Queensland
Paul Daley, author and journalist; Walkley Award winner
Professor Joy Damousi FASSA, Director, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University
Mark Dawes, former Assistant Director, Branch Head, Corporate Services, Australian War Memorial
Emeritus Professor Phillip Deery, Victoria University
John Denton, architect, Australian Institute of Architects gold medallist
Dr Meredith Edwards AM
Hon. Elizabeth Evatt AC
Dr Romain Fathi, Senior Lecturer in History, Flinders University
Stephen B. Flora, veteran and citizen
Peter Freeman OAM, architectural historian, conservator and writer
Dr Bill Gammage AM FASSA, historian
Dr Rolf Gerritsen, Professorial Research Fellow, Charles Darwin University
Paddy Gourley, former First Assistant Secretary, Department of Defence
Emeritus Professor Tom Griffiths AO FASSA
Major General Steve Gower (Ret’d) AO, AO Mil, Vietnam veteran, former Director, Australian War Memorial
Dr David Headon, historical consultant
Alistair Henchman RPIA, tourism planner
Dr Carolyn Holbrook, ARC Senior Fellow, Deakin University
Dr Douglas Hynd, Adjunct Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
Professor Tracy Ireland, Professor of Cultural Heritage, University of Canberra; editor, Historic Environment
Dr Benjamin T. Jones, Central Queensland University
Brendon Kelson, former Director, Australian War Memorial
Dr Julie Kimber, Senior Lecturer, Politics and History, Swinburne University of Technology
Emeritus Professor Hon. Dr Carmen Lawrence, chair, Australian Heritage Council 2010-18
Richard Llewellyn, former Registrar, Australian War Memorial
Dr Judith McKay, former Curator, Australian War Memorial; former member, Queensland Heritage Council
Professor Mark McKenna, Chair, Department of History, University of Sydney
Dr Michael McKernan, historian; former Deputy Director, Australian War Memorial
Eric Martin AM, heritage architect; former access consultant, Australian War Memorial
John Menadue AO, publisher
Stewart Mitchell, former head of heritage, buildings and services, Australian War Memorial
John Myrtle
Dr Douglas Newton, historian
Brett Odgers, Walter Burley Griffin Society (Canberra Chapter)
Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, Chair of History, Flinders University; President, Australian Historical Society
Roger Pegrum, architect
Margaret Pender
Michael Piggott AM, former Senior Curator, Australian War Memorial
Richard Reid, former Senior Historian, Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Professor Henry Reynolds
Professor Noah Riseman, Australian Catholic University
Associate Professor Tilman Ruff AO, Co-President, Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Professor Lyndall Ryan AM
Penelope Seidler AM, architect
Wendy Sharpe, artist and Australian War Memorial official war artist
Professor Peter Stanley FAHA, UNSW Canberra
Dr David Stephens, convener, Heritage Guardians
Professor Alistair Thomson FASSA, Professor of History, Monash University
Shobha Varkey
Dr Sue Wareham OAM, President, Medical Association for Prevention of War
Don Watson, author
Dr Don Watson FAIA, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Queensland
Dr Peter Watts AM, Emeritus Director, Historic Houses Trust of NSW
Ernst Willheim, Visiting Fellow, ANU College of Law
Janet Wilson, retired librarian
JB Windeyer
Professor Angela Woollacott, Manning Clark Professor of History, ANU
Professor Clare Wright, Professorial Research Fellow and Professor of History, La Trobe University More

The Art Gallery of NSW will restore and revitalize a series of spaces in its existing historic buildings as part of the $344 million Sydney Modern project.
The gallery has appointed Tonkin Zulaikha Greer to undertake the works, which will restore space in the original 19th century building as well as the 20th century additions.
The works will restore original architectural features of the building and enhance visitor experience and sustainable operations. The upgrades will be sympathetic to the existing gallery’s architecture.

“TZG is  excited to be a part of the revitalisation of the Art Gallery of NSW. The Gallery is a vital and vibrant part of the state’s culture, evolving  for more than a century under successive designers to meet an expanding and changing public role,” said Peter Tonkin, a director of Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects.
“To support the Sydney Modern Project and the future needs of the Gallery, we are weaving a sequence of new facilities into the existing building, respecting its tradition of significant architectural quality and improving its environmental and functional performance.”

These include restoring the original entrance vestibule in the original building designed by Walter Liberty Vernon and the refurbishment of Vernon’s original grand courts, adding energy-saving LED lighting.

