Architecture

A five-tower mixed complex has been proposed for the centre of Adelaide, which will accommodate a 220-room hotel and 600 residential apartments, as well retail, wellness and recreation facilities.
Designed by Elenberg Fraser with landscape architecture by TCL, the $1.25 billion project is proposed for the former Australia Post site on the corner of Grote and Gouger Streets.
The site is, incidentally, one of three Australian Institute of Architects’ alternative suggestions for the proposed Women’s and Children’s hospital.
The towers will range between 15 to 28 storeys high. Tower 1, housing a hotel and facing Grote Street, will be 17 storey, and its design will retain the existing Walton’s Biscuit Factory facade.
The remaining four towers will accommodate residential apartments, with 90 units reserved for affordable housing, thanks to an affordable housing overlay on the site that allows the developer, Gurner, to exceed the height limits for the area. The affordable housing units will be dispersed among towers 2, 4, and 5. Tower 3, the tallest of the five towers at 28 storeys, will occupy the prominent corner of Blenheim and Gouger Streets.

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Tower 3 in the proposed Grote and Gouger designed by Elenberg Fraser and TCL. Image:

Elenberg Fraser and TCL

The proponents say the project is “aiming to achieve the most significant carbon-neutral project in the city.”
“The design of the project draws inspiration from the rich architectural heritage of Adelaide, specifically emphasizing the principles of order, symmetry, and the repetition of elemental and local materials,” said the architects in the projects planning application. “Influenced by the city’s historic buildings, the design seeks to create a harmonious and visually appealing environment. By carefully analyzing the architectural language of the heritage structures, the project incorporates similar design elements to evoke a sense of continuity and connection to the past. The use of locally sourced materials not only pays homage to the region’s heritage but also contributes to the sustainability and authenticity of the design.
“The design of the towers takes inspiration from classic modernism buildings. Drawing from modernist houses, the tower design seamlessly integrating lush greenery and terraces that blur the boundaries between the built environment and the natural world.”
The towers will be connected a private network of laneways and gardens as well as a “cenote” at the centre of the site that will form a plaza.
The application will be considered by the State Commission Assessment Panel on 8 November. The planning report recommends consent be granted. More

The South Australian government has unveiled designs for a $74 million upgrade to Noarlunga Hospital in Adelaide’s southern suburbs. The government first announced the redevelopment project in January 2023. Wiltshire Swain Architects and GHD Woodhead were appointed by SA Health and Department for Infrastructure and Transport to design the upgrade in consultation with clinical teams […] More

The ACT government has announced a new six-storey office complex will be built adjacent to the existing Constitution Place in the centre of Canberra. Designed by Bates Smart, the $150 million development will be situated on the corner of Vernon Circle and Constitution Avenue, adjacent to the existing Constitution Place, also designed by Bates Smart, […] More

The University of Sydney’s Fisher Library celebrates 60th anniversary on 6 November 2023.
Designed by NSW Government Architects Office (architect: Ted Farmer, designers: Ken Woolley and Tom O’Mahoney), Fisher Library broke the mold of traditional academic libraries.
“The new library marked a transition from an older conception of the institute as a privileged enclave of scholarship and elite networking towards a modern, knowledge-centred public resource,” wrote Cameron Logan in Australia Modern (Hannah Lewi and Philip Goad (eds), Thames and Hudson).
Fisher Library was constructed in two stages. The first, a five-storey column-and-slab structure housed the undergraduate library. It had an open terrace on the top floor which, to mark the 60th anniversary, will reopen for the first time in 30 years.

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The roof terrace on the top floor of the undergraduate library will be reopened for the first time in 30 years. Image:

Courtesy University of Sydney

At the completion of the first stage in 1962, the building received the Sulman Medal (the highest award for public architecture in New South Wales), and a Bronze Medal from the Royal institute of British Architects.
The second stage comprised an eight-storey book-stack building, which was linked to the earlier building via a vestibule.
At the time of its construction, Fisher Library was the first building in Australia to use reverse cycle air-conditioning.
Fisher Library was a place for students to meet and collaborate. It had telephone booths, lounges, a music listening area.

