Architecture

Australian designers, studios and collectives can now register their interest for the eighth iteration of Melbourne Design Week, taking place from 23 May to 2 June, 2024.
Makers and creators have been invited to submit their innovative and ground-breaking ideas for events, talks, exhibitions, workshops and for the festival’s state-wide satellite program.
Delivered by the National Gallery of Victoria, the annual 11-day festival is a significant platform for emerging and established designers, educators, enthusiasts, thinkers and businesses to share inventive ideas, showcase projects and connect with those in the industry.
The festival will once again call on creatives to “design the world they want”, with the theme for 2024 focusing on three key design pillars: ecology, ethics and energy.
Director of NGV Tony Ellwood encouraged innovators to get involved in the free event.
“If you have a story to tell, new work to unveil, an idea to discuss, an issue to debate – Melbourne Design Week is made for you,” Ellwood said.
“At its heart, Melbourne Design Week is a festival of ideas, which is why we’ve made it completely free for anyone from our rich and diverse design community to present bold new events in 2024. The success of Melbourne Design Week is due in no small part to the enthusiastic engagement and participation from the design sector – and we can’t wait to share your achievements in 2024.”

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Design House by Oigall Projects. Image:

Annika Kafcaloudis

Accounting for approximately 90 per cent of the festival’s programming, the state-wide satellite program will host events in studios, retail spaces, universities, galleries, gardens and public spaces in Victoria.
Highlights of the 2023 satellite program included Hard, an exhibition showcasing queer creatives from Australia; Im-Permanent, a mycelium exhibition developed through a collaboration between RMIT University academics from an industrial design program and creatives and strategists from social impact agency Ellis Jones; and a joint project between Tait, Agency and Numbulwar Numburindi Arts, involving a reimagining Tait’s Tidal chair using discarded ghost fishing nets that have washed up on the shores of the remote Numbulwar community. 
Expressions of interest for the Melbourne Design Week are open until Thursday, 23 November, 2023.

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Monolithic by Two Lines Studio. Image:

Monolithic Craft

Coinciding with Melbourne Design Week is the ten-year anniversary of the Melbourne Art Book Fair, which will be held across the same dates, between Thursday, 23 May and Sunday, 2 June, 2024.
Expressions of interest for the fair are also open, with the event showcasing the work of artists, publishers and designers in bookshops, galleries, libraries, community centres, and public gardens across Victoria.   
The first weekend of the Melbourne Art Book Fair will feature the popular stallholder fair in NGV’s Great Hall, giving visitors the opportunity to explore and purchase unique printed materials from outstanding local and international publishers and designers.   
Melbourne Design Week is an initiative of the Victorian government, delivered through their Creative Victoria program.
Since its inception, the program has grown in scope and popularity from just under 100 programs in 2017 to over 350 in 2023. More than 70,000 people attended the 2023 festival making it a highly acclaimed national design event. More

The $154.7 million redevelopment of the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) Ground, designed by Cox Architecture and Plan E, is one step closer to taking shape following endorsement from the Board of WA Cricket.
The ground, which was last redeveloped in 2002, will reduce its capacity from 20,000 to 10,000.
Plans show a new pavilion at the northern end of the ground, a community resort-style six-lane 50-metre pool on the outer rim of the field, a 25-metre indoor learn to swim pool, tiered seating and shaded open grass spaces.

