Architecture

Planning consultancy firm Urbis have released the findings of their biennial City Leaders Survey, which gathers sentiment key issues from city-shaping bodies across the country.
Now in its second iteration, the survey collected data from over 200 senior executives working within government, business, academia and community-based organisations. Urbis surveyed and conducted interviews with Jen Williams, CEO of Committee for Brisbane; Dale Connor, CEO of Lendlease; Eamon Waterford, CEO of Committee for Sydney; and Matt Collins, CEO of Planning Institute of Australia; among others.
The survey’s insights build upon the 2022 post-pandemic release, which foreshadowed growing concerns around the escalating housing crisis. This year’s survey demonstrates growing pessimism around the ability to rectify the systemic issues that produce cities’ ongoing vulnerabilities.
According to the survey, “In 2024, city leaders are calling for course correction, as declining net sentiment across economic, environmental and social outcomes over the next two years is heightened by pervasive concerns about decreasing housing affordability, rising cost-of-living and sluggish economic growth.”
In comparison with the 2022 survey, housing and population challenges overtook respondents’ concerns for maintaining economic growth and competitiveness, with nine in ten city leaders identifying housing affordability and access as the biggest challenge to overcome. This sentiment was consistent across private and public sectors, however private organisations expressed 50 percent more concern about economic growth and competitiveness, and with it, declining productivity and investment in innovation.

View gallery

Leaders also expressed less concern about tackling climate change and sustainable development, showing a shift in priorities towards issues – such as rapid population growth and rising interest rates – that have exacerbated housing supply issues. “Navigating technological disruption” held its position at the bottom of the pile of challenges.
“Despite these exposed vulnerabilities, cities remain where people want to live and where future opportunity lies. Cities globally are at the frontline of navigating disruptions and serve as incubators for new solutions that improve living standards for all – Australia is no different,” the release reads.
James Tuma, managing partner at Urbis, commented, “Our cities are resilient and full of potential. By leveraging data-driven insights, fostering collaboration, and embracing forward-thinking strategies, we can create vibrant, inclusive urban environments. The commitment of city leaders, businesses, and communities gives us confidence that we can build a prosperous future for all.”
The survey can be viewed in full online. More

Powerhouse Parramatta and the Cité Internationale des Arts have jointly announced that entries can now be submitted for the 2025 galang residency, a program that supports Australian-based First Nations creatives to undertake two intensive three-month residencies in Paris.
The galang residency program was established to provide creative practitioners with greater access to connections across industry and individual creative practice through research and the development of new work. Examples of eligible applicants include architects, designers, visual artists, musicians, weavers, poets, dancers and performers, or other creative discipline.
The 2024 program attracted entries from a diverse range of professionals, with Sydney-based Worimi and Biripi guri architect Jack Gillmer, and Yuggera and Biri multidisciplinary artist from Brisbane Jody Rallah both offered residencies.
During his residency, Gillmer investigated the display and treatment of Indigenous artefacts and collections, reckoning with the colonial history of museology and the future of acquiring and exhibiting cultural materials. He also studied a concept of “Global off-Country Keeping Place” for cultural materials undergoing repatriation or lacking an on-Country Keeping Place.
Reflecting on the residency, Gillmer said, “The galang residency provided the rare commodity of time with little distractions, while being supported and surrounded by creativity and space to discover the innovative mindset potential we all have. The opportunity is of endless possibilities that enable residents to realise their superpower to influence their discipline and interests to create change.”
Rallah’s research focused on the application of braille and other tactile language systems in haptic artmaking. She noted, “The residency gifted me access to institutions, industry professionals, different cultures, a broader understanding of systems outside of the Australian continent, and global connections unlike anywhere else. Most of all, the residency gave me the opportunity to learn, experience and connect, and to see what it means to create bridges of language cross-culturally.”
The 2025 galang residency selection panel will comprise head of the Residency Department at Cité Internationale Des Arts Vincent Gonzalvez, Powerhouse adjunct curator Brook Garru Andrew and Powerhouse acting director First Nations Beau James.
Applications are open until 31 January 2025, with successful applicants to be announced in March 2025. For information on application requirements and how to submit, visit the Powerhouse website. More

The winners of the 2024 Western Australian Heritage Awards have been announced, recognising projects that are setting new standards in heritage conservation and adaptive reuse across the state.
The Wearne Hostel in Cottesloe by Griffiths Architects earned the prestigious Gerry Gauntlet Award for Conservation or Adaptive Reuse of a State Registered Place. The hostel, once known as the Ministering Children’s League Convalescent Home, was built in 1897 to provide care to people recovering from illness. The building was originally designed by architect Percy William Harrison in the Federation Queen Anne style and features a Cottesloe limestone facade, intricate verandahs and timbered gables. “Recent conservation efforts have revitalised Wearne Hostel as a vital part of Cottesloe’s heritage, meticulously restoring elements such as the distinctive “pepperpot” roof and weather vane,” commented the jury.

