2018 National Architecture Awards: National Award for Small Project Architecture

Jury citation

Northshore Pavilion is a small public information and amenities building beside the Brisbane River. As part of Queensland’s largest waterfront urban renewal project, it provides Economic Development Queensland with a temporary pavilion from which to engage the community in relation to future plans. Adjacent to the Eat Street Markets, the pavilion sits as both entry marker and landmark.

The architect’s exploration of timber construction resulted in the re-use of nineteenth-century ironwood wharves as both structure and lining, lending a warmth and familiarity to the spaces. Recovered wharf sections were dressed and re-used liberally. Expressed and bolted portal frames provide a canopy under which two prefabricated pods (amenities and meeting room) sit, defining a generous deck overlooking the river. Trellised outriggers anchored back to the garden invite creepers up to blur the boundary between structure and landscape.

The jury was impressed by the architect’s careful research into the historical use of timber construction within the maritime context and the subsequent application of these findings as a way into a tectonic exploration of the pavilion’s assembly. Northshore Pavilion is a mature work of architecture that contributes to the established regional movement dedicated to timber sustainability.

For more coverage, read Alice Hampson’s project review from Architecture Australia Mar/Apr 2018.