ArchitectureAU – News

The Lodge on the Lake Design Ideas Competition

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:51:58 +0000

The University of Canberra today named the winners of its Lodge on the Lake Design Ideas Competition. The announcement was made one hundred and one years to the day after Walter Burley Griffin won the international competition to design Canberra as Australia’s federal capital.

The presentation was made at Canberra’s Gallery of Australian Design (GAD). The competition – a Centenary of Canberra initiative by the gallery and the University of Canberra – asked participants to visualize an official prime minister’s residence at Attunga Point on the south bank of Lake Burley Griffin, though there’s no intention to use the designs to build a new Lodge.

2013 Nexus Student Congress

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:23:43 +0000

The News South Wales city of Newcastle will host the 2013 Australia and New Zealand Student Architecture Congress from 3 to 6 July 2013. The biennial student-led congress dates back to 1961; this year it’s is about the regeneration of urban space, and will focus on some major issues facing regional cities around the world today. Nexus 2013 will be an opportunity to think about our ideas of the “city” and the urban condition, and conceive of viable alternatives for what the “city” may become in the future.

Newcastle is Australia’s largest regional city and the best example of the worst of circumstances. Newcastle’s history – a story of riots, earthquake, floods and the shutting down of industry – has shaped a present-day city that is one of the best places to live in the country, yet which has an emptying CBD.

2013 Eat-Drink-Design Awards open

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:51:06 +0000

Entries are now open for the annual Eat-Drink-Design Awards. The awards celebrate the best hospitality design from Australia and New Zealand, and acknowledges the unique collaborations between client and designer that make for great social venues.

In 2012, the inaugural program attracted 157 entries across the six categories: Best Bar Design; Best Restaurant Design; Best Cafe Design; Best Temporary Design; Best Retail Design; Best Visual Identity Design. A special award – The Hall of Fame – went to Jimmy Watson’s Wine Bar, Melbourne, designed in 1962 by Robin Boyd and Frederick Romberg. This award recognizes an enduring establishment of time-honoured appeal and community standing.

World Interiors Day: Celebrating 50 years of Australian design

Cassie Hansen — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:06:00 +0000

On 22 May 2013, the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) Victoria / Tasmania presented World Interiors Day: Celebrating 50 years of Australian design, at the Poliform showroom in Melbourne.

A panel of five design luminaries was assembled, each to reflect on the influences and interiors of a particular decade – from the 1960s to the 2000s.

Houses Awards on Today Tonight

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:13:04 +0000

Residential projects by three practices on the 2013 Houses Awards shortlist were featured on current affairs program Today Tonight on Monday, 20 May 2013. Brisbane’s Shaun Lockyer Architects, Sydney’s Carterwilliamson Architects and Melbourne’s Rob Kennon Architects were featured in a segment about Australia’s best home renovations.

2013 Victorian Architecture Awards shortlist

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:08:49 +0000

The shortlist for the 2013 Victorian Architecture Awards has been released by the Australian Institute of Architects Victorian Chapter. Thirteen juries selected 112 projects (from a record 240 entries) to progress to the state awards, which will be presented on Friday 21 June at Central Pier, Docklands. Also to be awarded on the night is the prestigious Victorian Architecture Medal which is selected as the best project of the year from the field of awarded projects and the ColorBond Award for Steel Architecture.

Bayside Police Station, Sandringham – fmjt (Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp)
Hume Global Learning Centre & Library – fmjt (Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp)
La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science – Lyons
National Tennis Centre, Melbourne Park – Jackson Architecture
Penleigh and Essendon Grammar Senior School – McBride Charles Ryan
RMIT Design Hub – Sean Godsell Architects in association with Peddle Thorp Architects
South Morang Rail Extension – Cox Architecture
Swanston Academic Building – Lyons
The Richard & Elizabeth Tudor Centre for Contemporary Learning, Trinity Grammar – McIntyre Partnership

Transform: Altering the future of architecture

Justine Clark — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:02:29 +0000

Less than two weeks remain till the Transform: Altering the Future of Architecture discussion day and debate about gender, agency and the future of architecture. It’s one of the fringe events happening in Melbourne during the 2013 National Conference, and bookings close 23 May.

Transform is framed by the broad question “If architecture was more inclusive would it also be in a stronger position?” The event connects current speculations on the futures of the profession to parallel moves to create a more equitable profession, and argues that the two are tightly entwined. This leads to further questions: How might we alter the future of architecture to generate a more equitable, effective and robust profession? How can architecture make meaningful and compelling contributions to communities, while also being more inclusive? What might such a discipline look like?

Parker revival

Peter Salhani — Thu, 09 May 2013 06:12:54 +0000

In the early 1990s I picked up a Parker armchair off the footpath, needing little more than a light sand and a lick of Danish oil. In the late 1990s I snapped up a Parker table at a garage sale, and a buffet at an op shop – both for a song. By the noughties, however, luck was running out: Parker (like me) was verging on “vintage,” with price tags to match.

Parker furniture has been a household name in Australia for over half a century, and in recent years, collectable. Not just for its provenance, but for the simplicity of design and quality of craftsmanship. Though It’s not been made for many years, in 2013, Parker is back, but not as we know it. Founding designer, Tony Parker, has teamed up with bespoke joiners Covemore Designs to reintroduce selected pieces from his mid-century range, with help from Workshopped (promoters of Australian design).

