Architecture

A new 56-storey Sydney skyscraper proposed on the site of the 42-storey 1979 Pacific Power office building, designed by Kann, Finch and Partners – which was last refurbished 2006 – has secured development approval from the NSW government. Located on the western edge of Hyde Park in the CBD, the approved design from FJC Studio for property developer Charter Hall includes a hotel and apartment tower on a near-island site bordered by Castlereagh Street and Park Street, with an address at 201 Elizabeth Street.
According to FJC Studio’s design report, “This is a significant site in the city, at the edge of our greatest urban park and central city threshold of Park Street.” They note that the project “marks a significant change to our city-making with the removal of a dominant tower overshadowing our park, and a collaboration of public and private interests to achieve a more sustainable, public and pedestrian-focused urbanism.”

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The firm was awarded the project following their success in a 2018 architectural design competition for the site involving six competitor teams. FJC Studio’s scheme, which remains true to their competition-winning design, involves a tri-partite cluster of interconnected towers at differing heights, fanned to capture north-eastern views of Hyde Park and Sydney Harbour.
At its base, the scheme’s 13-storey high podium is described by FJC Studio “as a piece of urban repair, addressing the existing gap in the streetscape” on Elizabeth Street and creating a corner linkage to Park Street. At the heart of the podium design, a north-west to south-east diagonal cross-block link called Anzac Parkway is designed to enhance the pedestrian permeability of the site and create a visual axis with the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park. In addition, the podium is set back on the south to create a new east-west pedestrian lane centred on the spire of the 155-year-old St George’s Church.

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The podium includes a mix of retail and hospitality frontages that engage with the street on the ground floor, with 441 hotel rooms, function spaces and amenities located above. The tower, comprised of three interconnected forms, includes a mix of one- to four-bed dwellings, totalling 264 apartments. Residential amenities, including a pool, a gym, a kitchen, music practice rooms and a landscaped terrace, are located on the rooftop of the podium.
Despite the initial proposal having exceeded the approved building envelope, the competition jury showed support on the proviso that the extent of overshadowing be reduced – a condition FJC Studio claim to have addressed in the approved development. According to the firm’s report, modifications to the design concept also address the jury’s recommendation to resolve the architectural expression and programmatic functioning, noting that “through collaboration, this [revised] proposal seeks to stretch the boundaries of the concept approval, yielding measurable public, environmental benefits.”

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One of these is the calibration of the new tower form to provide Anzac Memorial with solar access on Anzac Day, with FJC Studio ensuring “that the northern steps are not overshadowed on this day of remembrance.”
Much like the memorial, the project adopts a material language grounded in its locale, including Yellowblock sandstone, quarried in the Sydney basin. Glass-reinforced concrete is complemented with bronze and white metal finishes, as well as bronze-tinted and clear glazing.
For FJC Studio, the development represents “a unique opportunity to provide … an exceptional experience, blending luxury with the natural beauty of the park. The design aims to enhance the urban gateway site, making a significant contribution to the streetscape while establishing a refined and inviting presence that reflects both the city’s heritage and its vibrant future.”
Details of the approved state significant development can be viewed online. More