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Fisher Library originally housed a music listening room. Image:

Courtesy University of Sydney

“Known for its modernist and celebrated architecture, Fisher Library as we know it now was officially opened in 1963 at a time of great social change and investment in education,” said Philip Kent, librarian at the University of Sydney.
Fisher Library is heritage listed in the City of Sydney. Its statement of heritage significance described the building as “a triumph of modernist theory.”
“The horizontality of the Undergraduate Wing is balanced by the vertical emphasis of the Bookstack, resulting in a functional articulation which is the most resolved of the University’s post-war modern buildings,” the statement reads.
“The Fisher Library is one of the buildings at the University of Sydney which makes the university an outstanding architectural precinct.” More

What do painting robot dogs, an eight-metre-long bronze eel trap and Yoko Ono have in common? They are all set to feature at the long-anticipated 2023 NGV Triennial.
Bringing contemporary art, design and architecture into dialogue with one another, the upcoming Triennial will showcase nearly 75 projects with more than 25 making their world debut.
The latest Triennial is centred around three thematic pillars: Magic, Matter, and Memory. The theme of Magic will delve into belief systems, allegory, symbolism and human spirituality, while Matter will explore nature, materials and making. Memory will shine a light on the histories of people, places and objects that have contributed to the complex tapestry of contemporary society.
Visitors will encounter an array of art forms and disciplines presented by 100 international artists. Some of the celebrated and emerging creatives on the bill include Sheila Hicks (USA), Tracey Emin (UK), Betty Muffler (Australia), David Shrigley (UK), Maison Schiaparelli (France), Maurizio Cattelan (Italy), Shakuntala Kulkarni (India), Lin Fanglu (China), Ivan Navarro (Chile), Petrit Halilaj (Kosovo), Ihor Okuniev (Ukraine), Ezz Monem (Egypt), Thomas J Price (UK), Iris van Herpen (Netherlands), Jean Jullien (France), Fernando Laposse (Mexico), Azuma Makoto (Japan), Flora Yukhnovich (UK), Yee I-Lann (Malaysia), Farrokh Mahdavi (Iran), Hugh Hayden (USA), Elmgreen and Dragset (Denmark, Norway).

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Basia and Bunny collaborate on their artwork. Image:

Pilat Studios

Highlights include an interactive display by Polish-born, LA-based artist Agnieszka Pilat who has trained Boston Dynamics robot dogs to paint autonomously – a breakthrough in her practice that explores the power of technology in contemporary society. Audiences can witness the three AI-programmed dogs paint large-scale canvases in real time. Pilat imagines that in the distant future these paintings will be revered as the first primitive art of AI-enabled robots.

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Portrait of featured artist Aunty Kim Wandin. Image:

Brett Walker

An eight-metre-long bronze eel trap by Wurundjeri artist Aunty Kim Wandin will be installed in the moat of NGV International. Visible to Melbournians twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, this major new work acknowledges the profound connections between Wurundjeri people and the lands and waterways that they have been custodians of for generations. The sculpture is a tribute to the history of Wurundjeri women, the tradition of weaving, and their relationship with the short-finned eel, known in their language as Iuk.
An exciting selection of recently acquired works by British artist Tracey Emin, whose autobiographical and confessional practice spans film, painting, drawing, installation and sculpture. Featured works include a five-metre-high text-based neon light installation of Emin’s own handwriting, abstract and tactile bronze sculptures, as well as paintings that confront intense emotions such as anguish and elation.

