Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2016 i Architecture Australia

Bondor has been a leader in insulated wall and ceiling systems in Australia for over sixty years. Offering thermally efficient and fire-resistant building products that have been engineered for faster installation, the national company has been involved in the construction of projects ranging from small-scale residential builds to large commercial developments. Bondor’s team of technical experts also provides hands-on assistance to architects in developing practical roofing and cladding design solutions, no matter the challenge. As Bondor’s general manager Geoff Marsdon explains, “Our architectural representatives are industry qualified, which means they’re more than just good marketers. They offer architects design and construction detailing assistance, product performance data and advice on Bondor’s BIM tools for project modelling.” Ensuring strong ongoing relationships with architects is something Bondor takes seriously. The company invests in…

St Andrews House Candalepas Associates JURY CITATION St Andrews House is a not-for-profit residential care facility providing accommodation and care for young adults. Residents each enjoy a private bedroom and shared living and dining rooms that connect to a series of gardens. The jury was immediately impressed by the simplicity and beauty of this modest building. Its facade is a pared-back and refined composition of off-form concrete and white-painted brick, making a complementary addition to its surrounding, mostly residential context. The careful hand of Candalepas Associates can be seen in the restrained yet exquisite brick detailing and evidence of handcraft. The silent surfaces of the facade are punctured by deep fenestration, alluding to a timeless monumentality. Internally, a beautifully organized plan and spatial configuration bring clarity and dignity to this…

University of Queensland Oral Health Centre Cox Rayner Architects with Hames Sharley and Conrad Gargett Riddel JURY CITATION Located in a park of eucalypts, adjoining a historic medical building and bordering a new medical precinct, the University of Queensland’s Oral Health Centre successfully navigates its institutional program and its significant scale to create a building that embeds itself in its urban environment. The building is a connecter between precincts while engaging with its place. Circulation between inside and out is seamless, enabling a sequence of experiences that exploit the mild climate and allow continual and pervasive connection to the outdoors. Topography is used to advantage as the building steps down the site to engage each level with the park. The articulated and playful forms sit beautifully within the canopy of…

Jenny’s House Rosevear Stephenson JURY CITATION This beautifully refined work is as much a result of the maturity and intelligence of the architect as it is due to the generous and caring relationship between the architect and their client, Jenny. Evidence of this productive collaboration is manifest in two principal rooms on the site: a singular open-planned volume at the hands of the architect and a flourishing and intriguing garden executed by Jenny. Only an elegant and finely crafted line of glazing sits at the junction of these two rooms. It is, however, the presence of the original external rear wall of the historic four-room brick cottage, now forming an interior wall, that leaves you questioning whether you are in fact already outside and occupying the garden. This is a…

10 Wylde Street SJB JURY CITATION When the client/developer laments “We shouldn’t have sold them off the plan,” you know the project has exceeded expectations. SJB has taken a very significant residential site in Sydney and executed a balanced, finely detailed building that not only satisfies the market but will also stand the test of time. With twenty-two apartments over seven levels, the building echoes the proportions of the one it replaces, and as such gives the feeling that this building has always been there. At ground level the scale shifts to relate to the street and entrance. Curved brickwork cradles the exposed concrete floor plates, creating an elegant yet confident backbone and base. Playful butterfly-like screens allow for cross-ventilation while screening bedrooms from neighbouring buildings. Naturally ventilated stairwells and…

Cape York Partnership Offices Kevin O’Brien Architects JURY CITATION In the Cape York Partnership Offices, a finely resolved and modern office environment has been created through minimal means. With tilt-up concrete walls and a coolroom panel roof, the structure and broad rectangular form are straightforward. However, this simple form is then layered, detailed, added to and subtracted from to create a richness in space and detail. A striking serrated gold screen hangs along the building’s length, forming a rich and patterned approach to the street edge as well as gilding the light that enters the workspace. The concrete panels are gently carved – a series of impressions alluding to an almost personal marking on their surface. A courtyard has been cut into the interior, bringing light and landscape into the…

Bayside Fire Station Owen Architecture JURY CITATION Many children must fantasize about living in a fire station but few if any will ever have the opportunity. For this family, the former Wynnum Fire Station has been their home for a number of years and for the most part they have lived with the impracticalities of an outdoor stair providing access to bedrooms on the upper level, which were located in the former recreational spaces. Returning to the ground floor via the existing fireman’s pole wore thin, apparently, and the architect was engaged to solve the problem of internalizing the house without compromising the integrity of the original building. A simple lean-to roof was attached to the rear elevation, giving the back of the fire station a new front to the…

