International
Glenn Murcutt held a week-long master class at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Unitech), which the students and staff describe as an intense and rewarding experience ›› The Sydney journal Content will now be jointly published by UTS and China Architecture and Building Press as a bilingual publication ›› Crawford Architects will partner USA firm Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunkto design a new indoor sports arena for the University of Northern Iowa ›› Denton Corker Marshall and Tom Kovac are among 22 international architects selected to develop new designs for Alessi ›› MSJ are designing major new multi-purpose buildings at the Medical College Hospital in Jining and at the Qian Fe Shan Hospital in Jinan, China ›› Australian architects have done well in the Asia Pacific UNESCO Heritage Conservation Awards. The conservation of Australian Hall, the venue of the 1938 “Day of Mourning” conference, by Graham Brooks and Associates, won an Award of Distinction. The Sydney Conservatorium of Music by Tanner & Associates Architects with the NSW Government Architect and Daryl Jackson/Robin Dyke gained an Award of Merit, while Honourable Mentions went to conservation work and street revitalisation at Broken Hill, by Liz Vines, and to the restored Kow Plains Homestead by Pip Hamilton ›› Louise Cox has been appointed to the UIA Council as vice president (region IV)
National
Geelong Foreshore, by Taylor Cullity Lethlean, winner of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects’ Award for Landscape Excellence.
Dr Paul Memmott, the director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre at UQueensland, has been awarded the 2002 RAIA Sisalation Prize. He will edit TAKE 2, on “Housing Design in Indigenous Australia”
Ian Moore ofEngelen Moore is the creative director for the RAIA 2003 National Convention ›› Ross Connolly, Graham Bell, John Cooper, Michael Keniger, Michael Kimberley and Alec Tzannes are on a panel drawn from the RAIA and the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia reviewing procedures governing the accreditation and recognition of Australian architecture courses ›› SONA, the Student Organised Network for Architecture, has launched its website at www.sona.com.au ›› National Architecture week was held on 7-14 October with a wide range of activities across the country. Graham Jahn kicked the week off with an address to the National Press Council ›› Architect Catherine Hart, project manager with Lend Lease and president of the National Association of Women in Construction, is a finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Award ›› The 2002 Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Awards have been announced. Taylor Cullity Lethlean won the Award for Landscape Excellence for the Geelong Foreshore, which also won the Public Spaces Award. The Public Open Spaces Award went to Taylor Cullity Lethlean and Mary Jeavons Landscape Architect for Carlton Gardens Playground. The Building Context Award was won by Tract Consultants for QUT Gardens Point Campus. The Heritage Award went to Taylor Cullity Lethlean for the Uluru Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, NT. The Rehabilitation and Conservation Award was won by Pittendrigh Shinkfield and Bruce for the Green and Gold Bell Frog Habitat, Homebush Bay. The Transport and Infrastructure Award went to Tract Consultants for the Manly Interchange. The Landscape Art Award was won by SueAnne Ware for “An Anti-Memorial to Heroin Over-doses”, St Kilda. Masterplanning Awards went to Pittendrigh, Shinkfield and Bruce for the Honeysuckle Public Domain Strategy, and Hassell for Kelvin Grove Urban Village, Brisbane ›› Conjoint Professor Lindsay Johnston, of UNewcastle, has been awarded the RAIA Architectural Education Prize for “his integrity, creativity and determination to influence a sustainable future through a life of education in the art and practice of architecture”
Cara Wiseman, of Deakin University, has been awarded the 2002 RAIA Student Prize for the Advancement of Architecture
Victoria
“ESP”, Victoria Park, Green Square, by Nick Turner, Bob Nation and Peter Wilson.
John Wardle Architects has promoted Stefan Mee to senior associate, Paul Evans to associate and Andrew Wong to residential team leader ›› The symposium to launch TAKE 1 “Urban Solutions - Propositions for the Future Australian City” edited by Robert McGauran (the outcome of the 2001 RAIA Sisalation Prize) was well attended, especially by middle-aged men and young woman, which leads to the question - don’t Melbourne’s younger male architects care about the city?
