2017 National Architecture Awards: Public Architecture Commendation

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 2015.