Geelong Library and Heritage Centre ARM Architecture JURY CITATION To those from Geelong or those within the architecture community, the iconic Geelong Library and Heritage Centre by ARM Architecture needs little introduction. The large dome appears confidently in the landscape as you approach Geelong. What is so commendable about this project is the way in which the architects have translated the dramatic form into orthogonal, useable spaces. There is a magnificent sleight of hand in the way the interiors work and are planned. In elevation and section, it’s obviously a domed building, but in plan, level by level, the eroded floor plates have been worked into more logical and, quite simply, useable library floor plates. With only hints and glimpses of the external curvature as you transcend the building, it…

Maidstone Tennis Pavilion Searle x Waldron Architecture JURY CITATION Maidstone Tennis Pavilion in Melbourne’s inner west is an accomplished and thoughtful addition to an existing building. After decades of ad hoc alterations, and more recently being left in a rundown state, the old clubhouse has been respectfully refurbished, with careful consideration paid to the Federation building’s heritage elements. Beyond this, a timber viewing deck and gently sloping ramp lead to the new toilet and storeroom. The new space complements the older pavilion and delights with its expressive form. Timber cladding is arranged diagonally rather than in a traditional horizontal or vertical orientation, while inside the toilet pod, peppermint green flooring takes its cues from the painted shades seen in the pavilion. Ample natural light filters from the skylight, creating a…

Perth Concert Hall Howlett and Bailey Architects JURY CITATION The jury wants to first acknowledge the incredibly high standard of entries in this category. The Good Shepherd Chapel, Heide II and Rivendell – The Virr House are all testimony to the flourishing architectural landscape of the sixties and seventies around Australia and have left lasting impressions on all jury members. The remaining few buildings of this era remind us of a young nation coming to grips with globalism and local identity. While it wasn’t possible to give all entries a national award, the discussions of the jury eventually focused on the question of what it takes for architecture to be awarded for endurance. Which building has lasted the test of time and/or still functions as it was originally conceived without…

South Australia Drill Core Reference Library Thomson Rossi JURY CITATION The new South Australia Drill Core Reference Library consolidates geological samples recovered from over 130 years of mineral and energy resources exploration in South Australia and enables secured storage, display and analysis of its collection. Two levels of administration, exhibition and conference rooms look onto a generous, double-height public viewing room that evokes the grand reading rooms of traditional civic libraries. Steel is deployed throughout the building in a range of components, including exposed roof structure and decorative balustrades that line the viewing room. The jury, however, was delighted by the exquisite and extensive use of steel on the exterior of the building. Vast planes of unfinished steel plate have been left to oxidize, creating a reactive and nuanced surface.…

It was a great privilege to chair the national jury in my year as Immediate Past President. The role begins with the appointment of the jurors and from a personal perspective I was committed to assembling a diverse group of (relatively) younger members to contribute to the critical assessment of architecture at the national level. The final jury included myself as chair, Abbie Galvin, Stuart Vokes, Fenella Kernebone and Rodney Eggleston – a melting pot of enthusiasm combining a broad range of project experience, small to large practice representation, and the communication of architecture and design in the media. The national awards continue to generate interesting debate. In 2016 I will be upfront by saying that in assessing the chapter award winners, the jury noticed the absence of a number…

The Condensery – Somerset Regional Art Gallery PHAB Architects JURY CITATION The Condensery – Somerset Regional Art Gallery provides a fine example of how even a small public asset has the capacity to make a significant contribution to the cultural and civic life of a regional community. While this remnant 1920s packing shed of the former Nestlé condensed milk factory in Toogoolawah had no legislative heritage protection, its adaptive re-use was approached as an act of conservation. Among other commendable outcomes, this design direction has led to the recovery of the building’s iconic form, amplified by the beautiful use of a tapestry of reds, evoking rusting corrugated iron. Internally, the floor plan is arranged as a series of traditional yet flexible gallery spaces, stockrooms and ancillary rooms. New walls are…

The Mandeville Centre, Loreto Toorak Architectus JURY CITATION Boldly eschewing the stately solidity and symmetry of Loreto’s historic Mandeville Hall, The Mandeville Centre at Loreto shrouds itself in a striking black screen and defines its form with an angular, sharp and refined steel frame. Its resultant presence, however, is both graceful and understated. It positions itself on the school’s grounds with ease and respectfully considers its heritage context. The sophisticated building artfully navigates its program of providing contained internal space and sheltered outdoor area with a softly merged boundary between both. Its siting provides containment and important definition to an engaging courtyard used for play, recreation and learning. Its fine form and refined use of materials are controlled and restrained, softened and unified by natural light, constant connection to garden…