View gallery

Historical interior night view into Gallery from the northern sculpture court.
Image: Max Dupain / AGNSW
In the 1970s wing designed by Andrew Andersons, the design proposes to reinstate the internal balconies overlooking a double height atrium which will provide a visual connection between the two levels and create a more dramatic experience of the gallery’s collection of large-scale 20th century Australia art.
The existing large windows on the north-east facade of the wing will also be revealed to provide direct views to the art garden of the new SANAA-designed addition, currently under construction.

View gallery

Historical interior view of the new Australian courts.
Image: © Estate of Max Dupain / AGNSW
The Capon Research Library and National Art Archive will be relocated to a larger, fully accessible space on lower level 3. A temporary exhibition space will be relocated from lower level 1 to lower level 2, which will provide more space, higher ceilings and upgraded LED lighting.
There will also be new and upgraded public amenities and new and expanded facilities for the gallery’s members and volunteers.
The original gallery building was designed by NSW government architect Walter Liberty Vernon and constructed between 1896 and 1909, though it remained incomplete. In 1972, a new wing designed by Andrew Andersons was opened. And in 1988, an extension to the east, also designed by Andrew Andersons, doubled the size of the gallery and included more display spaces, a 300-seat theatre and a new expanded gallery for Asian art. Both additions received the Sulman Medal, in 1975 and 1989. In 2003, a new Asian art gallery designed by Richard Johnson was opened.
The refurbishment and restoration works will begin in 2021 and are expected to be completed in 2022 to coincide with the completion of the new building by SANAA. More

The Australian Institute of Architects has called on the federal environment minister Susan Ley to reject a redevelopment proposal for the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
The Institute argues that the proposed demolition of the existing Anzac Hall designed by Denton Corker Marshall, completed in 2004, violates legislated heritage protections.
Former national president of the Institute Clare Cousins says the government should heed the advice of heritage experts, including the Australian Heritage Council.

“All of the heritage advice has been consistent in finding that the demolition of Anzac Hall will – unequivocally – have a significant negative impact on the Australian War Memorial’s heritage value,” she said.
“The strength and value of Australia’s legislated environmental and heritage protections would be undermined if such a violation of the Heritage Management Plan for this iconic site were permitted to proceed.”

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) has released final documentation from the assessment of the redevelopment proposal under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The Institute is “deeply concerned” at the apparent “numerous inconsistencies and questionable assertions” contained in the documents.

DAWE asked the Memorial to undertake a ‘specific social heritage survey’ in February 2020 following widespread condemnation of the demolition plans.
“The Memorial has relied on the results of this survey to argue that there is ‘Broad support…for all elements of the Project including the replacement of Anzac Hall’. However, the copy of the survey included in the EPBC Act documentation appears to contain no specific questions about the demolition of Anzac Hall,” Cousins said.

More than 80 percent of the 167 submissions received were opposed to the replacement of Anzac Hall.
“The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE), as custodian of our national environmental and heritage protection laws, has a responsibility to be a fair and independent arbiter in assessing the redevelopment proposal,” Cousins said.

“The strength and value of Australia’s legislated environmental and heritage protections would be undermined if such a violation of the Heritage Management Plan for this iconic site were permitted to proceed.

“In the face of widespread concern the Memorial’s executive seem to be just digging in their heels and reverse engineering consultation outcomes rather than taking on board legitimate concerns and amending their proposal, we urge the Minister to have the current EPBC referral withdrawn with instructions to pursue alternative solutions that meet both the current and future needs of the Memorial while also preserving its physical and social heritage values.”
A parliamentary committee is also looking into the redevelopment proposal in relation to its purpose and suitability, cost effectiveness and the amount of revenue it would generate. The committee received a record number of submissions, the majority of which oppose the project. More

Perth architect Sandy Anghie, winner of the 2020 WA Emerging Architect Prize, has been elected as the deputy mayor of the City of Perth.
Anghie, who ran for council on a platform that included building an Indigenous Cultural Centre, “energizing” the CBD and connecting it to Kings Park and the Swan River, was voted into the role by five of eight elected members present at a special council meeting on Tuesday 17 October.
She will serve alongside newly elected mayor Basil Zempilas, a sports presenter and commentator who has controversially vowed to maintain his media roles with Seven West Media and The West Australian.

Zempilas won the mayorship on 29.44 percent of the vote, beating former ABC journalist Di Bain by just 284 votes. Anghie, who won 8 percent of the vote in the mayoral race, said her vision for the city aligned with that of Zempilas.
“It’s a real privilege to serve alongside the Lord Mayor as his deputy so I’m really looking forward to that role,” she told reporters.