Think Brick Awards update

Wed, 15 May 2013 05:00:06 +0000

Due to popular demand, the deadlines for entries in the 2013 Think Brick Awards Open Face and About Face Student categories have been extended. Students and architects now have until 5pm on Friday, 24 May 2013 to submit their entries.

The About Face Student Award calls for students to design their own “Pholiota,” the Melbourne home of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, applying the same building technique as was used by the Griffins – the Knitlock system of interlocking concrete-reinforced tiles. The winner will receive a return flight and three nights’ accommodation in Venice.

Centre of attention

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:00:00 +0000

In April 2013, AAU reported on the Cox-led advocacy to save the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centres. Today, the Australian Institute of Architects threw its weight behind the debate, saying that the NSW Government’s decision to redevelop Darling Harbour through a single contract with a single developer has betrayed the public interest.

The NSW Chapter of the Institute released the following statement from the Institute’s National President Elect Paul Berkemeier, who says that the NSW Government should fulfil its responsibility as advocate for the public interest by defining and defending the public realm for the project, rather than leaving this critical step to a development tender.

2013 Brisbane – Queensland Regional Architecture Awards

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:51:05 +0000

The 2013 Brisbane Regional Architecture Awards from the Australian Institute of Architects Queensland Chapter were announced on Friday, 10 May, at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Winning projects, from the ninety-five entries received, will now progress to the Queensland Architecture Awards, to be announced in Brisbane on 21 June.

Translational Research Institute – Wilson Architects + Donovan Hill Architects in Association (Public Architecture)

Planets aligning

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:16:47 +0000

Over the past few weeks, a small design team from Woods Bagot Sydney has been working on a project inside a warehouse near Sydney airport. They’ve been building an interactive lighting installation called Planet Under Construction (PUC), for Vivid Sydney 2013 — the annual light and sound festival that sees hundreds of installations and happenings by Sydney’s creative community around the CBD and Circular Quay,this year, from 24 May to 10 June.

On the PUC team are Guillermo Fernandez, Danny Wehbe, Penny Craswell, Young Lee, Mohammed Khaled, Amanda Gore, Thomas Hale, India Collins and Sophie Bennett. PUC is a spherical sculpture with witches hats (orange construction cones) tied onto the steel frame with bungee cord. You need two people to do this – one inside the frame and one outside, so the frame is made with an entry hatch that allows one person snugly through.

Australian creative directors shortlist announced for the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Seven teams have progressed from a record number of submissions to stage two of the search for a creative director of Australia’s exhibition at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale. The shortlist was selected by the Australian Institute of Architects’ Venice Biennale Committee (VBC), led by immediate past national president, and Venice Biennale Commissioner, Brian Zulaikha.

Under Construction – Dr Elizabeth Farrelly, Grace Mortlock, David Neustein and Dan Hill with Other Architects and Fabrica (NSW)
Augmented Australia 1914–2014 – felix. + Sophie Giles & Simon Anderson (WA)
Flatpack Pavilion– Zanny Begg, Chris Fox, Helen Lochhead and John Choi (NSW)
Openings – Andrew Burns / Mark Gowing / Brett Boardman (NSW)
Distinctions + Contradictions, At Home with Australian Architecture – Associate Professor Jay Younger, Lindy Johnson, Elizabeth Watson Brown, Jennifer Taylor (advisor), and Tony Gooley Design (Qld)
Between – FloodSlicer and Two4K (Vic)
The Peephole Hoarding– The AU (NSW)

Selector Best New Product Award 2013

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:51:32 +0000

The 2013 Selector Best New Product Award was announced on 8 May at DesignBuild in Sydney. This award is jointly sponsored by DesignBuild and Selector (Australia’s favourite online directory), to recognize innovation and development of products for architectural projects. Winners will be featured in Selector and Architectural Product News. Eligible products must have been released in Australia in the twelve months leading up to DesignBuild. On the 2013 jury of design industry leaders were: John de Manincor (DRAW), Paul Brace (Jackson Teece) and Susanne Mayer (BVN).

Recoh-Vert Heat Recovery System from Evo Building Products. A copper counter-flow heat exchanger where hot waste water is used to heat fresh cold mains water. The hot waste water passes through an inner pipe, while fresh mains water passes through an outer pipe, heating up as it goes.

2013 NSW Heritage Awards

Wed, 08 May 2013 06:10:18 +0000

At a harbourside lunch on 8 May, at Sydney’s Doltone House, the NSW National Trust announced its 2013 Heritage Awards. Phillip Adams AO as MC, special guest was Robyn Parker MP, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Heritage, along with National Trust representatives and other leaders in the heritage movement, including Heritage Officer at the NSW Chapter office of the Australian Institute of Architects, Dr Noni Boyd.

The awards that recognize both the reclamation of degraded natural environments and the restoration of unique pieces of the built environment, and National Trust NSW CEO, Brian Scarsbrick thanked this year’s entrants for the “wonderful gifts” they have given the state. Winners include the restoration of a now-vibrant wetlands in the Hunter Valley, a once-crumbling, now rebuilt church (resting place to forty First-Fleeters), the revival of Wollongong’s North Beach Bathers Pavilion (pictured top), a sand library to assist with vital mortar restoration projects, and a reshaping of the Darling Harbour Chinese Gardens.