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Azuma Makoto introduces an installation that fills an entire room with beautiful flowers and botanicals frozen into blocks. Image:

Courtesy of Azuma Makoto

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Azuma Makoto botanical display. Image:

Courtesy of Azuma Makoto

Tokyo-based artist Azuma Makoto introduces an installation that fills an entire room with beautiful flowers and botanicals frozen into crystalline acrylic blocks. A homage to the magical beauty and lifeforce of plants, the artist places these jewel-like sculptural elements in dialogue with a beguiling multi-screen film depicting the life and death of flowers. Through the installation, Azuma invites observers to explore the complex and fragile relationship between humans and plants.
David Shrigley, known for his darkly humorous works that consider the absurdity of everyday life, will present his monumental public sculpture, Really Good, 2016. The work was conceived in the immediate aftermath of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. Taking the form of a seven-metre-high thumbs-up, the sculpture is characteristic of the self-conscious irony often found in Shrigley’s work and is intended as both a satirical and sincere gesture.

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My Mommy Is Beautiful by Yoko Ono, 2004/2021 Installation View, Mutter!, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany, 2021. Image:

Heiko Daniels

Counter-culture icon Yoko Ono will present a large-scale text-based work on the façade of NGV International. Boldly declaring “I Love You Earth”, her text works have appeared on billboards and banners across cities and public spaces around the world ahead of its Australian premiere. The NGV Triennial will also feature Ono’s participatory work, My Mommy Is Beautiful, 2010, where visitors are prompted to write or draw reflections about their own mothers or mother-like figures on the NGV gallery walls.
Kosovan artist Petrit Halilaj will create a new iteration of his installation, Very Volcanic Over This Green Feather, 2022. The installation is inspired by Halilaj’s childhood sketches that he created in the Kukës II refugee camp in Albania during the Kosovan War. Interspersing depictions of rural landscapes and birds with symbols of death and destruction, the exhibit reveals the slippery relationship between the real and the imagined, personal and collective memory, and recorded history and lived experience.

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Megacities by Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro. Commuters line up waiting for a train at Manggarai Station, South Jakarta, 2023. Image:

Courtesy of Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro

Megacities is a large-scale NGV-commissioned project featuring the work of ten leading street photographers. Invited to capture images of ten global megacities: Cairo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Delhi, São Paulo, Shanghai, Seoul, Lagos, Tokyo and Mexico City, the photographers reveal interesting differences and similarities across each location. The photographed works will be displayed in a dynamic, immersive environment.
NGV director Tony Ellwood said the three-year wait for the latest Triennial is absolutely worth it. “In the three years since the last NGV Triennial, the world has experienced a great many structural shifts, including a global pandemic. Through the work of more than 100 artists, designers, architects and collectives from Australia and around the world, the NGV Triennial offers a powerful insight into the ideas and concerns empowering creative practice in 2023,” he said.
“The artists, designers and architects of our time play an important role in helping us to understand, navigate and relate to the world around us. The 2023 NGV Triennial offers audiences a valuable opportunity to experience new and surprising forms of creative expression from around the globe, which, together, present a compelling snapshot of the world as it is, while also asking how we would like it to be.”
The NGV Triennial is on display between 3 December, 2023 and 7 April, 2024 at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Entry is free. Further information is available via the NGV website. More

The Australian Institute of Architects announced the winners of the 2023 National Architecture Awards on 31 October, in which eight houses were honoured for their ingenuity and imagination.
A “sweet and unassuming house,” Sunday by Architecture Architecture, was lauded by the national jury for its depth and variety of spaces. The house received the Eleanor Cullis-Hill Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions).
“With space enough for two, the dwelling offers a delicate intimacy where the rituals of daily life are celebrated. Everywhere you look, there is something to delight,” the jury said. “When the urge to gather presents, the house easily welcomes guests, with spaces showing a delightful ability to adapt and flex.”
In the same category, Balmain House by Saha received a National Award from the jury. “Balmain House is an example of a carefully considered residential extension to a tired existing dwelling,” the jury said.
Harriet’s House by SO Architecture and North Perth House by Simon Pendal Architect both received National Commendations from the jury.