Rosalie House Owen Architecture JURY CITATION The Rosalie House immerses itself in its surrounding context so successfully that on first reading it appears to be a polite alteration to an existing dwelling. The skilfully resolved split-level plan works as an important divider of a series of garden vistas. Central to the plan is a retreat living space that operates as a pinwheel. This space is cleverly interrupted by social activation associated with movement through circulation. The primary living area is arranged around the kitchen, and large-format sliding doors allow internal spaces to unfold into the garden. The plan is essentially a series of pavilions linked by gable roof forms. Carefully resolved intersections assist the terracotta roof to successfully communicate the primary architectural expression. Extended eaves provide protection from weather and…

Darlinghurst Rooftop CO-AP (Architects) JURY CITATION In this alterations and additions project, CO-AP (Architects) has carefully arranged a new rooftop garden and elegant residential pavilion on top of a pair of early-twentieth-century Arts and Crafts apartment buildings. This extraordinary work provides a perfect example of how we might renovate our cities to simultaneously increase both social density and the presence of nature, within the constraints and opportunities of existing settings and local planning instruments. A singular principal residence and rooftop have been yielded from one of the buildings without compromising the character, elegance and fabric of the original structures. Careful and subtle interventions open up the original apartments and a shared staircase, introducing natural light from above to reinvigorate the existing interior and connect it with the new vertical promenade.…

AHL Headquarters – 478 George Street Candalepas Associates JURY CITATION This project is an inventive infill on a long, narrow and restricted inner-city site that resolves complex site constraints and functional requirements with a simple, restrained solution. Adjacent to Johnson Pilton Walker’s refurbished Hilton Hotel and directly opposite the grandeur of Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building, the AHL Headquarters gives an elegant yet playful nod to its eminent surrounds. The facade is carefully articulated to respond to the height, setback and materiality of surrounding buildings and creates a delightful play of shadows and light. Combining gently rounded sandstone blade columns with the honesty and imperfection of off-form concrete, the building’s street frontage provides a finely grained order to the streetscape. The building maximizes amenity and floor space by cantilevering a large…

The State Buildings Architect: Kerry Hill Architects Heritage architect: Palassis Architects JURY CITATION The State Buildings in Perth are an exemplar model of adaptive re-use. The former Government Offices designed by renowned government architects Richard Roach Jewell and George Temple-Poole have been strategically repurposed to accommodate a hotel and a range of food and retail premises, with the retention of the Treasury Offices and the original Postal Hall. Generous and thoughtful planning has allowed the preservation of much of the original building fabric. The original facade, roofs and a number of interior spaces have been very carefully restored, involving extensive research and significant expertise. New insertions are immediately legible yet complementary to the original fabric and complex access issues have been cleverly resolved through the introduction of a two-way lift…

Canberra Airport Hotel Bates Smart JURY CITATION The nation’s capital gets another gem hotel with Bates Smart’s Canberra Airport Hotel for the Canberra Airport Group. From the outside the architecture presents as a well-detailed, sheer glass and aluminium facade designed to wall out the airport and chaotic road network it is situated within. On the inside, however, the project opens up masterfully and through the manipulation of void, contrast and light it becomes a world away from the harsh realities of the industrial context outside. Central to this manipulation of space and light is the seven-storey-high circular void forming the entrance, lobby and atrium. The void is worldclass in size and is similar in proportions to the void at the Guggenheim in New York or the Pantheon in Rome. But…

Bowen Place Crossing Lahznimmo Architects JURY CITATION Bowen Place Crossing is a refined and confident piece of urban design, with a graceful pedestrian and cycling path inserted along a popular route at Lake Burley Griffin. This generous pathway carves an elegant arc as the user descends from Kings Avenue towards the lake, replacing a busy and hazardous crossing. The result transforms what could have been a traditional underpass into an immersive and pleasurable experience. Cutting the curve into the slope, precast concrete segments line the outer wall and form a sweeping path. The wall rises as you approach the road above, which has been split in either direction, allow ample light underneath. The effect is uplifting. Rather than the claustrophobic underpass of memory, there is instead a feeling of lightness…