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$154.7 million redevelopment of the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) Ground has been endorsed. Image:

Cox Architecture

Offering a suite amenities for community use year-round, the complex will house a public health and fitness facility with a sports medicine and rehabilitation centre, high performance cricket centre with 10-lane indoor cricket centre, childcare and creche provisions, a museum, café and function centre, as well as accesible features, such as sensory rooms and an all-abilities playground.
The multi-sports arena will have the ability to be transformed into a live entertainment and performance venue.
Constructon is underway with two stands, the Inverarity and Prindiville, which were demolished to make room for the pavilion. The indoor centre was demolished in early 2023, the light towers refurbished and the oval increased in length to facilitate the return of football at the venue. The Lillee-Marsh Stand, Players’ Pavilion and South West Pavilion will be retained.
The vision behind the design is to provide a multi-use, inclusive community and high performance sporting space with wide-reaching social and health benefits to the East Perth region. The museum’s revitalization will seek to reflect the history of the ground by honouring the sport, sporting legends and the traditional owners of the land on which the arena sits.
A First Nations narrative will also be integrated into the design of the project.
The project is a key part of the Perth City Deal, a tripartite funding arrangement between the federal and state governments and the City of Perth. In April 2023, the WA government announced it would provide an additional $32.2 million in funding on top of the $30 million it had already committed to. Total funding for the WACA Ground Improvement Project is $107.2 million, with the Australian government, WA government, WA Cricket Foundation, and Cricket Australia all contributing to the project. A further $47.5 million has been allocated to the development of hte aquatic facility.
The Ground Improvement Project is expected to be completed by September 2024. More

Global design blog Dezeen has announced the longlist for its 2023 awards, with more than 200 projects making the cut across 13 architecture categories and 150 projects in nine interior categories. Australian projects fared particularly well in the residential categories with projects from Melbourne among the top seven locations in the longlist. The longlisted Australian […] More

When Corporate Culture founder and CEO Richard Munao rang Mark Tuckey in March this year, it was to help a friend of his business acquire a timber dining table. Little did he know that this casual phone call would lead to an acquisition of his own, and one on a very different scale.
During the call, Tuckey confided that after several decades at the helm of his eponymous timber furniture business, and various ups and downs that life had thrown his way, he was ready for a change. Knowing the strength of the Mark Tuckey brand and the quality of its product, and mindful of the importance of preserving local design and manufacturing, Munao started thinking.

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The existing Mark Tuckey workshop and showroom in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Thornbury will remain at the core of the business. Image: Supplied

“Two days later, I rang him back and said, ‘Mark, if you don’t mind sharing the numbers with me, I’ll have a look at it’,” he recalls. “I went out to the factory, met the team and could see that they know very well how to make beautiful product. But I wanted to be sure that we could add value to the Mark Tuckey business, and I felt that we could, particularly through our strength in sales and marketing.”
Less than six months after that initial conversation, the deal was finalised, with the official change of ownership on 1 September. Mark Tuckey is now part of the group that includes Cult Design’s operations in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, Hay Shops in Sydney and Melbourne, the Cultivated product-stewardship program and the Nau design brand.
Munao’s focus on sales and marketing points to an opportunity for Mark Tuckey to become more active in the commercial furniture sector. But he also flags efficiencies through vertical integration (“making great value products that last a lifetime and taking them to market at a more affordable price”) and bringing the Mark Tuckey team’s manufacturing capabilities to the Nau range (“getting our design network to use that expertise and potentially give it a bit of a fresh look as well”) as benefits that convinced him that the acquisition made sense.
“I’m not taking up something that I need to completely change,” Munao says. “I’m taking on something that hopefully, with an injection of new energy and direction into the future, will turn into an even greater business.”
You can read more about the acquisition at the Cult Design website. More

A development application for a multi-facility seniors housing development in Cremorne, North Sydney, has been lodged, with designs by Chrofi and MDP Architecture, and landscape by Svalbe and Co and Brendan Moar. The application for Pathways Cremorne Seniors Housing, located at 50-88 Parraween Street and 59-67 Gerard Street, seeks approval for the construction of a […] More

The Australian Institute of Architects says architects should be engaged to ensure design innovation and sustainability are at the forefront of the planned $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), following a political agreement between Labor and the Greens to pass the bill in the Senate.
On Monday, 11 September, Greens leader Adam Bandt announced support for the fund, which proposes the delivery of 30,000 social and affordable rental homes in five years.
Institute national president Stuart Tanner said any new housing developed under the planned legislation should meet climate and livability requirements to ensure durability and longevity.
He said it is imperative that the quality of homes being delivered is not impacted or compromised by the quantity and any associated time pressures.
“We need good housing, not any housing,” Tanner said.
“People deserve livable housing that is more than just a roof over one’s head. These dwellings must be high-quality builds that will not only serve this generation but the generations to come. That is a fundamental aspect of sustainability.”

