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Singapore has once again been selected as the host country for the 2024 World Architecture Festival (WAF), following its successful hosting of the event in 2023. Last year saw the festival being held in Singapore for the first time in almost a decade. The 2024 edition will be held across 6–8 November, with the Marina […] More
This collection of products from Houses issue 155, takes a long-term view, championing low-carbon manufacturing and waste-material reuse. Kami chair Kami Chair by Reddie. Image: Supplied Furniture house Reddie has established Reddie ReUse, an initiative that applies waste materials such as solid teak wood and bottle tops to its existing furniture range. The Kami dining […] More
The first tower of R.Iconic, an $850-million multiresidential complex in South Melbourne, has been finished, marking the completion of the first stage of the project.
Two towers will be established on the site at 259 Normanby Road, designed by Plus Architecture (lead) in collaboration with Design Office, interior designer David Hicks, and landscape architect Paul Bangay. The first completed tower, which stands 31 storeys tall, contains 451 apartments and five townhouses. It has already won a Design Excellence Award at the 2023 Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Victorian Awards for Excellence.
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The building features a pronounced sloping glass facade atop a brick podium. Image:
Tom Roe
The building features a pronounced sloping glass facade atop a brick podium. Ian Briggs, director of Plus Architecture, said the distinctive, angled facade was selected to create a noticeable visual landmark in South Melbourne, while the brick podium was integrated to reflect the materiality of the surrounding context.
“Referencing the masonry of the existing neighbourhood, the building is like a sculptural object, engaging and evocative in its expression. It will serve as an important wayfinding device that’s visible from across the city and the bay, a gateway to the emerging CBD South precinct, and, importantly, a new destination for the wider community in an area that does not yet have a commercial centre,” Briggs said.
“The building language of R.Iconic’s brick base podium and glass towers speak to its unique location. The towers and their deliberately distinct ‘sliced’ built form are contemporary hallmarks that physically represent this idea of transition.”
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Perched above the podium of the completed tower is a rooftop garden designed by landscape architect Paul Bangay. Image:
Tom Roe
Perched above the podium of the completed tower is a rooftop garden designed by landscape architect Paul Bangay. The 1-acre garden contains a 300-metre running track, a gym, a playground, private dining pods and a heated pool.
Once complete, the second tower will contain 41 storeys and a further 424 apartments. The project developer, R.Corporation, has articulated its aspiration for the site to become a “village hub” for the wider public. The vision includes shared workspaces, innovation labs and hospitality spaces. More
The Adelaide Festival Centre’s Western Plaza is set to undergo a $35-million transformation to improve accessibility and circulation around the precinct. Officially opened by then-prime minister Gough Whitlam on 2 June 1973, the original centre – designed by John Morphett of Hassell and Partners – was added to the SA Heritage Register in 1997. The […] More
University of Adelaide researchers have verified a new product manufactured by Silksurface as being a silica-free alternative to engineered stone. Silksurface began investigating safer alternatives to engineered stone prior to the recent announcement that the use, supply and manufacturing of engineered stone will be prohibited in Australia from 1 July 2024. “Today, we can confirm […] More
A prospective site for the proposed $20-million Art Museum of Kangaroo Island (AMKI) in South Australia has been revealed. The AMKI Establishment Association has announced that it intends to secure a block outside Kingscote, overlooking the Bay of Shoals. The association aims to obtain the site within the next few months before commencing final designs. […] More
Five architectural teams have been shortlisted as finalists in a Design Excellence Competition for the $180-million redevelopment of Riverside Theatres on the banks of Sydney’s Parramatta River.
The City of Parramatta approved the business case for the redevelopment in January 2023 and, in August, launched a design competition that permitted international architects and designers to be part of an Australian-led design team.
The redevelopment will feature a new 1,350 to 1,400-seat lyric theatre, a refurbished 760-seat riverside playhouse theatre, a new 430-seat multi-mode drama theatre, and an 80 to 90-seat digital studio and cinema. The venue will have more than double the capacity of the existing theatre.
The five shortlisted design teams are:
ARM Architecture (lead architect and urban design) with UN Studio (architecture and urban design), Aspect (landscape architecture), FCAD (designing with Country and emerging practice), Supermanoeuvre (architecture) and Second Edition (architecture and emerging practice)
Cox (lead architect and urban design) with 3XN Studio (architecture), Turf (landscape architecture), Bangawarra (designing with Country) and Aileen Sage (architecture and emerging practice)
Durbach Block Jaggers Architects (lead architect) with Openwork (urban design and landscape architecture), Jiwah (landscape architecture and designing with Country), Retallack Thompson Architects (architecture and emerging practice), Schuler Shook (theatre planning/venue design), Finding Infinity (sustainability) and Suzie Miller (advisor)
Wardle (lead architect and urban design) with REX (architecture), Billy Maynard (architecture and emerging practice), Sue Barnsley Design (landscape architecture), WSP (designing with Country), Charcoalblue (theatre planning/venue design) and Eckersley O’Callaghan (structural engineering)
Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (lead architect) with Spackman Mossop Michaels (landscape architecture and urban design), Sibling Architecture (architecture and emerging practice), Djinjama (designing with Country), and Atelier Ten (sustainability).