View gallery

Ascot Kilns (former Bristile Kilns), Belmont, by Hocking Heritage and Architecture was commended in the Conservation or Adaptive Reuse of a State Registered Place category.
Elsewhere in the awards, Tomich House by Mark Jeavons Architect with Ohlo Studio, and Exchange Hotel, Pinjarra by Hunt Architects jointly received the award for Conservation or Adaptive Reuse of a Local Heritage Place.
Originally designed by architect Iwan Iwanoff in 1971, Tomich House underwent significant yet sensitive restoration works to address structural issues. The jury lauded the project for carefully harmonising “a 1980s extension with Iwanoff’s style, using materials and details sympathetic to his vision.” The project has garnered substantial acclaim this year, having earned the Julius Elischer Award for Interior Architecture at the Australian Institute of Architects 2024 WA Architecture Awards and an award for House in a Heritage Context at the 2024 Houses Awards.

View gallery

Hunt Architects were praised by the jury for blending heritage conservation with contemporary design in its restoration of the 1866 Exchange Hotel. After several years of neglect following its closure in 2008, the hotel was purchased by the Shire of Murray in 2012 with the aim to restore the historic building – one of the oldest in the Peel region – to its former glory. The jury applauded the practice for creating a balanced space, as seen in the “preservation of traditional timber and masonry elements, and the addition of modern steel-framed features.”
The other category winners can be viewed online. More

Sydney-based practice Em Be Ce have won an invited design competition for an affordable housing development in Sydney’s Alexandria, with two other practices making submissions. Organised by City West Housing, the project is set to deliver more than 100 units to help alleviate the pressure of the current housing crisis.
City West Housing provides affordable housing via a model in which they build, operate and hold their projects. This approach was appreciated by director of Em Be Ce Chi Melhem, who noted that City West Housing “have a really genuine desire to not only provide affordable housing, but to make sure what they’re providing is building stronger communities, more resilient communities … because they do hold onto their properties, ensuring that they’re doing something that looks great from the start.”
Bearing in mind the perpetuity of City West’s ownership of the site, Em Be Ce’s design seeks to be low maintenance and durable into the future. According to a media communique from the architect, the design “prioritises community, structural efficiency, thoughtful spatial planning, shared outdoor spaces and site-specific architectural responses.”
The building form is situated in response to the site’s prominent corner position, curving in response to existing trees while aiming to ensure the building’s main communal spaces achieve a connection to landscape. Adopting a language of deep masonry blades, the facade is designed to orchestrate views and access to natural light, yet maintain privacy where needed.

View gallery

The brick materiality is part of the architect’s broader approach to structural efficiency and durability. Em Be Ce director Ben Green observed, “brick obviously doesn’t need to be repainted. It lasts a very long time. It’s got a kind of a richness of character that comes out of its intrinsic nature that’s quite strong.” The designers were also interested in the relationship of brick to the narrative of the area, Green noting that in this part of Sydney “there were lots of early brickworks, so there’s a bit of a history of brick making in the area,” as also evidenced in the suburb’s industrial heritage. The directors point out that the use of predominantly beige brick hints at the site’s pre-colonial history by referencing the site’s shale and sand dune geology, as well as its unique ecology.
By employing a modular structural grid, and consolidating service cores and circulation, the designers hope to maximise the quantity of housing on offer while creating meaningful private residential and communal areas. The practice has aimed to reduce the number of south-facing apartments to a minimum and has prioritised cross-ventilation throughout. Melhem notes that a 70/30 ratio of solid to void on the facade was employed to help optimise the energy performance of the building.
Within the units, “compact spaces are given natural light, protected from road noise and include notable amenities such as study nooks – again showing that affordability can be achieved without losing internal amenity,” the release reads.
Outside, a central shared garden is intended to maintain multiple points of connection with residential areas. Circulation through the project has been designed with moments of incidental interaction and spontaneous social gathering in mind.