Entries are currently open for the 2026 AA Prize for Unbuilt Work, which rewards compelling work in its conceptual stages.
Architects, landscape architects, planners, urban designers, interior designers, and students of these disciplines are all eligible to submit their unrealised designs.
A cash prize of $2,500 will be awarded by the jury, which is comprised of esteemed industry voices. Each member of the 2026 jury has made their own contribution to expanding the built environment conversation, through practice, research and advocacy.
Ingrid Bakker has worked in architecture and interior design for more than 25 years and for more than half that time she’s been helping turn Hassell into the competitive, international design practice it is today. Ingrid has led teams on a large variety of workplace, residential, hospitality, retail and commercial projects and is highly experienced in project delivery and client liaison.
Kirsteen Mackay was appointed as South Australian Government Architect in 2015 and leads the Office for Design and Architecture SA, which oversees the state’s design review programs, provides independent design advice across state and local governments, administers legislation on behalf of cabinet and supports strategic projects and policy development.
Deo Prasad is an internationally recognised expert in the field of environment and sustainability with a focus on net zero carbon innovations. His experience covers practice as a consultant, long-standing experience as a thought leader and a distinguished academic, and significant leadership and governance expertise.
Stuart Vokes is an architect and co-founder of Brisbane-based Vokes and Peters. Recognised for its private houses and sustained research into suburban Brisbane, the practice also works across a range of cultural and commercial projects, including social housing and heritage conservation, furniture and teaching.
Jury chair Georgia Birks is the associate editor of Architecture Australia, a graduate of architecture and a proud descendant of the Birpai, Dunghutti and Kamilaroi people. Georgia is the curator for Design Speaks, a member of the Australian Institute of Architects First Nations Advisory Committee and a member of the City of Melbourne’s Design Excellence Advisory Committee.
Entries for the 2026 AA Prize for Unbuilt can be submitted until 22 August 2025, at which date projects must be unbuilt.
The shortlist will be published on ArchitectureAu on Thursday 13 November 2025.
Awarded schemes will be published on ArchitectureAu on Thursday 15 January 2026. They will also be published in the January 2026 issue of Architecture Australia.
The AA Prize for Unbuilt Work is organised by Architecture Media, and supported by presenting partner Adelaide University. More

Masterplanning is now underway to relocate the City of Gold Coast council chambers from its existing location within the Home of The Arts (HOTA) cultural precinct.
While plans are yet to be confirmed, the council has revealed it is exploring opportunities for relocation as part of a long-term strategy to centralise the city’s civic and administrative services in a single location. The move would also allow the HOTA precinct to be fully dedicated to cultural and creative functions.
The current chambers are sited at 135 Bundall Road and are being considered for relocation to the western side of Bundall Road. The recently acquired Wyndham Building and Corporate Centre within the Bundall Precinct are being evaluated as potential sites for the new chambers. It has not yet been confirmed whether the existing chambers will be demolished or retained.
Urbis has prepared preliminary renders while an architect for the project is yet to be engaged and detailed design to be undertaken.

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A spokesperson for the council said the current chambers “occupy some of the most strategically important land on the Gold Coast.”
“This is a once in a generation opportunity to rethink how we use one of our most valuable civic assets,” the spokesperson said. “Relocating the chambers will allow us to explore bold new uses for the HOTA site, aligned with our long term vision for the precinct as a cultural and creative hub for the city.”

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The spokesperson said the move also supports broader financial and operational objectives.
“Our recent acquisition of the Wyndham Building and the Corporate Centre in the Bundall Precinct presents significant opportunities to reshape how and where our workforce operates, including the potential development of a purpose built chambers facility.”
The council chambers masterplan will be presented to the council once finalised. In addition, council remains committed to plans for a new lyric theatre in the HOTA precinct. More

The second episode of the newly launched Design Speaks Weekly podcast, released today, reveals some of Australian architect Glenn Murcutt’s most significant lessons in design.

Winner of numerous prestigious awards, notably the Australian Institute of Architects’ 1992 Gold Medal, and the 2002 Pritzker Prize, Glenn Murcutt has witnessed a changing world of architectural practice over his near-60-year career.
In the episode, he joins Architecture Media editorial director Katelin Bulter to discuss poetics and pragmatism in architecture, reflecting on how the creative spirit of architecture survives in an evolving industry, and offering insights from his earliest and most recent projects.
Design Speaks Weekly is presented in partnership with the Australian Institute of Architects and with support from Lysaght. A fresh episode will be delivered every Tuesday. You can listen to it on major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. More

