What’s been happening? Check this bulletin of news National
Australia’s capital cities demand a co-ordinated federal policy, claims Roy Woodhouse, MD of Knight Frank Hooker >> The RAIA’s National Manager Communications, Jane Seaborn, has left; she’s been helping the Liberal election campaign >> A password is needed to access the members’ only section of the RAIA’s new Internet site, supervised by Shaun Humphries, at http://www.raia.com.au >> Ecologically cluey architects can promote their expertise in a new database accessible on the Web at http://www.ecomail.com.au >> Non-residential building is likely to grow by six percent this year, says the Australian Constructors Association, but the outlook for housing is not so good >> Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests that the architectural services industry in June 1993 was worth $945 million in sales and $92 million in pre-tax profit, with 4409 businesses employing 16,204 people. The profession’s profit margin (9.8 percent) was higher than that of all non-farming industries (5.9 percent). | New South Wales
A new glass spire for St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney? This proposal by NSW Public Works and Services.
Darkly alluding to “lies from all sides”, author Philip Drew is back in Sydney after researching in Europe an unauthorised archi-bio of Jørn Utzon; this to follow his Architecture in Detail monographs on the Sydney Opera House and (due April) two chapels by Tadao Ando >> Post-Hadid, Bosnia-inspired guru Lebbeus Woods has been invited to speak at Interior Designex in Sydney in April >> Centennial Park residents have failed to galvanise opposition to a Fox film studios at the Showgrounds—although it means demolition of some historic buildings >> Good phase for Harry Seidler: after winning a battle with the Hunters Hill council over his scheme for a “too-small” house with a “radical” wave roof, and seeing noisy Luna Park close down, he received from the Governor of Vienna an Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art (Class 1) >> An autonomous house designed by Rauzxherl Jiminez was one of 21 HSC projects in the NSW Board of Studies’ recent DesignTech exhibition >> After five years fielding “a blizzard of paper”, Professor James Weirick is no longer head of the University of NSW’s School of Landscape Architecture >> Pyrmont residents are battling the CityWest Development Corporation over its plans for housing on Pyrmont Point; they want a park >> ESD Consultants—a new partnership of architects Gareth Cole and Roderick Simpson and engineer Harry Partridge—has prepared criteria for assessing developments on ecological grounds >> Anticipating growth in the aged market, retirement housing architect Geoffrey Twibill has joined Devine Erby Mazlin >> Clean-Up Australia’s chair, Ian Kiernan, says he’ll resign from two Olympics committees unless the NSW government gets serious about the environment in its tender briefs for Homebush >> Arson destroyed all but three storeys of George Patterson House, a 101-year-old, formerly seven-storey, sandstone office building on George Street >> Bureaucratic delays are responsible for much of the 1000-case backlog at the Land and Environment Court, yet mayors surveyed by The Sydney Morning Herald claim councils can’t conform to the law requiring DA decisions within 40 days >> After failing to woo a hotelier for its controversial tower at East Circular Quay, CML wants to substitute apartments and a restaurant >> As a welcome antidote to Sydney Harbour’s gentrification, Goat Island is being reopened as a shipyard >> The NSW government is redesigning (“de-Radburnising”) public housing estates in western Sydney to reclaim community spaces ruled by gangs >> Telemarketing and feng shui are said to have helped young Sydney architects Metro D outstrip the profession’s general business performance since 1992 >> Conservation experts Ian Stapleton and Howard Tanner have the go-ahead to rescue the Bondi Pavilion >> The Sydney City Council is requiring owners of vacant sites to pay for landscaping before the Olympics >> Jim Colman, urban affairs columnist for The Sydney Review, has won the George Munster Award for freelance journalism, honouring “independence, integrity, accuracy and a lucid and intelligent prose” >> Penrith City Council leads a trend to reopen pedestrian malls to traffic >> Catholics are debating two proposals to revise the skyline of Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral. The architects, NSW Public Works and Services, propose either building the twin sandstone spires from the original Victorian scheme or a single glass spire conducting light to a new central altar >> University of Sydney academics say that freeway noise barriers are of “marginal to useless” effectiveness >> A design competition has been launched for a private Future Generations University on the central coast.
Australian Capital Territory
The ACT-federal task force to review Canberra’s messy planning (13 authorities involved) must try to resolve conflicting objectives in its terms of reference, to report in September >> Three new reports on ACT planning offer different solutions. Justice Paul Stein’s inquiry into the leasehold system indicates a public desire for more regulation of development and recommends retaining both the ACT Planning Authority and leasehold. The Red Tape Committee suggests streamlining development laws—and the Review of ACT Planning Structures and Functions by John Mant and John Collins proposes specific powers—for overall strategies, development control, administrative control and place management—to be held by separate arms of government >> Meanwhile, Bob Landsdown, former chair of the NCPA, claims that the ACT Planning Authority should be strengthened to allow it to work equally with the NCPA >> A $500 million public building programme is expected to improve the flagging Canberra economy over the next two years. Key projects are the Defence Department’s offices at Russell Hill (Bligh Voller) and new premises in Barton for three other government departments >> University of NSW Professor Paul Reid’s damning essay on the ACT’s planning history—How Canberra Got Its Hump—won the 1995 Peter Harrison Memorial Prize. | Western Australia
Two schemes are being considered by the WA government for an exhibition and convention centre in Perth >> Melville City Council is pondering an application to demolish and rebuild the art deco Raffles Hotel but The West Australian has published letters from the United States urging preservation >> Thirteen neo-trad display homes, including three designed by John McKenzie, three by Overman and Zuideveld and two by the disbanded Philip Cox Etherington Coulter & Jones, have been built by Landcorp in its demonstration street for a city at Joondalup >> Mike Fitzhardinge has retired from Forbes Fitzhardinge Woodland and Bret White becomes a director >> Anger rises at Multiplex’s inactivity on the Swan Brewery site >> Paul Wellington, the RAIA’s WA state manager, has returned to practice >> Claire Huston’s appointment to the Board of Rottnest Island as “a professional architect” has been questioned because she is not registered and is married to a prominent Liberal Party member.