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Anne Street Garden Villas by Anna O’Gorman Architect received a National Award for Multiple Housing at the 2022 National Architecture Awards. Image:

Christopher Frederick Jones

Tanner said involving registered architects throughout the development process would assist with ensuring designs are future-oriented and lasting.
“Architects develop housing that focuses on livability,” he said.
“Our members are design professionals, they know how to make the most of a budget through orientation, cost-effective and sustainable materials and design. Architects also have the professional expertise to steward the entire process, including construction.”
The Institute rejected calls for shortcuts and watered down approaches to design, saying that sacrificing quality would end up costing more in the long run.
“It will not save money if the building requires substantial retrofitting because of poor material choice, orientation or execution in the building stage,” Tanner said.
The Institute extended an invitation to federal ministers to show them examples of architecturally designed social and affordable housing models, which have incorporated functional, resilient and sustainable design elements.

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St Albans Housing by NMBW Architecture Studio in association with Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA) received a National Commendation in the 2022 National Architecture Awards. Image:

Peter Bennetts

“Having grown up in government housing himself, the prime minister would be amazed at what architect-designed social and affordable housing can provide today,” Tanner said.
“We will invite Anthony Albanese and Julie Collins to visit the great work our members are doing. The value of good design goes beyond aesthetics. Good design ensures resilient communities.
“Architects are positive, innovative and adaptable. We strive to future proof our built environment to lead to quality and longevity. Do it once and do it well.” More

When the 2023 Sydney Design Week “Amodern” launches on 15 September, its program of more than 60 talks, tours, exhibitions, workshops and films, will present macro and micro ideas to highlight six platforms: Eco Systems, Material Cultures, Communal Cities, Micro Cycles, Connected Threads and Photofields.
Conceptually shaped by the writings of the late French philosopher, Bruno Latour, who advocated for a stronger connection between nature and society, Amodern will take the public inside urgent social, environmental and ethical issues to meet designers, researchers and architects at the forefront of change.

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Keinton Butler, creative director of Sydney Design Week and senior curator, design and architecture at the Powerhouse Museum. Image:

Sean Slattery

“We wanted to include as many new voices as possible this year,” remarks Keinton Butler, the festival’s creative director, and senior curator, design and architecture at the Powerhouse Museum, as we discuss the program that is tantalizingly broad in scope and layered in research and action, poised to upend the status quo. “The idea is to open up the discussion around entrenched ideas and narratives about production and consumption, and to involve greater Sydney and some of the practices we haven’t worked with before. I think with the sociological and ecological context in which design operates, where designers are tasked with responding to the changing climate, design practices are becoming more cross-disciplinary and complex as a result.”
New voices, talent and perspectives are front and centre, with each platform investigated by curators across a range of design disciplines and industries. Architecture Amplified’s Kate Goodwin and co-director of Sibling, Qianyi Lim, are behind the Building Communities Symposium that will explore how built environments can provide cohesion and belonging for different communities. Wiradjuri anti-disciplinary artist and Powerhouse design resident, Joel Sherwood Spring, has curated “Objects testify: to understand the impact of Australia’s built environment on First Nations communities at a very important moment. While the multifaceted urban food program part of Eco Systems curated by Megafauna’s Xinyi Lim, explores the way design practices and new technologies are finding inventive solutions to secure the city’s food systems at a time of growth and climatic extremes.

