A collaborative project involving three architecture firms that has transformed the centre of Newcastle has taken out the top prize in the 2022 Newcastle Architecture Awards.
Newcastle East End Stage 1 by SJB, Durbach Block Jaggers and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer won the Newcastle Medal as well as the Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing Award, while SJB also received the Urban Design Award for the masterplanned project.
The mixed-use project was one of fourteen projects around Newcastle and the Hunter region recognized in the awards.
The jury said that the Newcastle East End Stage 1 project provided an exemplar for urban regeneration projects along Hunter Street in East Newcastle.
“The secret to effectively reinvent a city is to reinvent the processes that bring new places to fruition,” the jury said. “With this idea in mind, the Newcastle East End Stage 1 development is significant, as it strikes a balance between land uses, community expectations and market realities.”
“With rejuvenation and restoration at its core, the apartments in stage one have been designed to retain key heritage elements, produce a village atmosphere that respects the past while delivering 28,000 square metres of residential, retail space, and a hotel.”
Other winners included EJE Architecture and Suede Interior Design, for the Kingsley by Crystalbrook Collection project, which saw the transformation of the old council administration centre, a brutalist monument of the 1970s. The jury said the project “seamlessly bridged the fine balance of restoring an historic building in the round as well as adaptively transforming the ex-administration building into Newcastle’s first luxury five-star hotel.”
The jury was chaired by Lindsay Johnston, convener of the Architecture Foundation Australia, and included Murray Wood from Maitland City Council and Kalyna Sparks from David Boyle Architect.
Reflecting on this year’s winning projects, Johnston, said: “There are many facets to assessing design excellence, which encompass response to the clients’ brief … and the consideration of culture, context, place, climate and environmental performance – and the ability to enrich life.”
“Of major importance has been the ability for the architects to develop a good relationship with the project clients, whether private home makers, business owners, commercial developers or public authorities, and to bring together results that hold true to the clients’ aspirations, while negotiating the criteria of local planning authorities.”
The winners are:
Newcastle Architecture Medal
Newcastle East End Stage 1 – SJB, Durbach Block Jaggers and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
Public Architecture
Award
Tuncurry Museum and Golf Facility – Michael Fox Architects
Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing
Award
Newcastle East End Stage 1 – SJB, Durbach Block Jaggers and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
Residential Architecture – Houses (New)
Award
Hamilton Garden House – MSDS
Educational Architecture
Award
SPCC Cessnock Senior Building – SHAC
Commercial Architecture
Award
Kingsley by Crystalbrook Collection – EJE Architecture
Commendation
The Pangolin – Fabric Architecture Studio
Interior Architecture
Awards
Kingsley by Crystalbrook Collection – EJE Architecture with Suede Interior Design
Lake Macquarie City Council Administration Office Fitout – EJE Architecture
Commendations
The Lair – Ode Studio with Ash Greenaway
Vamp – SDA
Small Project Architecture
Commendation
Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service Mock Courtroom – Out(fit)
Urban Design
Award
Newcastle East End – SJB
Commendation
Newcastle Station and Public Domain – Conrad Gargett
Heritage
Commendation
Nihon University Newcastle Campus – DWP (Design Worldwide Partnership) with Azusa Sekkei Co.
Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture
Catherine McAuley Catholic Chapel – Webber Architects