View gallery

According to the release, the scheme “does more with less – bringing a distinctive new presence to the city and demonstrating how good design can achieve quality housing for all.”
For Green, “affordable housing is obviously one of the big issues in Australia at the moment, and it’s nice to be able to contribute to it in a tangible way.”
The development application for the proposal is scheduled to be lodged in April 2025. More

With summer now in full swing, forty organisations have collaborated on a plan for Sydney’s escalating heat challenge. Led by the Greater Sydney Heat Taskforce and guided by academic experts, the newly published Greater Sydney Heat Smart City Plan received input from local councils, state authorities and nation-wide organisations in health, environment, urban planning and business, across both public and private sectors.
Chair of the Greater Sydney Heat Taskforce Kerry Robinson said, “Heat has killed more Australians than fire, flood and storms combined, and has far-reaching impacts on community wellbeing, the economy, infrastructure and the environment.”
The plan notes that between 2012 and 2022, extreme heat was responsible for up to 84 percent of weather related hospitalisations – a figure which is expected to increase with climate change.
Additionally, Robinson noted that the estimated “cost of heatwaves in Western Sydney alone is $1.4 billion per year and growing. These costs impact businesses, households and government services. We can’t afford not to act.”
In response to what Robinson describes as “Australia’s most deadly natural hazard,” the five-year Greater Sydney Heat Smart City Plan outlines six key directions and forty recommendations for building a heat-resilient city.
These include:

Heat smart decisions based on improved collaboration, measurement and monitoring of heat risk
Heat smart places for people that keep people safe from, and mitigate the effects of heat, which requires the adaptation of local and state planning controls
Heat smart economies that plan for heat, support risk reduction, minimise economic impacts of heat and seek commercial opportunities in adaptation
Heat smart infrastructure that is both interconnected and resilient, enabling communities to survive and thrive
Heatwave-ready governance that provides funding and guidance to support effective heatwave management and empowers communities to build resilience, reduce risks and manage emergencies
Heat smart research from collaborative research and practitioner teams that delivers heat-resilient solutions.

The plan is a joint initiative of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSOC) and Resilient Sydney, and was jointly funded by the state and federal governments through the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund.
Moving forward, the taskforce will seek to work with its partners to implement the actions of the plan. More

Inner-city Brisbane may undergo a dramatic vertical transformation, with Aria Property Group’s recent application to Brisbane City Council for a three-tower development in the heart of South Brisbane. Designed by national firm Bates Smart with local practice Richards and Spence, the submission revises an application for three 12-storey towers by the architects in 2022, which itself revised a single 17-storey tower proposal (approved in February 2023) from earlier that year.
In their submitted town planning report, the applicants note that consultation with the council over the last three years has resulted “in significant improvements, efficiencies and community benefits” to the previously-submitted scheme. The outcome includes 678 apartments across three towers (24 , 40 and 50 storeys), a hotel and a mixed-use commercial podium.

View gallery

At almost 7,300 square metres, the wholly-owned site at 164 Melbourne Street has been progressively consolidated by Aria Property Group and is now the largest parcel situated in the suburb’s prominent east-west corridor linking the CBD to West End. The site’s edges on Manning, Melbourne and Edmonstone Streets are bookended by two locally-listed heritage places at either corner: the former Bond’s Sweets Factory designed by architect and engineer Oliver Coleman, and completed in 1951; and Malouf’s fruit shop and residence, built by resident Salem Malouf in 1913. The iconic Skyneedle, a relic from Brisbane’s Expo ’88, is located adjacent to the site.
Within this context, the proposal seeks to restore the site’s two heritage buildings – refitting these with food and beverage tenancies – while locating small-scale high street retail along the site’s 90 metre frontage to Melbourne Street. A network of publicly accessible arcades and laneways – which includes a “dry route” between unflooded evacuation points in times of flooding ­– are envisioned to connect the retail and dining precinct across the site.

View gallery

Director of Richards and Spence Ingrid Richards noted, “The contemporary brick facade of the podium provides a flexible framework that engages with the diverse heritage buildings and contributes to the ‘repair’ of Melbourne Street. This deliberately ‘loose fit’ architectural approach aligns with the fine-grain character of the precinct’s surroundings, drawing reference from nearby Fish Lane.”
The proposal’s 3,650 square metres of public space includes a 1,600-square-metre ground level park with north-facing aspect. Having tested a four-tower option for the site, the applicants elected to pursue the park, whose void above “serves as a light-well that allows natural light and air into the site resulting in outcomes that far exceed those which would otherwise be possible,” the report reads.