Having started her career in corporate tax law, Anghie studied architecture at the University of Western Australia from 2006. She has since worked at the Office of Government Architect, Syrinx Environmental and Hassell, and has established her own practice, Sandy Anghie Architect.

She is also the editor of The Architect, the official magazine of the Western Australian chaper of the Australian Institute of Architects, and writes the “Meet the Architect” column for The West Australian.

The jury of The Australian Institute of Architects’ WA 2020 Emerging Architect Prize praised Anghie for her role in founding the non-for-profit Historic Heart of Perth.
“Sandy is recognized as being instrumental in the establishment of the Historic Heart project, seen as a catalyst for the revitalization of the east end of Perth,” the jury stated. “Her leadership and contribution to the project is commendable and has helped promote meaningful community engagement with heritage architecture and its value.”⁠⠀
In her role on council, Anghie has vowed to focus on practical solutions for people experiencing homelessness and to aim for “social, economic and environmental sustainability.”
She says she wants to build the “assets and identities” of the city’s neighbourhoods while supporting business and encouraging entrepreneurship. More

The NSW government has released a draft public spaces charter outlining a series of principles for a state with “more and better” public spaces.
A focus on public spaces has been a feature of the government’s messaging on urban development, with a new ministerial portfolio for public spaces created in 2019.
The proposed charter would be a resource to support the planning, design, management and activation of public spaces across the state.
It has been released for public comment alongside a draft “evaluation tool,” which has been developed with an international peer review panel, and is designed as a simple site survey that anyone can use to identify a public spaces strengths and areas for improvement. The information could be used to inform future planning, design, and investment.

Alex O’Mara, group deputy secretary at the planning and environment department, said the initiatives would help support the government’s priorities for greener spaces, which aims to increase walkable access to quality public space.

“COVID-19 is changing the way we use public space and has shone a light on how vital these places are to support healthy, happy, resilient communities,” she said.
“We want to use everything in our toolbox to consolidate and improve what we have and create more. We’re asking the community to help us design a tool that will allow people to tell us what they like about public spaces and where we can improve.”

The ten principles outlined in the charter are: open and welcoming; community-focused; culture and creativity; local character and identity; green and resilient; healthy and active; local business and economies; safe and secure; designed for people; and well-managed. You can read the draft principles here.
The draft public spaces charter and evaluation tool will be on public exhibition until 17 November. All state government agencies will be asked to endorse the final charter and local government and industry will be encouraged to adopt its principles. More

Durbach Block Jaggers and John Wardle Architects’ gallery and performance venue Phoenix Central Park has been voted the best cultural building of 2020 by an international audience.
The Sydney project, the latest ambitious building to be commissioned by arts patron Judith Neilson, was the people’s choice winner in the Dezeen Awards’ cultural category, winning 32 percent support.
Laura Harding, reviewing Phoenix Central Park in the September/October issue of Architecture Australia, describes it as “a Corbusian boîte à miracles – a miracle box – an architectural vessel capable of holding everything you could desire.”

In the Hospitality Building category, Bali hotel the Tiing designed by Australian Nic Brunsdon won with 28 percent of the vote. “The project strives for a local vernacular filtered through architectural references of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and aspires to amplify the sense of place as interpreted and represented by a foreign architect,” wrote Thomas Mckenzie in a review of the project.

Other popular projects in the cultural category were He Art Museum by Tadao Ando Architect and Associates (24 percent), Jiunvfeng Study on Mount Tai by Gad Line + Studio (20 percent), Zhang Yan Cultural Museum by Shenzhen Horizontal Design (15 percent) and The Reach by Steven Holl Architects (9 percent).

A number of other Australian projects also polled well.
Partners Hill’s Daylesford Longhouse, winner of the 2019 Australian House of the Year, won 18 percent of the vote in the rural house category, behind No Footprint House by A-01 (24 percent) The Red Roof by Taa Design (20 percent) and Devon Passivhaus by McLean Quinlan (20 percent).
In the urban house category, Andrew Burges Architects’ Bismarck House in Byron Bay got 16 percent of the vote, behind Thang House by Vo Trong Nghia Architects (48 percent).
The residential rebirth category included Australian projects: Bismark House again on 9 percent and North Bondi House by James Garvan Architecture and Welcome to The Jungle House by CplusC Architectural Workshop, both on 10 percent.
Some 62,447 votes were cast across all categories. To see all the results, head here.
The winners of the professionally judged Dezeen Awards will be announced in November. More