Rachel Hurst is an architectural writer and critic. She has researched and been published on the alliances between design and food. Rachel’s work has been included in books Eating Architecture and Food and the City, she writes regularly for the Australian design media, and she is a contributing editor to Architecture Australia. A senior lecturer in architecture at the University of South Australia, Rachel is also undertaking a PhD (by project) at RMIT University with an emphasis on architecture and gastronomy.
Rachel Hurst's Latest contributions
Armadale House by Neeson Murcutt Neille
This resourceful alteration forgoes the temptation to build anew, instead recalibrating a Victorian home and its 1990s addition to suit contemporary family life.
University of Melbourne Student Precinct Project by Lyons et al
In an ambitious act of co-creation, a diverse group of practices has listened to more than 20,000 students and staff to design a student precinct that encourages connections – between people, disciplines, past and present, inside and out.
Bass Coast Farmhouse by John Wardle Architects
Composed and confident, this new residence by John Wardle Architects in regional Victoria distils the fundamentals of the rural farmhouse into a richly detailed home.
Gastronomic palette: Hermon
Delicious colours and carved layers are the garnish to this practical reinvention of an Edwardian villa and its 1990s addition, which lets the family have their cake – and eat it, too.
Eastham Street by Muir
A modest alteration to a heritage home in Melbourne’s inner north deftly handles a tight corner site, carving out space for sublime inhabitation and presenting a mass of trellised greenery to the street.
‘Dignity-enabling’: St Albans Housing
NMBW Architecture Studio and MADA rethink the design of accessible, affordable housing and create an apartment block in outer Melbourne and a new model for ageing in place.
Nostalgia might not be what it used to be
Rachel Hurst reviews the Australian Institute of Architects Lost Opportunities symposium and finds it focused predominantly on architectural space and form. But, she asks, what of the lost opportunities for architecture itself?
The making of an institution: Leigh Street Wine Room
With this compact and narrow wine bar and store in the heart of Adelaide, Studio Gram has paid homage to the classic wine bars of Europe.
‘Looking backwards to look forwards’: Sibyl Centre
Stories dating back more than a century infuse this addition to the first university college for women in Australia.
A hidden secret: Part Time Lover
This light, timber pavilion in Adelaide by Sans-Arc Studio houses an all-day diner. Surrounded by some of the city’s most significant buildings, Part Time Lover both acknowledges and resists its location.