Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Architecture Australia

The qualities that make concrete great – its durability, sustainability, fluidity and raw beauty – are demonstrated to the full in these apartments, which were nearly eight years in the making for architect Candalepas Associates and builder/developer Cuzeno. The outcome exemplifies the notion that concrete is a flowing, agile, living substance that allows designers and constructors to build without limits, to create developments that enhance our urban environments, suit our busy lifestyles and leave a smaller environmental footprint. Project This development on President Avenue, Sutherland, in Sydney’s south, has a commanding presence, with a thoughtful, sculptural form that stands out from the mundane. Completed in 2016, it comprises forty-nine one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments spread over six levels. The scale and context are just right – neither overbearing nor underwhelming.…

Participating in the jury for the National Architecture Awards is a great privilege, a greater responsibility and a wonderful opportunity to transect our vast country while visiting this year’s most outstanding projects. It is an intense road trip covering incredible distances, the punishing schedule a source of delightful intensity through our complete absorption in a continuous architectural discourse. The role of jury chair has been in a sense the culmination of my term as president, with its focus on the positive impact architecture has on our cities, towns and landscapes. Of course, the exceptional projects we visited represent only a small part of this contribution, much of which goes unrecognized. This year’s jury – comprising Melissa Bright, Lawrence Nield, Sue Dugdale and Peter Maddison – was selected to represent a…

Jury citation The Hanly Learning Centre, for Catholic Boys’ school St Joseph’s Nudgee College, is a key component of the architects’ masterplan for this campus, accommodating a reimagined library, commons, canteen and classrooms. An epic central “theatre in the round” returns a focus to academia, matching the school’s passion for excellence in sport. Verandahs encircle the large open-air central commons, providing circulation and galleries to the theatre below. The scale of this stately commons space recasts the sporting oval it overlooks as an anteroom to the chamber of academic learning. The library opens fully to the commons at ground level and is a democratic space where learning is freely available, refreshingly without security. Accommodating different physical postures, the library sits comfortably, with its rich timbered interior providing spatial variety. Seven…

Jury citation This rural project successfully mitigates a complex brief by delivering a series of inventive pavilions carefully integrated into an extensive landscape celebrating equine sport. The Equestrian Centre, covered arena and polocrosse field are all deftly sited by the architects, forming distinct precincts. Each thoughtfully takes on a form responding to use and orientation, inviting public access while generously accommodating invited visitors and VIP guests. The Equestrian Centre comprises a series of overlapping folding roof planes designed to scoop in cool breezes and shield the spectators and dressage arena from the western sun. Luxurious finishes and facilities are designed to attract influential patrons globally. The expansive proportions of the covered arena are remarkable. Its grandly scaled sawtooth roof is contained within a copper frieze floating on impossibly thin black…

Jury citation The original Schute, Bell, Badgery and Lumby Wool Store is significant as a relic reflecting the importance of the wool industry to Australia. The skilled repurposing of this building encourages a greater appreciation of its heritage value. Sensitive insertions allow the building to perform as an exemplary contemporary workplace. The entry journey from the street is through a transitional double-volume space, now an active cafe, then through a spatially compressed, timber-lined tunnel leading to the foyer. Glass lifts are located on the perimeter of the new atrium where the traditional timber post-and-beam structure is revealed. An inspired strategy that delivers both light and legibility to this vast, six-level, 4,500-square-metre building was the creation of a central atrium under the striking sawtooth skylights, which are set on a diagonal…

Jury citation The East Pilbara Arts Centre has a civic presence in the small Western Australian mining town of Newman. It contains a gallery, support spaces, an artists’ studio, a residence and a large undercover multipurpose area, all displaying a confident modesty. The architects have quadrupled the client’s original brief for a five-hundred-square-metre arts centre by placing it within a two-thousand-square-metre industrial shed. This buildingwithin- a -building concept is a masterstroke that delivers greater dividends than is first apparent. The shed provides an appropriate climatic response, combining a ventilated fly roof that reduces heat load with well-considered perforated and translucent panel lift doors that enable an effective response to the varied climatic conditions and also function as a line of security – obviating the ubiquitous grilles encountered in remote towns.…

