Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2025 i Architecture Australia

I am both honoured and excited to be stepping into the role of national president of the Australian Institute of Architects. This is a crucial time for our country and industry. Sustainability is the greatest challenge of our lives, housing affordability the greatest of our generation. Firstly, I must congratulate our outgoing national president, Jane Cassidy, on her phenomenal work. She is an absolute powerhouse who has helped reposition the Institute and our profession for success. Of particular note is Jane’s advocacy that led to all state and territory housing ministers agreeing on mandatory and aligned carbon reporting; her leadership in collaboration with the CEO to structurally realign the business of the Institute to ensure we are equipped for the next 50 years; and her leadership in appointing the first…

Aligned with the leafy boulevard of the same name in North Melbourne, Shiel Street North Melbourne Community Housing Project by Clare Cousins Architects is a social housing development providing 78 dwellings over eight levels with a goal of delivering stable tenure to low-income residents, including people living with disability. With its red brick bands, striking offset columns and textured concrete upper levels, the project is a fresh, bold counterpoint to the streetscape of genteel Victorian villas and nondescript apartment blocks, while the notable walk-up Hotham Gardens housing development (1961, Master Builders Association) is just a short walk away. Like Hotham Gardens, Shiel Street strives to offer practical yet dignified social housing at density: a home, not just an apartment, in a well-located suburb close to transport, education and employment opportunities.…

Like most places in Australia, Townsville’s primary mode of residential development involves the continued expansion of suburbs on the periphery of the city. While the problems associated with expanding cities – car dependence, disconnection from services and environmental impacts – are clear in metropolitan centres, these issues are less apparent in the regions. On the surface, it seems reasonable to keep building new outer suburbs when the average journey across town is less than 20 minutes, so there is no perceived need to restrict the city boundaries. Consequently, attempts to shift the status quo of housing choices are often met with resistance, with one of the key concerns being how other models might impact amenity and existing neighbourhood character. The Office of the Queensland Government Architect (OQGA) has developed strategies…

Hope Street Housing by Officer Woods Architects in collaboration with MDC Architects is the sort of project that gives cause to politicians to start announcing townhouses as the solution to the housing crisis. It is the sort of project that is equally good for developers, residents and community – high amenity, cost effective, win-win. It could be a pattern book all of its own: go no further, the answer is here. It presents a long-term supply solution that recognises the demand for astute, affordable design that respects neighbourhood needs, and manages a high yield thanks to optimised materials and planning. It adapts to ongoing climate risk with its excellent passive design, and mitigates future risk with its approach to vegetation, porosity and long-lasting materials. It is also a joy to…

This is a good project. By this I mean it is a good work of architecture that also provides a compelling solution to a pressing societal challenge. Having formed this opinion, I was interested to later hear practising psychiatrist and project instigator Professor Olav Nielssen observe, “We’ve built a Potemkin Village; there is no one who experiences the project that does not come away saying it is for good.” The notion of a Potemkin Village stems from the no-doubt exaggerated story of Empress Catherine II and her 1787 Dnieper River journey to visit newly annexed Crimea. Her lover, field marshal Grigory Potemkin, in an apparent act of heroic gallantry, organised for pretty stage-set facades to be built and peopled with brightly dressed, happy folk to obscure the war-torn countryside beyond.…

As of March 2025, the waitlist for public housing in Victoria has grown to over 55,000 families. Just 2.8 percent of the state’s total housing was social housing, ranking the lowest in Australia and trailing the national average of 4.1 percent.1 There is little debate about the scale of solution required, but the respective roles for public and private actors are subject to ongoing debate. The Bangs Street public housing renewal demonstrates one potential path forward. The project is part of the first phase of Housing Victoria’s Ground Lease Model (GLM), a public-private partnership strategy that aims to deliver mixed-tenure estate regeneration while maintaining long-term public ownership of land. Working closely with a development consortium selected through a competitive process, Jackson Clements Burrows Architects (JCB) has delivered a dense urban…

(JURY OVERVIEW) Now in its third iteration, the ArchitectureAu Award for Social Impact is gaining momentum in its aim to create a catalogue of exemplar projects that demonstrate “good design, doing good.” Measuring tangible social impact hasn’t got any easier, but it is pleasing to see the many ways that architecture can make a difference to society. This year’s joint winners each respond to two major societal challenges of our time: chronic homelessness (Habilis by Collins and Turner), and the need to acknowledge the past injustices and ongoing inequalities faced by Indigenous Australians (Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence by ARM Architecture). Both projects are equally impressive examples of the shifting mode of practice of architecture, where social value is considered at every stage – from designing from lived experience or…