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19 Waterloo by SJB. Image:

Anson Smart

Over in the Houses (New) category, the jury were most impressed by SJB’s 19 Waterloo, honouring it with the Robin Boyd Award. “At a time when our country faces a once-in-a-generation housing crisis, we are in dire need of new approaches,” the jury said, “19 Waterloo Street is a spectacular example of a new approach to urban infill. Constructed on the 30 square metres left between a new mixed-use building (a studio apartment and commercial tenancy) and an existing factory, the home shows how hard architecture can work, even on a small footprint.”
In an entirely contrasting context, two Victorian farmhouses received National Awards. Spring Creek Road Farm House by Architect Brew Koch was lauded for its ” triumph of economy of materials and finishes,” that provided “just enough space, just enough comfort, just enough light,” while Merricks Farmhouse by Michael Lumby with Nielsen Jenkins was praised for its “different take on the rural shed vernacular.”
Mossy Point House by Edition Office received a National Commendation in the Houses (New) category.
See all the winners of the 2023 National Architecture Awards here. More

BAFTA award-winning broadcaster, Grand Designs television host, designer, writer, and environmentalist, Kevin McCloud, is set to return to Australia in February 2024 with a brand new, national tour. The upcoming show, titled “Kevin McCloud’s Home Truths,” promises outbursts of laughter with tales from McCloud’s distinguished television career, hilarious anecdotes and an unfiltered question and answer […] More

British-born and Melbourne-based self-taught designer, Dean Norton has earned another accolade to his repertoire, this time named in the top 100 global designers at the 2023 Kyoto Global Design Awards.
Born and raised in Essex, England, Norton initially studied graphic design before taking on an interior design degree at the University of Arts London. Borne out of a desire to create functional pieces that made an artistic statement, Norton launched his own studio in Melbourne in 2017. Developing minimalist works inspired by personal experiences, Norton aims to craft enduring, performative works that connect with the observer on an emotional level.

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Dean Norton’s Containa series. Image:

Spot Studio

Norton’s work has captured the attention of many creatives, designers and galleries across the globe. In 2021, he won the Vivid Emerging Designer Award and his Concave Convex Mirror was acquired by the National Galley of Victoria for its permanent collection. In 2022, he was awarded Best Table of the Year for his Containa series, which was also selected for exhibition at the Rossana Orlandi Master Gallery during Milan Design Week 2022/23.
Upon receiving the KGDA award, Norton said “it is such an honour to be selected in the company of extraordinary talent from around the world and gives me an immense sense of purpose to know I am adding to promoting positive social and economic development through my designs.”

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Inside the Full Moon vessel, a spherical form resembling a moon floats weightlessly as if supported by gravity. Image:

Courtesy of Dean Norton

Norton has manipulated and worked with a diverse range of materials in developing his objects, including timber, mirrors, stell and glass. His latest series, Full Moon comprises sculptural glass vessels, which were crafted by hand. Inside the vessel, a spherical form resembling a moon floats weightlessly as if supported by gravity. The glass sheets encasing the sphere create distorted moon shapes at every approach.
“Full Moon is an opportunity for me to continue exploring form and its interplay through materiality. Created during a full moon period, I hope this series will have its own personal engagement, connecting with the hearts and minds of its viewers. Showcasing this as part of my involvement at Alcova Miami is super exciting and I can’t wait to be part of an event that elevates innovative design from around the world,” Norton said.

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Dean Norton has earned another accolade to his repertoire, this time named in the top 100 global designers at the 2023 Kyoto Global Design Awards. Image: Supplied

Each year, the KGDA jury names its top 100 global designers and design studios of the year, with particular emphasis on designers who instigate trends or contribute significantly to advancing the field of design. The criteria for selection is based not only on the design features of projects, but also on functionality and social or environmental value.
To find out more about the Kyoto Design Awards Best 100 of the Year visit here. More