Jury citation One of the many pubs in the outback Queensland town of Barcaldine, the Globe was not recognized in heritage terms despite its association with the founding of the Australian Labor Party. However, the architects understood its social value and significance as a single-skin typology and convinced their client not to demolish. The result is a beacon by day and night, signalling the presence of the town to passing traffic through its strategic location. An essay in respecting timber single-skin construction and celebrating light and structure, the project is all the more potent because of its spare and uniform colour palette. An opportunity to replace the unsound verandah using cladding materials adapted to traditional timber structures has lent a contemporary expression, with beautifully made translucent and opaque screens intensifying…

Jury citation The architects for this refreshing project have deftly transformed the mundane and pragmatic aspects of international air travel into delight and dignity through careful spatial articulation, restrained materials, purpose-designed furniture and a well-integrated lighting scheme. Here the oftenstressful experience of travel is calmly celebrated with a sense of seamless luxury. To achieve such a cohesive and assured outcome, resolving a complex brief within an existing airport shell in a project that was designed, documented and constructed in less than ten months, is testament to the great skill and commitment of the architects. Architect Guida Moseley Brown Architects; Project team Paul Mutton (project director), Harold Guida, John Guida (design architects), William Gardner, Gayatri Pathare (project architects), Rob McLachlan, Morgan Roberts, Morteza Taheri, Robert Patat, Michael Komnacki, Anton Knedlhans; Builder…

Jury citation This delightful dwelling celebrates the value of a humble 1970s beach bungalow. Faced with an exposed corner location surrounded by multi-level developments, the architects have enveloped the bungalow in a series of skillion structures that refocus everything onto a tranquil core. The new elements provide privacy, sun protection and a buffer to traffic noise. Of particular delight is the entry sequence, leading along a native garden that generously gives back to the street, past an outdoor shower and through a battened privacy screen to a lush inner sanctum. All the new spaces are drawn away from the original bungalow, delivering landscaped courtyards and new wings for a carport, bedroom accommodation and outdoor decks. An intimate knowledge of the local climate is evident, with prevailing winds used for cross-ventilation…

Jury citation On a prominent triangular site opposite large parklands, and with three activated frontages, this bold work balances its residential program with a responsive civic presence. A singular brick form creates a street-protected retreat for the inhabitants reminiscent of other humble parkland structures. Avoiding the obvious large deck space overlooking the park, the living spaces are pushed forward to the street edge, screened from passers-by. Wraparound windows emphasize the view and can be thrown fully open in a verandah-like gesture. Devices such as veiling mesh curtains help control the public/private living duality in this valuable demonstration of design flexibility for inner-urban density. — Rose House will be reviewed by David Neustein in a future issue of Architecture Australia. Architect Baracco and Wright Architects; Project team Mauro Baracco, Louise Wright,…

Jury citation Innovative social sustainability is at the heart of this design – employing a residential typology that is both communal and low-cost. A share house model allows four bedrooms to link into more private lounges immediately outside. The client and architects have also invested heavily to showcase sustainably sourced materials. Through sensitive placement within a significant eucalypt stand, a cruciform plan allows landscape outlook to all apartments and natural siphoning ventilation for each level. Introducing a robust yet warm palette, the architects have achieved a quality and richness for residents unusual in institutional housing types procured under the design and construct model. Architect Richard Middleton Architects (RMA); Project team Richard Middleton (design architect), Michael Adams, Deb Adams (project architects), Ken Lai, Roman Aizengendler, Rod Allan, Vanessa Jackson, Greg Blanch,…

Jury citation This inventive scheme provides three modest onebedroom units in an intriguing 3D puzzle of interlocking solids and voids. Won through a design competition for young architects, the design turns a small corner site to advantage, providing each of the units with its own street address and private open space. Passive solar principles contribute to the comfort of the occupants and sustainable technologies make the project 98 percent carbon-neutral over its lifetime, introducing an innovative strata agreement governing a shared photovoltaic with battery storage. The architect has invented a “micro apartment building,” a clever, convincing and affordable alternative to the detached family home. Architect David Barr Architect; Project team David Barr, Stephen Hicks (project architects), Tom Smith, Jay Staples; Builder Perth Builders; Engineer Instruct Consulting Engineers; Landscape consultant Josh…