Bath House Stephen de Jersey Architect JURY CITATION This contemporary addition adds a verandah, back stair and external bathroom to the rear of a fantastic Queenslander in original condition. It also makes minor adjustments to the kitchen and pantry, including opening up a new window to the outside room. In replacing a twentieth-century amenities extension, the goal was to design a complementary yet contrasting form that allowed for a practical and genuine connection between the exterior and interior spaces. The new verandah and bathroom are divided by stairs that form a spine between the two spaces. These lead down to the owner’s established garden, with a secondary covered living space underneath. The bathroom, being essentially an outside room, is perfectly suited to Townsville’s humid climate and privacy is ensured through…

University of Queensland Oral Health Centre Cox Rayner Architects with Hames Sharley and Conrad Gargett Riddel JURY CITATION This educational facility has sustainability principles embedded throughout its design. The architects were challenged to design a building that not only eliminates its impact on the environment, but also minimizes the trepidation often associated with going to the dentist. The result is an inviting sequence of spaces that engage students, staff and the public. Collaborative learning environments, laboratories, interconnected pathways, study spaces and common areas connect with the outside environment, letting in ample natural light. The sloping site allows public levels and clinics to be located low and adjacent to the parkland. With a refined use of materials and finishes throughout, the spaces feel accessible and approachable, contributing to a feeling of…

Australian Pavilion,Venice Denton Corker Marshall JURY CITATION Surely it is every architect’s dream to design their nation’s pavilion in Venice. In 2011, the Australia Council for the Arts gave a select few the chance to compete to do so. Denton Corker Marshall emerged as the victor, and Australia managed to deliver what many nations have struggled in recent times to achieve: the construction of a new building in the Giardini della Biennale. To try to represent an entire nation’s history of architecture in one pavilion would have been remiss. The architects have instead opted to create an adaptable and utilitarian black box, almost devoid of style, which can be transformed by those invited annually to do so. Situated off the beaten track and behind such powerhouse nations as France and…

“In the end it is just a frame” – with these words Natasha Johns-Messenger summed up her work and practice. Working with what is already there, art and architecture are brought into a dynamic relation with each other as framing mechanisms in the production of images. While this sounds like a form of site-specific art practice, Johns-Messenger’s approach is not about making specific in the sense of making a relation that specifies something. Instead, in her exhibition Sitelines at Heide Museum of Modern Art, lines of site are activated to animate the gallery in ways that suspend the process of recognition. Perceptions are tricked, assumptions are confronted and you have to look without recourse to logic or memory to make sense of what is seen. As a “site artist,” Johns-Messenger…

The brief of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale, Reporting from the Front, was in favour of a BC – “before computers” – survey of evolutionary building techniques. Curated by Alejandro Aravena, a declarative South American grand visionary, the first building blocks like bricks were endorsed as fundamental solutions to the “current crisis in architecture.” There was a strong reference to refugee conditions, Third World housing and crisis accommodation. A perceived backlash took place – spectacularly so with the Zaha Hadid exhibition, sadly coinciding with her sudden death. Patrik Schumacher of Zaha Hadid Architects clearly stated that the biennale stood for a wave of politically correct architecture, encapsulating a “lack of confidence, vitality and courage” in the profession at large. However, somewhere in between there were solutions…

Geelong Library and Heritage Centre ARM Architecture JURY CITATION The Geelong Library and Heritage Centre is a significant new landmark for Geelong. The building’s distinctive spherical form belongs to the historical lineage of library domes, such as the grand reading room of the State Library of Victoria, although its more immediate reference is Johnstone Park and the cluster of adjoining heritage buildings including the Geelong Peace Memorial, Geelong Gallery and the nineteenth-century Geelong Town Hall. Extending ARM’s portfolio of challenging propositions, this iconic building has become a catalyst for the rejuvenation of the cultural precinct, much to the benefit of a city that has been faced with challenging economic times. Perhaps the idea of the dome was conceived as a carefully curated story that helped to convince a committee that…

Kempsey Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club Neeson Murcutt Architects JURY CITATION The beach is one of the most celebrated settings of contemporary public life in Australia, elevating the surf lifesaving clubhouse to the higher order of public buildings in the country. It is no surprise that the function room of the new Kempsey Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club is hired for weddings, conferences and other events as it is one of the most important and iconic public buildings to be constructed in this small beachside town in the ninety-five years that the club has been operating. In order to protect the club’s perpetual crown lease, the new building designed by Neeson Murcutt Architects stands on the exact site of the former clubhouse, despite its random orientation and proportions.…

