Architecture Australia

Penning this foreword to conclude my year as National President, I am trying to look forward without reflecting too much on what we have achieved. At the time of writing, floodwaters are ravaging the east coast of Australia, we are still interrupted by the restrictions of the pandemic, homelessness is increasing at an inordinate rate and housing affordability has become an inherent issue for Australia, while our politicians are in election mode. More importantly, we are all enraged by the devastation being inflicted on the people of Ukraine, who are suffering beyond what we can even imagine in this country. This time of unprecedented unrest and climate chaos will prompt a resetting of the way we work, live and play. The economic model for business practices has changed, and we will…

At the final session of the Institute’s Lost Opportunities symposium held in March, Sean Godsell and long-time Casabella editor Francesco Dal Co were in conversation. Sean said, “The only way that architecture progresses is if there is a degree of courage.” Based on his unwavering commitment to achieving his creative visions, this is no theoretical sentiment. Sean’s unrelenting pursuit of excellence has earned him the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest honour, the Gold Medal. This issue of Architecture Australia celebrates Sean and his practice (page 77) and announces the Institute’s suite of National Prizes (page 69). As Philip Goad writes, “In formal terms, almost all of Godsell’s buildings involve long, stretched rectangular blocks, whether elevated, extruded vertically, partially incised into the landscape or inserted seamlessly into an existing urban morphology.” Although…

When People Oriented Design (POD), with Coburn Architecture, won the bid to design the new Gurriny Yealamucka Health and Wellbeing Centre (GYHWC) at Yarrabah, on the lands of the Gunggandji and Yidinji peoples, the question for co-director Shaneen Fantin was not how to meet what the contract required, but, “How far can we build on what the contract was asking us to do?” The practice identified opportunities to maximize Indigenous economic benefits at multiple levels, exceeding the requirements for Indigenous employment, training, suppliers and engagement – and all within a tight contractual timeframe. The health centre was delivered without excessive cost blowouts and ahead of its scheduled delivery by the Indigenous-owned company H. C. Building and Construction. This was no small feat, particularly with the impact of COVID affecting building…

Built on the land of the Wodi Wodi and the Yuin peoples Near Nowra in the Shoalhaven River valley of southern New South Wales, two properties – Riversdale and the adjoining Bundanon – were the home of artists Arthur and Yvonne Boyd. In 1993, the Boyds donated both sites, including their substantial art collection, to the Australian government and the Bundanon Trust was established. The Boyd Education Centre (BEC) – the winner of the Australian Institute of Architects’ Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Buildings in 1999, designed by Murcutt, Lewin and Lark – is on the Riversdale site and was constructed to facilitate artist-in-residence programs. In 2016, the Trust released a masterplan prepared by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and announced a $28.5 million expansion plan for the whole property. The announcement was…

Built on the land of the Yorta Yorta nation The first thing you’ll notice about the northern Victorian town of Shepparton is its interminable flatness, with the topography and nutrient-rich soil of the Goulburn River floodplain contributing to the region’s reputation as the “food bowl of Australia.” The second thing is the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM). Designed by Denton Corker Marshall, it stands tall and proud on the main highway into the town, in stark contrast to the flatness. John Denton, founding director of Denton Corker Marshall, says there are three reasons for this tallness. The first is to mitigate against floods, which Denton Corker Marshall has done by raising the building onto its own man-made “art hill,” beneath which the building’s services are buried. The second is to be a “cultural…

Built on the land of the Darumbal people Designed by a tripartite architectural team that coalesces the local and national expertise of Conrad Gargett, Clare Design and Brian Hooper Architect, the new Rockhampton Museum of Art is a catalyst for the advancement of art and culture in regional Queensland and a new public building that substantially contributes to revitalizing the CBD of the Central Queensland city. The $36-million endeavour was championed by the Capricorn Coast community and arts patrons from across Queensland under the leadership of former Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow. Jointly funded by the federal and state governments in association with the Rockhampton Regional Council, the handsome three-storey complex has a floor area of just under 6,000 square metres, comprising of gallery, administration, education, retail and hospitality spaces. Established as…