Jury citation The new Arts West building at Melbourne University is distinguished by an elegant and playful steel screen applied across its three most prominent facades. This screen sits proud of the glass curtain wall of the building, providing essential shading and giving a striking character to this new insertion into the established university campus. The geometry of the waves and ripples of the steel fins generates from the arched cloisters at ground level, flowing and wrapping around the building in response to the differing shading requirements of each orientation. The twisting of the screens cleverly provides ample transparency for natural lighting of the interior and for views out from learning spaces, while from the passing pedestrian’s oblique view of the upper levels, there is a greater sense of solidity.…

Jury citation This outback “tower of song” sits among tall eucalypt trees, a rural Gothic folly of dark cladding and tall proportions. Within a structure that performs with smoke and dynamic levers emitting experimental music, sixteen old pianos garnered from the region have been granted a new lease on life. Jostled together on elevated balconies set around a three-storey void designed for hoisting the instruments into place, they resonate in the rich timbered interior. Part building, part musical instrument, part stage set and part mad invention, this intriguing project is its architect and his family’s gift to the music community of Australia. Architect Conrad Gargett; Project team Bruce Wolfe (design architect); Builder Nutide Constructions 2017 National Awards Shortlist Sustainable Architecture 88 Angel St by Steele Associates Architects Central Park Sydney…

Jury citation This restrained and refined insertion adopts an imaginative adaptive re-use strategy, significantly reimagining the restrictive cellular planning of the historically significant Forgan Smith Building at the University of Queensland. Sourcing its architectural expression in the traditions and substance of the legal profession, it nevertheless fulfils the spatial requirements of contemporary teaching and research. A dramatic entry space provides an arrival experience that is also the identifiable “heart” of the school, uniting all three previously disconnected levels. This memorable space reveals movement and promotes active interaction between students, staff and visitors. Spatial order is informed by three “pillars” – knowledge, learning and inquiry – each with particular colour and detail. Articulation and detail, including decorative motifs, are drawn from the traditions and representations of the campus and the law…

Jury citation Heritage buildings tell stories about who we are. What are the stories of the heritage-listed Sandridge Post and Telegraph Office and Port Melbourne Naval Drill Hall? The Italianate post office (designed by John James Clark) became naval offices in 1912 when the drill hall was completed. The drill hall was designed by John Smith Murdoch in the Edwardian Free Classical Style in brick and dressed stone. So these two buildings embody important stories of both architecture and the Australian Navy – in fact, nationally significant stories. The establishment of the Australian Navy after Federation was an important symbol of Australian independence. In repurposing these buildings the architects understood and revealed those stories. The post office and drill hall were each stripped back to a shell, removing later alterations…

Jury citation The decaying Captain Kelly’s Cottage on Tasmania’s windswept Bruny Island has been delightfully brought back to life for contemporary occupation. Conservation of this cottage relied on exhaustive research on both its built and personal histories, guiding the strategies adopted. Two remnant elements were standing: a formal two-room structure with intact verandah and a separated kitchen outbuilding. New elements heal the old with sympathetic material choices and inventive reinterpretations of original forms. Entirely modern devices hit just the right level of contrast. Retained heritage elements were restored using a method that reveres precious textural details and reveals the patina of time in this masterful rebirth. — Captain Kelly’s Cottage will be reviewed by Philip Goad in a future issue of Architecture Australia. Architect John Wardle Architects; Project team John…

Jury citation The Sunshine Coast University Hospital is a major work with over seven hundred beds, located in the “canal country” behind Kawana Beach. Serviced by convenient bus and car drop-off, the forecourt, on the alignment of Florey Boulevard, is a space of dappled light, of people lounging on lawns, of slatted bridges, battened lecture theatres and “fritted” glass roofs. This is a sensitive response to both Sunshine Coast culture and its vernacular architecture, giving a tranquil first impression. The geometry of the streets becomes the geometry of the hospital circulation. On one side of the forecourt is the Hub, with teaching spaces and a lecture theatre, and on the other the foyer and main hospital street opening onto the large main courtyard. The main courtyard and five smaller courts…

Jury citation The issue of child neglect is handled with sensitivity and insight in this responsive building located in the backblocks of James Cook University. Consciously understated from the street, the building employs a series of strategies that respect heartbreak and family disintegration. All trees on this forested site were retained and used as a template for the geometry of the central healing facility, which takes the form of negative space defined by the tree drip line. The central space offers a magical serrated oculus open to the sky. This fine empathetic project demonstrates the influence that intelligent architecture and landscape can have on wellbeing. — Act for Kids Child and Family Centre of Excellence was reviewed by Michael Keniger in Architecture Australia Jan/Feb 2017. See architectureau.com/articles/act-for-kids-childand- family-centre-of-excellence Architect m3architecture;…