UNSW Materials Science and Engineering Building Grimshaw JURY CITATION A relentless pursuit of clarity and precision in both plan and form is what defines this strong and finely considered building. Research laboratories form the physical and literal core of the University of New South Wales Materials Science and Engineering Building and their specific functional and service requirements have resulted in an exacting and carefully resolved plan. The highly serviced research core is surrounded by collaborative, office and meeting spaces, providing continual access to daylight and connection back to the wider campus. The building is unashamedly strong in scale and form and gives order to the new science precinct and definition to the Alumni Park. Monumental vertical louvres surround the building’s glass skin and provide a bold and graphic modulation that…

House in Hamilton phorm architecture and design with Tato Architects JURY CITATION This house attempts to reinterpret the traditional Queenslander, yet the influence of a Japanese architect results in an exploratory solution that significantly departs from convention. Notable departures include reductive eaves and the absence of decks. Stacked and intersecting linear forms terminate as covered terraces rather than traditional verandahs and internal spaces dissolve with the outdoors through large-format retractable doors. The interiors are an integral contributor to the architectural solution and the detailing is robust, considered and cost-effective. This highly refined and curated home reflects the aspirations of the owner and their interest in Japanese culture and lifestyle, and the strategies at play have been clearly informed by the cultural influences of the client and the architectural team. House…

Knutsford / Stage 1 spaceagency architects JURY CITATION In what was, at the time of construction in Western Australia, an inflated building industry, the incredibly low construction budget made Knutsford immediately stand out as a project that needed to be visited. What then emerged as a clear category winner was a highly unusual form of multiresidential housing, underpinned by factors so rarely sought in this category – namely context, community and belonging. The mid-density, low-rise model is commendable for the care and restraint exercised by the architects in what would typically be edge-to-edge, McMansion-style housing. The delicate site planning revolves around a series of dissecting laneways and courtyards. Instead of the typical street frontage of garage doors and crossovers, the laneways enable cars to be buried deep within the centre…

Lennox Bridge Portals Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects JURY CITATION Lennox Bridge Portals is an intelligent, design-led solution that addresses a long-term connectivity problem along Parramatta River. Built in 1835, Lennox Bridge has undergone a series of modifications to respond to the changing needs of the growing community, but its solid walls meant that pedestrians and cyclists needed to navigate stairs and a busy road to continue their journey along the riverbank. This high-quality project boldly punches a path through the thick walls of the heritage bridge, providing direct and continuous access along Parramatta River. The Lennox Bridge Portals is part of an ongoing investment in Parramatta City’s public domain to improve and connect pedestrian and cycle links, while considering future public transport such as light rail. The result…

Project Zero BVN JURY CITATION Both a new home and a significant alteration to an original structure, this Brisbane house is commendable for its thoughtful commitment to sustainability principles within a suburban setting. The existing house, which was originally positioned in the centre of this double block, has been retained and shifted to the back of the property. The new extension is built adjacent to the old home, forming an L-shape configuration, providing protection from the western sun and also separating the sleeping and living quarters. At the centre is a covered outdoor lounge and a grassed front yard, plus vegetable garden, chookhouse and composting. Sustainability goals are considered throughout and are at the heart of the project. The use of reclaimed building materials, on-site water treatment and solar energy…

John Morphett was a highly significant architect whose contribution to the Australian profession has not been fully understood despite his being awarded the RAIA Gold Medal in 2000. Modest, thoughtful, generous, personable and influential beyond the confines of his practice of architecture, John brought with him a cultural lineage that linked back to Bauhaus and international modernism. Born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on 1 August 1932, John Neville Morphett had a childhood ambition of studying architecture. He did this initially at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian School of Mines and Industries (now part of the University of South Australia), winning the SA Architects Board scholarship and completing a Bachelor of Engineering (Architecture) in 1955. Both as a student and after graduation, John was employed by Hassell, McConnell…

“To perceive a loss is difficult, to perceive a death is impossible; for us now it is like stepping into a crude world of stones and structures, documents of a presence in our life. From those we will have to build, since they are the legacy.” These are the words that Romaldo “Aldo” Giurgola wrote when his mentor and colleague Louis Kahn died in 1974. And these same words might assist us to mark the recent death of Giurgola himself, who bestowed on us one of the nation’s most representative buildings, the new Parliament House in Canberra. Born in Italy in 1920, Giurgola graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Sapienza University of Rome in 1949. His studies in Rome were underpinned by a deep interest in Greek and…