The Victorian government has announced an amendment to the state’s planning schemes that will streamline the approval process for dwellings on lots smaller than 300 square metres.
Introduced as the Single Home Code, the amendment allows new single homes and small secondary dwellings on lots smaller than 300 square metres to be approved without a full assessment – provided they meet specific design standards related to setbacks, tree canopy, solar access and street amenity.
According to a government communique, neighbours will still be notified and invited to provide feedback on the proposal. However, if the proposed dwelling meets the standards, “there will be no VCAT appeals or costly delays.”
Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny said the amendment aims to cut red tape and accelerate the delivery of homes.
“This is another way we’re making our planning system say ‘yes’ – yes to well-designed homes, yes to more homes, and yes to people making the most of the land they already have,” said Kilkenny. “If your proposal meets the standards, you should be able to get on and build. That’s what these changes deliver – faster decisions, less stress and more homes where we need them.”
The code will apply across all residential zones in Victoria.
The amendment is the latest effort by the Victorian government to streamline the planning process for new dwellings on small lots. It follows revisions to the Small Lot Housing Code in December 2024, which refined design standards and extended permit exemptions for compliant homes on lots less than 100 square metres.
The communique noted that work is also underway on a new set of design standards for mid-rise residential developments between four and six storeys, with “targeted consultation on the standards with industry peak bodies and all 79 councils to begin soon.” More

Brisbane City Council’s decision to approve a 17-storey residential development in Albion, Brisbane, is being fought by the owner of the neighbouring Breakfast Creek Hotel, who has lodged an appeal with the Planning and Environment Court.
Established in 1889, the heritage-listed hotel and pub, designed by Simkin and Ibler, has been on the state’s register since 1992. The site’s current owner, ALH Group, contends that the proposed development, designed by architecture practice Jackson Teece, is inappropriate in respect of height, setback and site coverage, as well as overshadowing and overlooking of the hotel.
“The proposed development will cause overshadowing that will result in the degradation of the amenity of the Breakfast Creek Hotel, specifically impacting the patron seating area and beer garden, which will degrade the hotel’s historic aesthetic and experience for patrons,” the appeal reads.

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Property developer DRJ Investments obtained approval for the project in May this year, despite council having received 14 objections and only five supporting responses to the proposal.
Their proposal comprises 199 dwellings above a five-storey basement carpark. The scheme’s four-storey podium – calibrated to match the height of the Breakfast Creek Hotel, and bordered by a landscaped edge that wraps the south-facing creek and east-facing hotel sides – includes a lobby and restaurant on the ground floor. According to the architect’s design report, “The podium will appear as a singular organic natural rock form, erroded [sic] to provide habitable balconies with ledges and outcrops where landscape will appear to naturally grow.”
A communal pool and gym, along with indoor and outdoor recreation spaces are proposed on the rooftop. Place Design Group designed the landscaping across the scheme.

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In respect of potential overlooking, Jackson Teece note in their design report that “the proposal seeks to sympathetically respond to the existing Breakfast Creek Hotel and provide complementary uses to further enhance the precinct and establish improved surveillance and activation.”
As part of their masterplan for the precinct, the firm’s design includes a potential public plaza on the side of the hotel. They note that the “proposed development provides an opportunity to renew and further establish a highly activated and people-oriented precinct. The existing Breakfast Creek Hotel, a rare and historic cultural icon, is central to our consideration for the revitalisation of the precinct.”
A defence has not yet been filed and no date yet set for the court hearing. More

Adelaide will join Australia’s major cultural capitals in hosting Adelaide Design Week, set to debut from 20–24 August 2025.
Transforming galleries, laneways and pop-up spaces across the CBD, the five-day event will showcase more than 100 exhibitions, talks, workshops and tours, celebrating South Australia’s rich design talent and economy, which is valued at $1.8 billion and supports 15,000 jobs.
An exciting lineup is taking shape with over 100 designers and makers confirmed, including 2049, 4th Floor Elevator, Fab Workshop, Form-S, Futurejuice, Hugo Michell Gallery, JamFactory, RMIT, Soda Objects, Longplay, Studio Gram, Estilo, 1K Chairs, UniSA, University of Adelaide and more.