Jury citation Located in inner-urban Sydney, Indigo Slam is a hybrid building: part private residence, part art gallery and event space. A duality of functions is not a drawback here. This delightful work is unified by a sinuous motif that applies across scales, from the whole conception of form and space down to the smallest joinery detail. The wrapping, folding and curving planar expression of the exterior extends to order the interior with even greater effect through a subtle sculpting of form and volume. The front door has a commanding scale, leading to a cylindrical welcoming lobby, then through a compressing link to the grand hall and monumental stairway that anchors and orders the elegant planning of the house. A minimalist and honest material palette, exquisitely deployed with a restrained…

Jury citation Premised on the spatial order of a Balinese house compound, the serendipitous co-location of canteen, archives, an atrium and learning spaces establishes a stimulating learning environment. Neighbourhood “pavilions” structured around “streets” and “courtyards” provide both cohesion and variety. Spaces for individual exploration and reflection complement and extend those for more structured interaction. Learning here is witnessed by all, creating a sense that the quest for knowledge is a communal activity, in contrast to the isolated cells of traditional classrooms. This rich environment gathers the past into the learning of today and demonstrates the potential for pedagogies of the future. Architect Architectus; Project team John Sprunt (principal in charge), Paulo Sampaio (design architect), Justine Brennan (project architect), Simon Farr (team leader), Justin Phillips (interior design), Thurston Empson, Jett O’Rourke;…

Jury citation Hidden behind a humble facade in Sydney’s Annandale, this project works every millimetre of its constrained site width. The front rooms of the existing house have been carefully restored and visitors pass through a narrow and delightfully enhanced existing corridor, leading to the dramatic contrast of a light-filled, double-height central space connecting to the level below. A retractable glazed roof over this void space blurs the distinction between internal and external space and draws light and air into the centre of the house. Inventive planning allows the kitchen to serve as circulation, spilling out onto the linear courtyard, while the dining area tucks neatly under the hovering volume of the existing cottage. Landscape is integrated throughout, with a sculptural tree filling the central void and a green roof…

Jury citation This remarkable house, tucked into the lower side of an ugly suburban street – with its double garages, concrete mansions set back and triple-fronters – presents in contrast as a modest white Aegean cube with no double garage, but rather a garden engaging with the street. When viewed from the adjacent coastal walk – sublime as it comes, with timeweathered sandstone shelving out over azure waves and surf – the house is playful and intriguing. Entry is via an inviting recess in the facade at street level, through which the spatial order of two major floors, connected by a sculptural spiral staircase with two mezzanines, is progressively revealed. The pellucid water is seen from many vantage points. Bedrooms are located on the upper (entry) level, the only routine…

Jury citation With a special level of spatial control on this publicly exposed beachside site, the architects have achieved a privacyenhancing containment so nuanced that neither inhabitants nor passers-by suffer any sense of exclusion. Internally, the planning of levels stepping down the hill, using a triangulated structure and ordering, ensures a strong sightline focus on the superb coastline. Externally, a second skin of open batten screens allows the public a glimpse of some internal circulation – disarming any defensiveness and giving rise to rich and varied visual textures. Privacy is ensured and views controlled through clever trapezoidal windows whose raked sill lines seemingly amplify the dramatic setting – achieving openness without intrusion. Material choices, refined detailing and precision craftsmanship enhance the spatial pleasures and textural beauty of the interiors. A…

Jury citation In Darwin, there is no cool season. It does not rain for eight months, then it rains every day. Most houses built since Cyclone Tracy are in concrete block, with small windows and splitsystem airconditioners. Tropology shows another way: small-lot compact housing with big “hats,” protected walls, shade screens and multiple openings. Heat load is reduced and the buildings cool quickly in the evening. Darwin has high land values and high building costs. Defence Housing Australia (DHA) has previously developed conventional houses with double garages and little street engagement. On corner blocks, higher density has attempted to ameliorate land and building costs. This innovative project has shown on a small lot that two-storey, long, thin plans can provide great cross-ventilation, great amenity and shaded outdoor areas with gardens.…

