‘Green Spine’ wins $2b Southbank tower international competition
Developer Beulah International has announced the winner of its international competition to design a more than $2 billion mixed-use tower in Melbourne’s Southbank.
MPavilion architecture commission extended to 2021/22
The Naomi Milgrom Foundation and the City of Melbourne will extended annual MPavilion architecture commission for two more seasons in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
New horizons: Ballarat House
Surrounded by off-the-plan project homes on a new estate, this house by Eldridge Anderson marries pared-back simplicity with the joy of detailing to deliver an outcome that is rational rather than boisterous.
Floating boxes: Carlton House
Drawing on existing constraints and opportunities, this renovation to a nineteenth-century terrace house by Tom Robertson Architects has transformed a “cramped and dark” space into a home that works perfectly for its owners.
New Victorian parliament offices embraced by landscape
Peter Elliott Architecture and Urban Design and TCL have designed an addition to Victoria’s Parliament House that is embedded in a garden and covered by an extensive green roof.
News
The ‘people’s building’: National Gallery of Victoria celebrates 50th anniversary
On its 50th anniversary, we look back at a building that has endured, despite a mixed reception from the architectural elite of the day.
Alistair Knox-designed Nanga Gnulle granted further protection
Bendigo council has voted to extend the curtilage of Alistair Knox’s mud-brick house, Nanga Gnulle, to preserve an understanding and appreciation of the siting of the house.
‘Dramatic’ $200 million indoor winter sports centre planned for Penrith
A developer has lodged a planning proposal for a year-round indoor winter sports facility for a site in Penrith, designed by Environa Studio.
Design celebrating ‘female fertility and fecundity’ wins 2018 Tapestry Design Prize
A playful and “riotously decorative” design that celebrates femininity has been awarded the first prize in the 2018 Tapestry Design Prize for Architects.
Projects
New horizons: Ballarat House
Surrounded by off-the-plan project homes on a new estate, this house by Eldridge Anderson marries pared-back simplicity with the joy of detailing to deliver an outcome that is rational rather than boisterous.
Floating boxes: Carlton House
Drawing on existing constraints and opportunities, this renovation to a nineteenth-century terrace house by Tom Robertson Architects has transformed a “cramped and dark” space into a home that works perfectly for its owners.
Reviews
Shifting the status quo: 2018 Housing Futures
Heidi Dokulil reviews the 2018 Housing Futures forum, which explored what makes a residential development work and how to regulate quality at a time when a short-term, calculator-driven model is at its peak.
A continuing city: The work of 2018 Gold Medallist Alec Tzannes
Through the lens of an “overriding preoccupation with the city,” Philip Goad examines the architectural oeuvre of 2018 Gold Medallist Alec Tzannes, who has “helped to build and shape the difficult metropolis that is Sydney.”
Awards
2018 Houses Awards: Australian House of the Year
Cabbage Tree House by Peter Stutchbury Architecture.
People
Re-building a country: Mphethi M. Morojele on indigeneity, animist architecture and sending off Nelson Mandela
In Australia for the Indigenous Design Symposium in July, Johannesburg-based architect Mphethi M. Morojele spoke with ArchitectureAU about the nature of indigeneity and architecture’s role in transforming South Africa.
‘Architecture is the closest thing to a human being that something can be,’ says Daniel Libeskind
Self proclaimed “people’s architect” Daniel Libeskind speaks to William Feuerman about his design process, humanistic architecture and the importance of inscribing a narrative to a place.
Vitruvius’s disciples: Trias
Australia’s architectural scene is brimming with new talent. Linda Cheng chats with the young designers who make up Trias, a small emerging practice with big plans for the future.
Matthew Eagle’s inventive residential architecture
Rigorous analyses of Queensland’s distinct housing typology and a subtle approach to challenging norms underpin Matthew Eagle of ME’s work. His inventive residential architecture brings the suburban fabric to the fore.
Discourse
Heritage value is in the eye of the beholder: why Fed Square deserves protection
Fed Square opened in 2002, following a 1996 design competition. This leads many to wonder whether it’s too new to be heritage-listed. But the idea of heritage only exists in relation to people, communities and social movements.
- Reshaping the suburbs: Designing for the ‘missing middle’
- Tao Gofers on Sirius and the fight for a more inclusive Sydney
- Looking Back, Seeing Through: Contemporary Australian Pavilions
- Community pool projects show how citizens are helping to build cities
- The activist potential of the architect’s own home
Practice
Fee redemption: A mutually assured future
In response to Shaun Carter’s call to reintroduce a fee guide for architects, John Held says the problem runs much deeper than continuous fee cutting.
Products
Nexus Designs curates eight ‘styles’ for PGH Bricks and Pavers
PGH Bricks and Pavers has commissioned Nexus Designs to curate eight distinct “styles” to inspire home owners.
Ecovacs introduces new robot vacuum cleaner with smart navigation technology
Ecovacs has launched the Deebot 900 robot vacuum cleaner that boasts intelligent mapping abilities, wireless app controls and voice activation technologies.
Polyflor launches Palettone flooring range in a dizzying 50 colours
Polyflor has launched a new range of hardwearing, homogenous flooring for commercial applications in 50 different colours.
USG Boral’s Ensemble ceiling used at Perth’s Chancery House
The new USG Boral Ensemble monolithic acoustical ceiling system was installed in Chancery House, Perth as part of a refurbishment by Oldfield Knott Architects.
Postcards
2018 Dulux Study Tour, Milan: Why is “style” a dirty word in architecture?
In the design and fashion capital of Italy, the participants of the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2018 Dulux Study Tour found Milan is a city that embraces the idea of “style” and how it shapes architecture.
2018 Dulux Study Tour, Berlin: Architecture as an agent for social change
On the Berlin leg of the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2018 Dulux Study Tour, the group visited a number of projects that demonstrated how architecture could be used as a tool for social change.
2018 Dulux Study Tour, London: Does studio culture equate to the architecture produced?
The winners of the 2018 Dulux Study Tour visited a number of world renowned architectural practices in London and got an inside look at what drives their culture.
On a high: the Everest circuit
In this postcard from Nepal, architect Virginia Waller reflects on the relationship between the country’s alpine architecture and its remarkable natural setting.