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UTS’s Material Ecologies Design Lab (MEDL) will present research into algae and biomaterials, rubber and glass circularity. Image:

Courtesy Powerhouse Museum

Other standouts include the exhibition and workshop series inside UTS’s Material Ecologies Design Lab (MEDL) and the team’s fascinating research into algae and biomaterials, rubber and glass circularity; Modest Fashion Design Studio’s exploration of cultural identity and emerging talent in Parramatta; the future of food production in action at Jiwah Indigenous Rooftop Farming in South Eveleigh, Urban Green Sydney in a carpark below Barangaroo, the National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre and Warragamba Dam; the story of Liddell Power Station’s metamorphosis into a clean energy hub for the contemporary photography commission “Yesterday New Future”; and the PHIVE Building Communities Symposium that explores the interrelationship between architecture, community and equitable environments through walks, talks and site-specific performances.
The 2023 Sydney Design Week’s keynote address will be delivered by South Korean designer Kwangho Lee. The program opens the door to the diversity of practice and the creative minds working across Sydney’s design scene.
“This design week is hopefully going to plant a seed for new ideas and approaches,” continues Butler, who has been involved in every element of a program that builds on her curatorial interest in designers responding to social, ethical and environmental issues. “Warragamba Dam provides 80 percent of Sydney’s drinking water so that draws on larger issues around design, water usage, energy and food production. While, on a molecular level, algae, fungi and micro-plastics all highlight a connection between nature and society. These are all very potent ideas for us in responding to the changing climate and the work that needs to happen, and I feel incredibly optimistic. I hope the public gets that feeling too.”
See the full program for Sydney Design Week. More

The Design Institute of Australia (DIA) has revealed the winners of its flagship program for talented, budding designers, the Graduate of the Year Awards 2023 (GOTYA).
The program received 163 nominations, of which 73 were shortlisted and nine reaped the prestigious Australian prize.
The 2023 guest jurors included Alena Smith, Csilla Csabai, David Smith, Evan Reeves, Harriet Sutherland, Jack Flanagan, Jan-Marie Jaillei, Jayden Lim, Kate Bednarz, Nicole Gemlitski, Paloma Hodgins, Peter Lambert, Sally Evans, Sara Horstmann, Spiroula Stathakis, and Timothy Wilkinson.
DIA CEO Jo-Ann Kellock said GOTYA is a critical program for up-and-coming designers, who presented a mix of concepts, technical drawings and prototypes.
“It connects Australia’s emerging designers and unites them with our most respected educators and designers from leading design practices,” Kellock said.
“This year, we introduced three new cross-disciplinary design categories: Place, Use and Interact. The graduates presented projects with an expansive scope and ambition, spanning diverse mediums. They proposed human-centred design solutions focusing on behaviours, technology, our environment and our impact on emotional, mental, and physical well-being.
“Comprehensive portfolios highlighted the dedication to leveraging design to improve people’s lives and positively impact society.”
Australian Graduates of the Year Awards 2023 major category winners
Place ­– category winners
Sandra Srun, University of New South Wales
Kate Masters, Sydney Design School
Use – category winners
Joanne Odisho, RMIT University
Isobel Baker, University of Technology Sydney
Interact ­– category winners
Gabrielle Versace, Swinburne University of Technology
Zoey Portilla, North Metropolitan TAFE
State Graduates of the Year Awards 2023 winners
Western Australia Graduate of the Year
Elena-Dea Burger, Curtin University
South Australia Graduate of the Year
Jamieson Davis, University of South Australia
Victoria Graduate of the Year
Joanne Odisho, RMIT University
Queensland Graduate of the Year
Liam Georgeson, Queensland University of Technology
New South Wales Graduate of the Year
Sandra Srun, University of New South Wales
The national graduate of the year, recipient of the Madeleine Lester Award, will be announced on Thursday, 2 November, in Sydney to coincide with the Designers Australia Awards 2023 major category winners and the recipient of the President’s Prize announcement. More