Jury citation With its high-density, mixed-use urban park, its pedestrian focus and its public transport access, Central Park is an exemplar of socially and environmentally responsible urban renewal, transforming a former brewery complex through private sector investment. Involving multiple owners and stakeholders, numerous specialist design consultants and intense political debate, the eventual development approval yielded densities approximating Manhattan or Barcelona. This approval, through extensive engagement with the City of Sydney, committed to design excellence with the direct appointment of prominent architects for major sites, design competitions for remaining sites and a major public art program. Significant sustainability initiatives were introduced that leverage the scale of the development with efficiencies that are only possible through a “district” approach, including a central thermal plant, trigeneration and a water recycling plant including greywater…

Jury citation This Franciscan secondary school has a productive garden as its central focus, with classrooms, a canteen, a chapel and principals’ offices all looking onto this delightful space celebrating the healing power of nature. Repurposed rooms open up to the garden, taking advantage of cross-ventilation, while the new four-storey classroom wing is naturally ventilated and lit and protected by fabric shades. Water harvesting and a solar array are integral parts of the infrastructure. All spaces within this school are alive with pleasurable, sociable qualities and the spirit of healthy ongoing use – the very essence of social sustainability. — Mt Alvernia College Anthony and La Verna Buildings were reviewed by Sheona Thomson in Architecture Australia Jul/Aug 2016. See architectureau.com/articles/m3architecturesites- of-transformation Architect m3architecture; Builder DG Wilson; Town planner John Gaskell…

Jury citation Nestled into the slopes adjacent to a much-valued recreation parkland in western Sydney, this beautifully crafted collection of pavilions provides an unobtrusive presence yet delightful experience for the public. Taking a cue from existing structures on the site, the architects have expertly transformed the prosaic into the poetic, while responding to the greater site context with a strong environmental agenda. Smaller pavilions provide an adaptive design response and continue the tectonic language, using robust materials that will weather naturally. A progression of pavilion types culminates in a generous public place for community events connected to a large playing field. The architecture is simultaneously robust and delicate, grounded through sturdy timber columns and timber plank walling, all overlaid by finely detailed, translucent oversailing canopies generating filtered light. Materials used…

Intergram TIMBER VISION AWARDS 2017 Announced in Melbourne on 21 September, the 2017 Intergrain Timber Vision Awards recognize visionary use of timber across five categories: Commercial Interior, Commercial Exterior, Residential Interior, Residential Exterior and Landscape. The diverse pool of 158 entries was united by the simplicity and honesty of timber applications in Australian design. The judging panel – comprised of Bronwen Kerr, director of Kerr Ritchie; Maria Danos, founder of Maria Danos Architecture; Cameron Bruhn, editorial director of Architecture Media; Geoffrey London, Professor of Architecture at the University of Western Australia; and Douglas Curr, technical sales and specification manger at Intergrain – was struck by the high quality of entries along with the continuing trend of showcasing the true quality of timber. This year, six projects were honoured: the winning…

Kaynemaile has reimagined twothousand- year-old chain mail into a unique architectural product called Kaynemaile-Armour that is now being specified and installed around the world. Kaynemaile makes both exterior and interior systems but its recent focus has been on large-scale carpark facades in Australia and the USA. One of the unique features of Kaynemaile-Armour is solar reduction. Unlike steel mesh products, which are highly conductive energy stores, Kaynemaile-Armour mesh remains at a near ambient temperature, protecting the building from heat conduction. Its three-dimensional mesh structure means that a high proportion of the mesh surface area is always in shade, giving a cooling effect as the air passes through the cross-sectional open area. By protecting the building from direct sunlight and not restricting the cooling effects of air movement, Kaynemaile- Armour significantly…

There’s no more ambitious urban renewal currently underway in Australia than Sydney’s Green Square. The global village, which spans almost 280 hectares, reactivates an industrial inner-city pocket 3.5 kilometres south of the CBD, with a new library, pool and plenty of retail and residential offerings scheduled for its town centre. Turner was part of the team that won the competition to masterplan the development (along with Professor Wiel Arets and McGregor + Partners) and it’s fitting the Sydney-based design practice’s recently completed Paragon Apartments in Zetland serves as a catalyst for the area’s regeneration. The mixed-use development occupies a triangular site that connects the town centre to the adjacent Epsom Road precinct, forming the Green Corridor. While it’s an important project in terms of relationship to the square, its urban…