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Speaking on behalf of Adelaide Design Week, Sophia Leopardi, director at WBL said, “There’s a growing need not just for visibility, but for connection. This event gives us a moment to pause, come together, and reflect on how our work shapes – and is shaped by – this city. By nurturing what’s emerging here – the talent, the ideas, the uniquely Adelaide sensibility – we’re not only enriching our local culture; we’re contributing something quietly powerful and distinct to the broader design conversation. In a fast-moving world, moments like this matter. They carve out space for the conversations that don’t happen in the rush – the ones that inspire, challenge, and reconnect us to the deeper ‘why’ behind what we do.”
Titled “Everywhere”, the festival comes amid growing concerns about Adelaide’s creative “brain drain,” with CityMag warning of young talent leaving the state. In September 2024 alone, South Australia recorded a net interstate loss of 1,554 residents.
Festival organisers hope to reverse that trend by putting Adelaide’s design sector in the national spotlight. A central festival hub will offer way-finding, daily programming and networking opportunities, while visiting audiences are expected to provide a winter boost to local hospitality and retail businesses. More

Plans for a new building within the grounds of Sydney’s – and Australia’s – oldest surviving Catholic church have been greenlit for development. Situated within the St Mary’s Cathedral precinct, located east of Hyde Park in Sydney’s CBD, the approved new chancery building, designed by Candalepas Associates, is replete with a bookshop, a cafe and community meeting rooms.
The design adopts a square-like floorplate on the site of an existing car park, located between the current cathedral – built between 1866–1928 to the design of William Wardell – and a former school known as Chapter House. Both buildings fall under a single listing on the NSW state heritage register.
According to a communique from Candalepas Associates, “this location was intended to accommodate the Archiepiscopal residence as part of the original masterplan … That building was never realised; however, its implied presence – evident in corbelling left in the cathedral’s sacristy wall – has informed the current architectural approach.”
The architecture firm noted that the chancery’s “position at the junction of multiple programs – administrative, ceremonial, liturgical and public – allows it to act as a transitional element within the site’s larger spatial and functional framework.” Their vision was guided by the chancery as a “supporting building, both in use and architectural character,” yet significant in its contribution “to a more legible precinct identity.”
Taking cues from the massing and positioning of Chapter Hall, the approved chancery extends the materiality and rhythm of the precinct by adopting a formal language of sandstone arches and timber-framed openings across the lower levels, offering a contemporary translation of traditional cloisters. The third storey, which is defined by a glazed perimeter, is capped by a thin, hipped roof.

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Internally, the chancery is designed to offer flexible workspaces with generous access to daylight and framed views of the cathedral. As part of the architect’s environmental strategy, the project employs durable natural materials, adopts a geothermal heat exchange system for heating and cooling, and includes rooftop solar photovoltaic panels.
Executive director of administration and finance for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney Michael Digges commented that the project is part of a long-term vision for the St Mary’s precinct.
“As the mother Church of Australia, St Mary’s Cathedral is not only important for the faithful in Sydney, but for Catholics who visit from Australia and overseas. It also provides a place of prayer, solace and wonder for people of other faiths and even of no faith. The Archdiocese is steadfast in our stewardship of the St Mary’s Cathedral Shrine and precinct, and to ensuring it will serve Catholics and the broader community for centuries to come.”

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The decision to approve Candalepas Associates’ design was granted by the NSW Land and Environment Court last week following a hearing between the Archdiocese of Sydney, and the City of Sydney and the Heritage Council of NSW, who had argued against the proposal.
Having been first presented to the City of Sydney in 2021, the initial six-storey scheme submitted for development approval in December 2023 was amended to the three-storey version at the council’s request, but ultimately refused by the council. The archdiocese filed an appeal of the decision in July 2024.
In the recent June hearing, court commissioner Timothy Horton declared that the project exemplified “a high standard of architectural design, materials and detailing appropriate to the building type and location.”
Digges noted, “We are grateful that the appeal was upheld, and confident that if built, this new building will provide wonderful new facilities for the cathedral parish, worshippers and visitors to the site, as well as new chancery offices.” More