(JURY CITATION) The Bhattedanda Village Stupa Sanitation and Caretaker Project is a thoughtful and deceptively simple design that demonstrates an intelligent response to the complex site challenges of the Nepalese environment, including difficult terrain, remoteness and extreme weather conditions. It exemplifies the power of deep community engagement – prioritising local needs, values and lived experiences to guide design and implementation. The project’s clever use of local resources, combined with a strong focus on community up-skilling, has not only addressed critical sanitation needs in the village but also empowered residents through active participation in the design, construction and maintenance of the project. This initiative stands out as a model of socially engaged architecture. It advances the discipline by fostering self-determination, improving environmental health outcomes, and significantly enhancing the community’s sense of…

Rebecca Roke Rebecca Roke is an author, editor and researcher focused on innovative medium-density housing. As editorial director and cofounder of Corvo, she collaborates with design and architectural clients, including Grimshaw, Foster and Partners, Heatherwick Studio, Phaidon Press, Thames and Hudson, and Prestel Publishing. (WRITER, PAGE 12) Brendan Coates Brendan Coates is the Housing and Economic Security program director at Grattan Institute. (WRITER, PAGE 42) Tess Kelly Tess Kelly is an architecture, interiors and still life photographer based in Melbourne. Tess has been working as a commercial photographer for over 15 years and her work is often featured in architecture and design publications both nationally and internationally. (PHOTOGRAPHER, PAGE 12) Kelly Greenop Dr Kelly Greenop is an associate professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning.…

“People are shocked when I tell them this is [social] housing; they are gobsmacked,” Lisa tells me.1 Lisa lives in a two-bedroom unit at Allunga Road. The 18-unit medium-density development is a new venture for Loreto Community Housing, whose primary stock is brick-veneer single-detached dwellings in suburbs across Tasmania. Loreto entrusted Allunga Road’s design to Preston Lane Architects, a local practice with a reputation for quality high-end homes. “Gobsmacked” may not be the firm’s usual client feedback, but in this case, it is the highest praise. Social and affordable housing is arguably the greatest test of an architect’s skill, but it is also where architects’ involvement can be most beneficial. With tight budgets, stringent maintenance requirements and an environment of frequent occupant turnover, it’s easy to see how social housing…

SARAH BUCKERIDGE I’m interested in the importance of “top-down” and “bottom-up” advocacy approaches and how they influence each other. How might one approach shape built outcomes in a way the other cannot? DIANA SNAPE In my mind, they’re closely intertwined, and both vital to the evolution of the built environment. However, they do different things. I would say that advocacy from the bottom up really drives political will where it’s strong enough. What we affectionately call NIMBYism, for example, is one of the strongest bottom-up advocacy movements we’ve seen, whether we like it or not. I also see advocacy through practice and evidence-based decision-making as a bottom-up approach, and it’s definitely one that I’ve championed in my government roles. If we understand “top down” as meaning decision-making, I think it…

CASE STUDY 1 Realm Caulfield by ARM Architecture CASE STUDY 2 Indi Sydney by Bates Smart CASE STUDY 3 Nightingale Marrickville by SJB CASE STUDY 4 Redfern Place by Hayball, Silvester Fuller, Architecture AND Over the past decade, build-to-rent (BTR) housing has emerged in Australia as a new development model touted as a potential solution to the housing crisis. The nascent sector has predominantly marketed its large-scale apartment complexes as upmarket rental offerings with the benefit of long-term tenancies and access to generous amenities and services. However, residents also pay above local rents to access these benefits, which places BTR out of reach for lower-income renters. So while it is no silver bullet to the national housing crisis – there is, of course, no single solution – purpose-built rental accommodation…

(JURY CITATION) Habilis is a deeply humane and sensitive architectural response to one of society’s most urgent challenges: chronic homelessness and mental illness. Through the thoughtful adaptive reuse of a disused industrial site, this project redefines what social housing can be – in both form and function. The project’s 20 single-occupancy units are thoughtfully arranged around a shared courtyard, fostering a sense of belonging while allowing for personal space and privacy. By embedding essential mental health services on site, the project ensures residents receive consistent, accessible support, enabling better health outcomes and long-term stability. The jury commends the team for prioritising lived experience in the design process. Every aspect of Habilis reflects a deep understanding of the barriers faced by its future residents: from safety and autonomy to the importance…