Jury citation A space once dedicated to military recruitment and marching seems unlikely in a modern coed school, yet here the architects have seamlessly and respectfully brought together the 1912 Port Melbourne Naval Drill Hall and the adjacent 1887 Sandridge Post and Telegraph Office to serve as an Environmental Arts Hub for Year 9 students. The new complex forms part of a multi-centred urban school within walking distance – a good fit within the grain of the city. A new spatial order provides flexibility and promotes collaboration, teamwork and easy connectivity between staff and two hundred pupils. Stripped of its original finishes – exposing rich materiality – the old post office houses administration, meeting and rehearsal spaces and links to both levels of the hall. New timber tiered seating was…

Jury citation The EY Centre lends a distinctively public character to a part of central Sydney undergoing significant renewal and sets a benchmark for design quality, building on the legacy of Harry Seidler’s adjacent tower. This new tower knits seamlessly into its site and sets the agenda for implementing a new urban morphology in its larger block structure. At street level there is an engaging human scale, while the tower has a distinctive presence in the city skyline, its curved forms and extensive use of captured timber louvres within the facade providing warmth. A generous lobby extends the public realm ground plane, employing crafted timber ceilings, customdesigned furniture and carefully integrated artwork to create a commanding backdrop. All elements within this space were carefully designed, down to the smallest detail,…

Jury citation It is hard to believe what we see here, next to the railway station in the small Latrobe Valley town of Moe. A new city seems to be rising. Though only two storeys, this important civic addition appears to float well above the sheds, on-grade parking and one- and two-storey buildings that make up the centre of Moe. It says, in no uncertain terms, “My activities are important.” It is a modern library with extensive community facilities as well as council services. It is also an urban marker using new forms – not the traditional towers or steeples. A giant pair of cantilevered boxes houses the two main reading rooms, between which a stair invites the visitor to a glass-floored platform with the “best view in Moe.” From…

Jury citation This engaging community facility has a strong presence, occupying a freestanding former warehouse building constructed in 1888. The building was associated with the shipping trade and local industry and was also home to the Woolloomooloo Free Kindergarten in the early twentieth century. The stuccoed Victorian Regency facade has been repaired to reveal its original detailing, with striped awnings added over the windows to lighten the imposing classicism of the original building and connect its interior to the public footpath. Interventions to the raw brick sawtoothed rear facade are restrained to reflect its backstreet character. Throughout the interiors the original fabric is revealed and celebrated in its raw state, with inventive and sympathetic interventions created where needed, including a new roof and coloured concrete floor. The original six-bay layout…

Jury citation Today most heritage work involves repurposing. In this case the architects have chosen subtle restoration, sustaining a sixty-six-year life and preparing it for the future. This has involved restoring building fabric and improving operations, security, building services, sustainability and amenity, while retaining the intrinsic Swedish character: modernity, timelessness, efficiency, craft and attention to detail. The worn or covered timber floors and timber staircase have been beautifully restored in rare timbers and finished with hard wax in traditional Swedish style. The roof replacement is particularly noteworthy, with new copper laid over a new Nordic-style insulated and ventilated substructure. Architect Guida Moseley Brown Architects; Practice team Sieglinde Whittle (project director), William Gardner (project architect), Sophia Lee; Builder Project Coordination; Structural, civil and services consultant Northrop Consulting Engineers; Fire engineer Defire;…

Jury citation A major upgrade of this local community centre honours the memory of activist Juanita Nielsen, who lost her life while campaigning for urban conservation in the 1970s. A warmth and lightness of touch permeate the many strategies brought by the architects to the transformation of these interconnected warehouses. Blind arches in the party walls dividing the building into vertical tranches have been liberated to provide lateral connections. Hints from the original roof form and the pattern on Juanita Nielsen’s top in a well-known photograph have inspired a zigzag theme, playfully replicated in ceiling linings, window screens and designs on doors. The beautiful upper-level community spaces are naturally lit, with each given a distinctive character – one with a striking artwork applied to a curtained wall and the other…

Jury citation Amanemu, located on the south-east coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu, responds comprehensively to its setting. First rehabilitating the site in its fragile coastal environment, then creating a masterplan that sensitively incorporated existing trees, the architects placed a series of new pavilions and villas along a wooded ridge overlooking Ago Bay. This contemplative retreat draws on Japanese culture to enrich the experience of guests. Floral arrangements reflecting the seasons connect to the exterior environment and contemporary Japanese art pieces in traditional media are curated within the interiors, while traditional onsen bathing takes place in a garden setting. While the exterior forms are derived from traditional Minka farmhouses, the design of the interiors ventures into more esoteric and refined territory. The concept of “exactitude” governs the unadorned, finely…