City of Parramatta lord mayor Pierre Esber said each of the five finalists had presented the council with the kind of “ingenuity, innovation, imagination, creativity and design talent” they were hoping to see.
“This is more than another performing arts centre – this will be the heart of arts and culture of Greater Sydney, so we want to find the best,” Esber said.
“Our city is committed to the development of Parramatta as a destination and thriving cultural precinct. Through major cultural projects like this, we are pushing the boundaries to make the reimagined Riverside Theatres the next great stage Australian and international performers will be lining up to perform on.
“The Riverside Theatres redevelopment will be a major piece of the growing Parramatta’s night-time economy – helping to further boost our local economy by encouraging more to visit and take in some of the best stage shows in Australia.”
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Indicative render of the redevelopment of Parramatta Riverside Theatres. Image:
City of Parramatta
The design competition jury comprises Abbie Galvin (New South Wales government architect and chair), Jefa Greenaway (director of Greenaway Architects), Craig McMaster (theatre director of Riverside Theatres), Kerry Clare (director of Clare Design) and Oi Choong (founding director of Context Landscape Design).
“Design competitions provide us the privilege of hearing from the deep and diverse talent in the design industry,” jury chair Abbie Galvin said. “The selected teams are clever, thoughtful and highly creative – and we anticipate some delightful responses for this important community facility.”
A concept reference design was approved by the City of Parramatta in May 2022. The project is expected to commence in 2024. More
With every new year comes the delivery of new projects. Here are the major projects we are eager to see in completed condition this 2024:
Australian Opal Centre by Glenn Murcutt, Wendy Lewin, and Dunn and Hillam
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Australian Opal Centre by Glenn Murcutt, Wendy Lewin, and Dunn and Hillam. Image:
Dunn and Hillam
Stage one of the Australian Opal Centre – a $34-million museum that will house a comprehensive collection of gems and other buried treasures found in Australia’s opal fields – is set to open in late 2024. Designed by Wendy Lewin in collaboration with Dunn and Hillam, and based on an initial concept by Wendy Lewin and Pritzker Prize laureate Glenn Murcutt, the building will be sited adjacent to a former opal-mining site in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. It will feature subterranean volumes that will lead visitors deep into the earth, presenting stories of miners, machinery, fossils, and of course the opals themselves.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre by Blight Rayner and Snøhetta
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New Queensland performing arts venue by Blight Rayner and Snøhetta. Image:
Blight Rayner and Snøhetta
This new $150-million theatre in Brisbane’s Southbank is set to become the largest performing arts centre in Australia. The competition winners, Norwegian practice Snøhetta and Brisbane firm Blight Rayner Architecture, vied against 23 other outfits to be crowned design team for the significant cultural project. Their winning design features a glass facade, two new studio spaces and glazed foyer spaces, as well as interwoven references to the region’s First Nations people. The project has taken considerably longer than was first forecast, with initial predictions that it would be completed in 2022.
Barangaroo Pavilion by Spresser and Peter Besley
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Barangaroo Pavilion by Spresser and Peter Besley and Arup. Image:
Spresser and Peter Besley
The result of another design competition, the Barangaroo Pavilion at Watermans Cove is an eagerly awaited project – especially given that one of the primary materials in the composition is local oyster shells. The shells, found locally in Sydney, will be transformed into white “oyster concrete” and used as an essential constituent in 123 columns. The pavilion will also feature a landscaped rooftop garden to provide shade over the meeting place and events space. Architect Jessica Spresser, of the eponymous Brisbane studio Spresser, designed the project in conjunction with fellow architect Peter Besley and Arup.
Sydney Metro by Foster and Partners, and Architectus
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Proposed Sydney Metro station at Pitt Street to be designed by Foster and Partners and Architectus. Image:
Courtesy Transport for NSW
Sydney commuters will rejoice when six new metro train stations, including Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street and Waterloo, commence services in 2024. Latest government communiques have revealed that station works are expected to be completed early in 2024, with Victoria Cross slated as the first station to open. Each station has been designed to be more accessible and inclusive than existing stations by integrating level access between platforms and trains. The 15.5-kilometre Sydney Metro City section of the project received planning approval in January 2017.
Powerhouse Museum Building J by Lahznimmo Architects
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Building J at Museums Discovery Centre, designed by Lahznimmo Architects. Image:
Lahznimmo Architects
The $30-million dollar expansion of Powerhouse Museum’s storage facility and discovery centre in north-west Sydney is complete, but has yet to meet fire regulations – resulting in a delayed opening. Lahznimmo Architects was engaged to bring Building J to life, enabling the Powerhouse Museum to expand its public education programs, workshops, exhibitions and events. According to the design statement, the overall form of the structure is simple and industrial in nature, with a facade that tilts, folds and peels to create openings. More