John Hair and Karen McWilliam have been appointed as associates at Hayball Leonard Stent ›› The State Government has released plans to redevelop Victoria Park into a housing estate and public open space ›› The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, by Wood Marsh, in association with Pels Innes Neilson Kosloff, opened in October ›› A letter to planning minister Mary Delahunty expressing concerns about extensive delays in obtaining planning approvals for domestic work, from 100 Melbourne architects, led by Damian Bonnice, has generated wide press coverage. Signatories include Michael Markham, Kerstin Thompson, John Wardle, Ivan Rijavec, Lindsay Holland and James Legge. They suggest wide-ranging reforms including teams of experienced planners and architects to help over-burdened councils, more members of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), tighter heritage controls for greater certainty, replacing neighbourhood character overlays with guidelines for sensitive residential areas, removing the planning approval requirement for single-storey rear extensions, weeding out mischevious VCAT appeals through the equivalent of a committal process, and extending the time councils have to determine complex projects ›› Melbourne City Council has released plans to redevelop Bourke Street Mall for public consultation ›› Williams Boag have lodged plans for the redevelopment of Melbourne General Post Office, on behalf of developer Maurie Schwarz, for retail and office use, with a new six-storey building at the northern end of the site ›› Environment Minister Sheryl Garbutt has announced six new parks in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. This is an attempt to overcome a perceived divide between park-rich inner city suburbs, and outer areas with few open public spaces ›› The Victorian Division of the Institute of Engineers, Australia, has expressed concern that the State Government does not have a sound, long-term infrastructure strategy, and that the practice of choosing bids on basis of lowest cost can lead to poor outcomes. It proposes that an independent expert Victorian Infrastructure Advisory Council be established ›› Jan Gehl, Julie Eizenberg and Bill Mitchell spoke at the Australian Universities International Alumni Convention, “The Future of Urban Environments”
Hayball Leonard Stent are undertaking a number of urban development projects, including Ringwood Station, Dandenong Saleyards and Ballarat Station, facilitated by the Urban and Regional Land Corporation. This is part of the State Government’s Transit Cities program which aims to redevelop and restructure parts of metropolitan Melbourne by promoting medium to high-density mixed use development around key transport nodes ›› The Timber Advisory Centre, a free service, is now open to the public ›› Bates Smart have appointed Jacquelyn Johnston, James Pearce and Shaun Schroter as associate directors. Debra Low Choy, Alice Sangster and Scott Walker have been appointed associates and Robert Bruce is now a consultant to the practice ›› Proem Design has changed its name to Whitefield McQueen ›› Deakin University hosted Allomorphe2: Eco-Synergy, an international workshop, directed by Ken Yeang, in mid-September ›› Victoria Carpark (1939), by Marcus Barlow, is listed on the National Trust’s annual list of endangered places ›› Neil Appleton, Peter Bartlett and Adrian Stanic have been appointed principals at Lyons. Barbara Bamford, Natalie McDonald, Hari Pliambas and Stefano Scalzo have been appointed as associates, and Rob Tursi as specialist in health planning
New South Wales
Planning minister Andrew Refshauge has announced reforms in the NSW planning process. The aim is to “deliver a 95% reduction in red tape and savings of hundreds of millions of dollars”. PlanFirst will be rolled out in 16 areas in NSW over two years ›› The UTS Architecture Program has received the green light from the university to go ahead with its course restructure, which aims to “more explicitly acknowledge architecture as both a discipline and a profession” ›› The first “Solar House Day” was held on 8 September ›› Plans are afoot to redevelop Centrepoint Tower, by new owners Westfield. A special committee, comprising Lord Mayor Frank Sartor, Deputy Mayor Lucy Turnbull, Sue Holliday, the head of Planning NSW, and NSW Government Architect Chris Johnson, will handle all plans and discussions prior to the development application ›› Johnson Pilton Walker are the architects for the redevelopment of the Sydney Hilton ›› Masterplans for seven Sydney Harbour Federation Trust sites, developed by Nick Hollo, Rod Simpson and Richard Leplastrier went on public display in October. The sites involved are Woolwich Dock, Snapper Island, Cockatoo Island, Middle Head-Georges Heights, the North Head Artillery School, the Marine Biological Station,Watsons Bay and the Macquarie Lighthouse. The overall plan is expected to be finalised by next April ›› The Regent Theatre,Wollongong, by Reginald J. Magoffinv is on the National Trust’s annual endangered places list ›› MGT Architects have designed the new headquarters for the NSW Historic Houses Trust in the Macquarie Street Mint building and the adjacent old coining factory ›› An RAIA Monday Night Talk “Special Event” presented by Caroline Pidcock, Beverley Garlick and Elizabeth Farrelly, addressed the topic “Women in Architecture” ›› Rice Daubney has appointed Paul Gallagher as associate director ›› Planning minister Andrew Refshauge, speaking at the Landcom conference “Creating Living Cities”, described gated communities as a sign of intolerance and vowed to fight them in Sydney ›› Nick Turner of Turner + Associates, Bob Nation of Nation Fender Katsalidis and Peter Wilson of Bolles + Wilson have collaborated on stage 3 of the Victoria Park development at Green Square. “ESP” comprises three buildings: “Elite”, “Sublime” and “Prime” ›› Ben Duckworth has won the RAIA/Polyflor Design Scholarship ›› The DA for Harry Seidler and Associates’ Ultimo Aquatic Centre went on display in late September, with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting that the sculpture by Lin Utzon has been scrapped due to cost overruns. Lord Mayor Frank Sartor is quoted as saying that he “wasn’t aware there was any Lin Utzon work in the project” and that, “should funds become available there would be an element of public art included”