QueenslandNoel Robinson chairs the 12-firm joint venture designing a new airport at Changchun in northern China >> The Goss government’s $1.7 billion spree on hospitals has again questioned the definition of a local firm of architects. Conrad & Gargett definitely qualifies but did not receive any of the large projects announced before the election. Nor did the Brisbane offices of firms operating internationally, such as Peddle Thorp and Bligh Nield. Others were more lucky: eg Daryl Jackson and Di Carlo Potts (Royal Brisbane Hospital), Cox MSJ (Princess Alexandra and Logan Hospitals), Woodhead Firth Lee (planning three rural hospitals) and Hassell (Cairns and masterplans). But National Party frontbencher Kevin Lingard told Parliament that Brisbane architects were “outraged” that outsiders won the Royal Brisbane tender against local firms quoting less and briefed later >> Brisbane architect/graphic designer Michael Bryce heads the committee advising on visuals for the Sydney Olympics >> The new Students, Architects and Graduates Association (SAGA) has laid complaints with the RAIA about unpaid wages >> Lend Lease plans a new town at Mango Hill near Brisbane >> John Simpson has merged with Spowers to form Spowers JSA >> Also Architecture Studio won a competition to design a Gold Coast retreat for disabled people.
Victoria
Eternal Melbourne/Sydney rivalries are back in play with Denton Corker Marshall‘s taller, silver alternative to Harry Seidler‘s gold design for “the tallest building in the world” proposed by leading builder Bruno Grollo. DCM and Seidler have designed for different sites—Melburnians are being asked to reach consensus on which scheme should proceed, if any >> The state government has released Docklands height limit “guidelines” of 10 metres (for waterfront sites) to 60 metres. Apparently this would not rule out a 680-metre Grollo tower. Indeed, Planning Minister Rob Maclellan has already approved a 146-metre apartment block to surge above the 60-metre limit along St Kilda Road—contradicting a report to him by Hassell that the boulevard’s heights should stay. After an outcry, the Minister fearlessly announced a panel to recommend revised heights—but Premier Jeff Kennett hauled him back into line >> Spec designs to update the Sandridge Railway Bridge across the Yarra have been exhibited in the Platform 2 artists’ space in Flinders Street. One idea is to reopen the bridge for light rail; another is to pump over its edge a wall of water >> The Age’s John Westwood has described the Melbourne City Council’s Postcode 3000 city housing programme as “a masterstroke” … “one of the planning coups of the century”. This makes city planner Rob Adams look good >> Furniture showrooms in Melbourne and Sydney appear enthusiastic about Michael Trudgeon’s Vervette modular table system, connecting cast aluminium legs with MDF tabletops in five shapes >> Michael Jeffreson has joined Demaine Partnership as design director >> Nonda Katsalidis has the commission to expand Melbourne University’s Potter Gallery on Swanston Street. Meanwhile, RMIT is calling expressions for a fourth building to recharge its Swanston Street presence; this site talks directly to Building 8, so timorous practitioners need not apply. 
DCM’s idea for Bruno Grollo’s Melbourne Tower; photo by John Gollins.
South Australia
An announcement should be imminent on the design competition for the Mary MacKillop Centre at Penola—additions to a Catholic church adjacent to the tourist-attractive schoolhouse where Mary MacKillop taught >> Adelaide University wants to close part of Victoria Drive (removing about 150 parking spaces) so its campus can run down to the River Torrens. And it has launched a design competition to develop the north-east part of its North Terrace campus >> SA’s Infrastructure Minister, John Olsen, says the multi-function polis will lose funding unless it delivers four key projects this year. The first, a 350-hectare wetland to purify 40 percent of Adelaide’s stormwater by 2005, has opened >> University of SA architecture graduate Kirsty Hewitt has won the latest HPM Industries Award for Excellence in Design (young designers) >> The Adelaide City Council has approved a residential/ office revamp of the 80-year-old Repco building at the southern end of King William Street. The architect is John Diekman.
Tasmania
A slight error was made in replacing one of the engaged Tuscan columns of the Hobart Town Hall portico, so a new piece of sandstone has been ordered >> The Australian Heritage Council disapproves of the “well-intentioned” reconstruction of the Richmond windmill >> Winners of the design competition for two parcels in the Hobart renewal zone of Wapping were Philp Lighton with Peddle Thorp & Learmonth and Eastman Heffernan Walch & Button with Leigh Woolley >> The state government has received four entertainment and tourism proposals for Princes Wharf 1 at Sullivans Cove. |
|