View gallery

Topping off over 6,000 square metres of commercial space, a large gym on the second level of the podium is intended to form an anchor to smaller retail tenancies within the site’s arcades. Above, the project will deliver 345 apartments within two east towers fronting Manning Street. The third tower, located on the south and facing onto Edmonstone Street, comprises 333 apartments and a 216-room hotel from levels four to 11 that, according to the report, “will serve the city during the Olympic Games and leave a lasting legacy for tourism beyond.”
The residential towers each host a series of communal recreation spaces and rooftop amenities, including a suite of pools, private and shared dining spaces, hot and cold spas, saunas, a gym, half court, multi-purpose room, cinema and treatment areas.

View gallery

Architecturally, the 24-storey tower retains characteristics of the approved 17-storey scheme but stands in contrast to the language of the new 40-storey and 50-storey towers. The articulation of these building facades respond to access to views and the varying privacy needs of the building’s floor plates with a progression from single, to double, to triple height.
Director at Bates Smart Mathieu Le Sueur commented, “We’ve designed the three residential towers to read at two scales: the skyline scale and the human scale. Their varied heights, rooftops and facades give them unique identities on Brisbane’s skyline.”
“We’ve also used the facade geometries and layers to integrate smart features that leverage the climate. These include landscape planters, passive self-shading and generous apartment balconies – elements that allow residents to maximise an indoor/outdoor lifestyle,” Le Sueur noted. More

NSW minister for Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek has supported a bid from Andrew Charlton, federal member for Parramatta, to recognise three colonial-era homesteads as national heritage.
According to the minister, Elizabeth Farm, Experiment Farm and Hambledon Cottage help “tell the story of Australia’s colonial history – from land use and farming to agriculture and architecture.”
Located at Clay Cliff Creek, Experiment Farm is the site of Australia’s first convict land grant, given to James Ruse in 1789. Ruse farmed the land and produced the colony’s first wheat harvest. The site’s bungalow remains surrounded by a large garden.
Originally built in 1793 for John and Elizabeth Macarthur, Elizabeth Farm stands as Australia’s oldest surviving homestead. The building was expanded over four decades, though still retains much of its core structure. The Georgian-style Hambledon Cottage, built in 1824, is also associated with the Macarthurs.

View gallery

The three historic sites have been added to the National Heritage Finalised Priority Assessment List for community consultation and assessment from the Australian Heritage Council.
Last month, the Paramatta Female Factory and Institutions Precinct moved a step closer to securing World Heritage status after a preliminary request was sent to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Centre in Paris.
Charlton commented, “Parramatta is growing fast, but our heritage is what grounds us. I’m dedicated to working with the government and community to secure National Heritage status, so our kids and grandkids can enjoy and learn from these treasures for years to come.” More

A major redevelopment of Penrith Stadium, 55km west of Sydney’s CBD, has been greenlit by the NSW government’s Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. According to a communique from Infrastructure NSW, the new Populous-designed stadium is “set to become a superior entertainment venue, improving the experience for fans and spectators.”
The new venue will completely overhaul the city’s existing stadium “with better seats and sightlines in new grandstands, more food outlets, amenities and recreation space, new scoreboards and ribbon boards, sound systems and lighting,” the release reads.

View gallery

As part of the upgrade, the ground capacity will be increased from 22,500 to approximately 25,000 attendees with space for an additional 5,000 people during concerts, which the venue will host up to ten times per year. The stadium’s existing east and west grandstands will be replaced with larger, steeper seating, which includes a 300 percent increase in accessible seating places. According to the release, the new grandstands are expected to deliver “premium views … boosting energy, sound and excitement for fans, teams and players.”
The venue’s bathrooms will see an 85 percent increase in accessible toilets and a substantial increase in women’s toilets. Upgraded player amenities, especially those for women, are intended to support the growth of women’s sport.
Populous director Al Baxter commented that the firm’s design creates “a venue that will promote and support the continued growth of sports within the Western Sydney community.”
“It will provide an exceptional visitor experience for sporting events, concerts and live entertainment,” Baxter said.
Elsewhere in the precinct, new open spaces, multipurpose courts and improved landscaping will provide greater shade for entertainment and community use. While the central pitch and community greenspace on the north and south hills will remain, the training field to the west of the stadium will be remodelled into a warm-up field with community infrastructure and landscaping.

View gallery

The project has been ongoing since 2022, with its concept first unveiled in January 2024 and its State Significant Development application on public exhibition from May to June. Feedback in response to submissions was addressed in August.
A building contract is expected to be awarded shortly, with work scheduled to begin early 2025. Completion is slated for 2026. More