Australian Capital Territory
Christopher Vernon, senior lecturer in landscape architecture at UWA, has been appointed as design advisor to the National Capital Authority (NCA) ›› After almost three years restructuring and leading the UCanberra Architecture School, Andrew Metcalf will return to architectural practice in December ›› Mervyn Willoughby-Thomas died 28 August, aged 74. He began his Australian architectural career as senior architect at the Commonwealth Department of Works. He was associate and then partner of Peddle Thorpe and Walker for 20 years, before forming his own practice WT Architects. Willoughby-Thomas served on the ACT Chapter Council of the RAIA for over 20 years, and was president for two years. He was also actively involved in community work through a broad range of organisations ›› The NCA has begun design works for the promenade area of Lake Burley Griffin adjacent to the new Commonwealth Place ›› MGT Architects are refurbishing Scarborough House, Woden, for Indigenous Business Australia ›› The National Trust’s endangered places list includes the School of Instruction, RAAF Base Fairburn, 1940 and two “inter-war functionalist” houses, all by Cuthbert Whitely ›› The garden suburbs of O’Connor, Ainslie, Braddon, Reid, Turner, Red Hill, Yarralumna, Forrest and Griffith may be removed from the National Trust’s list of endangered places if the Government’s “Garden City Draft Variation” is approved in its current form ›› The NCA is planning to replace the old Roman cypress trees on Roman Cypress Hill damaged by bushfires. The trees were planted by Charles Weston in 1918 according to Walter Burley Griffin’s plan ›› The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, in conjunction with the NCA and the NGA, celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Harry Howard’s NGA Sculpture Garden with the symposium “The Genius of the Place”
Tasmania
A six-storey hotel development in Launceston, designed by Artas Architects, has been approved by the city council ›› Brit Andresen will be the keynote speaker The Australian Timber Design Workshop to be held at the UTasmania in February ›› Finnish Design shows at the Wood Design Centre of Tasmania until 6 December
Northern Territory
Alison Shepherd has won the RAIA/Polyflor Jack McConnell Design Scholarship ›› Isolated and neglected homesteads throughout the Top End, and the Adelaide River Railway Heritage Precinct, are both included on the National Trust’s annual endangered places list ›› Peddle Thorp have just received development approval for two apartment projects - Hastings Over Mindil will have 84 luxury apartments in two eightstorey towers, while a 20-storey residential tower will be Darwin’s tallest building
Queensland
Graham Bligh is this year’s Queensland Board of Architects “Architect of the Year” ›› The Brisbane City Council has released new tighter controls on small lot developments, aimed at reducing “Tuscan-style housing” on inner city blocks. The controls also include new design guidelines regarding eaves, balconies and overhangs. Russell Hall responded in the Courier Mail, “So we now have a multicultural population, with avantgarde food, music, art, technology and 1910 facsimile architecture.” ›› Petrie Terrace Police Depot, and traditional beach houses at Caloundra, are on the National Trust’s annual list of endangered places ›› The $150 million Roma Street Parklands residential development has been released. Stage two, by Pradella Developments, will provide 390 dwellings in five buildings and a public park ›› Hayes & Scott Post-war Houses, curated by Andrew Wilson, shows at the University Art Museum, UQueensland until 23 November ›› Adam Guernier has won the RAIA/Polyflor James Birrell Design Scholarship
South Australia
Belmont House, designed originally as a masonic temple by Sir Edmund Wright, and Lochiel Park have both been listed on the National Trust’s annual list of endangered places ›› The City of Adelaide Historic Layout, by surveyor, Colonel William Light, is now on the interim list of the Register of the National Estate ›› The Living Kaurna Cultural Centre, Marion, by Phillips/Pilkington Architects and Habitable Places Architects, is now open ›› The City of Adelaide has released the proposed redevelopment of Victoria Square for public consultation
Western Australia
The Art Deco Society will oppose the Multiplex proposal to build apartments on the Raffles Hotel site, Applecross ›› James Christou and Partners and Denton Corker Marshall are designing an office block for the site of Bishop’s See, the home of Perth’s first Anglican Bishop. The new tower block will stand above Bishops House, St Georges House, and the heritage-listed gardens on six-storey-high steel stilts. The proposal is described by Heritage Council director, Ian Baxter, as a “coming of age” for heritage-sensitive development in the state ›› Ahmad Abbas has won the RAIA Peter Overman Polyflor Scholarship ›› Woodhead International have completed the Manbana Aquaculture Hatchery and Discovery Centre, Broome, for the Kimberley Aquaculture Aboriginal Corporation ›› The Heritage Council has expressed concern that about the demolition of historic buildings on land earmarked for Perth’s new city rail tunnel. These include the National Trust-listed Wellington Building (1905)
The Government has released a draft masterplan, by a multi-disciplinary team led by Palassis Architects, for the development of Fremantle Jail. The jail will revert to its former name, the Imperial Convict Establishment
