Helen Norrie is an architecture and design academic at the University of Tasmania. She is the founder of the Regional Urban Studies Laboratory, a collective, practice-led research project examining urban design and cultural and social issues in regional towns and cities. Helen, Adam Haddow and Sam Crawford were the creative directors of the 2014 National Architecture Conference.
Helen Norrie's Latest contributions
Niwa House by John Ellway
A clever and nimble adaptation to the humble Queensland worker’s cottage learns from the verandah, enabling its occupants to live on the edges of house, garden and neighbourhood.
Meet the owners of Sunnybanks House
Making the move from Sydney to Tasmania, Hilary and Andrew Carpenter were looking to create a place to retreat to in their retirement. Helen Norrie chatted with the couple about their experiences of working with Core Collective Architects to make their dream a reality.
From deforestation to regeneration: Spring Bay Mill
An old woodchip mill on Tasmania’s east coast, once an integral part of the state’s controversial logging industry, is now a post-industrial events and performance venue and the site of ongoing environmental regeneration.
Revisited: Courtyard House by Bill Shugg
After hiring a plane to “block spot” over Hobart in the 1960s, Tasmanian architect Bill Shugg found the ideal site in the garden of a grand colonial house. The modernist home he built there for his family is little changed today.
Solid touchstone: Goulburn Street Housing
Elegantly yet dramatically increasing inner Hobart’s residential density, Cumulus Studio’s Goulburn Street Housing responds to the heritage context of the streetscape while introducing a new functional and formal typology.
Small but generous: Arthur Circus
A spatial tardis, this surprising and generous addition enlivens an original Georgian cottage in a tightly controlled Hobart heritage precinct.
Embedded narratives: The Hedberg
Conceived as an “incubator,” the University of Tasmania’s new music school, designed by Liminal Architecture and Woha highlights the university’s important civic and cultural role.
Modest simplicity: Ryde Street House
The careful reconfiguring of a modest 1900s worker’s cottage in Hobart enables a young family to remain in the community they love without compromising on character, amenity or garden space.
‘Welcome to Sparkletown’: Northshore Car Wash
Twohill and James‘s Googie-style car- and pet-washing facility is a community landmark that encourages social activity and adds character to its suburban Townsville location
Verandah living: Brisbane Riverbank House
Set above the bends of the Brisbane River and informed by the material qualities of the existing 1930s cottage, a new brick and timber living wing, terraced garden and lap pool designed by Owen Architecture frame the terrain and capture the timeless spirit of this period home.