Jury citation Inserted seamlessly within the University of Queensland’s Forgan Smith Building, this distinctive and refined interior for a relocated law school significantly reimagines the restrictive cellular planning of the shell. It provides for contemporary teaching, learning and research while drawing on the traditions and sensibility of the legal profession for inspiration. The interior has been radically transformed through the introduction of significant voids, dramatic stairs and new vaulted ceilings defining wayfinding and offering visual delight. A memorable and spatially complex entry experience connects the three previously disconnected levels while revealing movement and interaction between visitors, staff and students. This space provides an identifiable “heart” to the school. The material palette also pays homage to legal traditions and aesthetics, including in its decorative motifs, while refurbished silky oak doors provide…

Jury citation This holiday home in Noosa offers multi-family accommodation in a spirit reminiscent of camping, with an insect-free central campfire and a pool emulating a tropical forest swimming hole. The project’s architects are honing their craft and continue to challenge and test new ideas about how we might live, how much house one really needs and how site-sensitive and climate-responsive design can lead to unexpected and delightful outcomes. Here indoor functions and gardens are spatially interspersed in such a way that the indoor/outdoor distinction is rendered meaningless. Blurring of the envelope starts with the shadecloth roof, which floats gossamer-like over pool and living spaces alike. Batten-softened transitions from fully open roof areas to darker cosseted interiors, which surround the main space like “sleep-out” bungalows, also enrich the ambiguity. While…

Jury citation Crown 515 demonstrates that multiresidential architecture can be about more than just maximizing yield. This delicate project incorporates an existing Victorian terrace and reinterprets its scale and character in an inventive manner. The terrace is bookended and embraced by new elements that repeat the rhythm of adjacent terraces but clearly speak of a different age. The street corner is re-established and boldly defined by soaring wall planes that lift and tilt at angles, referencing the rooflines of the existing terrace and adding a sense of drama. High-gloss, diamond-shaped white tiles wrap the walls and refract the adjacent street activity. A revealed undercroft houses a cafe, spilling out into a bluestone plinth and providing a connective interface and engagement with the public realm. Deep outdoor setbacks on the main…

Jury citation The notion that we should replace the native vegetation lost by building is an important sustainability initiative. Singapore now decrees that more than the site area in greenery must be established on every building. This project employs this important strategy and many more in three modest terrace houses snuggling quietly in inner-urban Sydney. The two-storey building maintains a modest scale on the street, with green roofs and dormers. Dark timber slats are used for balustrades and walls, disguising gates and garage doors. The garage can become a fourth bedroom or study when no car space is needed. The terraces have a complex section organized around a light-filled stair under a sliding glass opening roof, with sleeping located above and living below. Back bedrooms overlook green roofs and the…

Jury citation This precious and delightful building of thirty-eight apartments occupies a pivotal place on Sydney’s Potts Point ridge. An outstanding example of innovative International Style cooperative housing, it was designed by prominent architect Aaron Bolot in 1948. Bolot was an emigre to Australia in 1911 and set up a practice in Sydney, working on a freelance basis, including a stint with Walter Burley Griffin. One of the earliest curved apartment buildings in Sydney, this project demonstrates the influence of European modernism on postwar Australian architecture. It is one of the first Sydney buildings to employ a segmental radial plan in an inventive response to its triangular site. The sweeping facade, steel-framed glazing and horizontal spandrels are articulated by the use of breakfronts. The rear has quirky external cantilevered balconies…

Jury citation A day at the beach is an immersion in the elements: ocean swell, burning sun, driving wind, sand underfoot. This delightful pavilion amplifies these experiences and makes its purpose legible through revealing functional elements such as communal basins, with jaunty circular mirrors set at variable heights for adults and kids. An extended roofline provides shade, generously oversailing convenient bench seating for passers-by. This facility works to the limit, providing toilets, external showers, change rooms and even a cleverly integrated bus stop on the main street interface. The soft form and recurring circular motif talk to its marine setting, while a horizontal cantilevered roof, complete with a “crew cut” of pigface and coastal grasses, somehow connects to the indelible memory of the sky and sea. The exterior is tightly…