2013 Victorian Architecture Awards

Transcription

1 THE MELBOURNE REVIEW AUGUST 2013 DESIGN PLANNING INNOVATION 2013 Victorian Awards EDITION Multiplicity Sheltershed. Photo: Emma Cross

2 52 The Melbourne Review August 2013 melbournereview.com.au The Melbourne Review August Grand plans Completed in May 2013 the Bates Smartdesigned 171 Collins Street development offers a positive contribution to Melbourne s bold architectural landscape. by Leanne Amodeo This year s recently awarded Victorian Medal reinforces the level of innovation that has come to be expected from Melbourne s newest buildings. Any jury would have been hard pressed to overlook Sean Godsell s RMIT Design Hub for the top prize. Its facade lends the CBD yet another architectural point of interest and helps to define a skyline that is as dynamic as it is curious. Opinion on this building and the many other new additions to Melbourne s architectural landscape are often divided. But there are certain criticisms that just can t be levelled at any of them. These buildings may be many things but two things they re not are shy or retiring. planning requirement from Heritage Victoria obliged the developers to maintain the Mayfair Cinema s Collins Street facade. One of the early challenges was how to incorporate a 1913 heritage facade into a very contemporary way of thinking about office buildings, explains van Miltenburg. And this was something that we asked Bates Smart to address. In theory it sounds like it was never going to work. But Bates Smart was diligent in trying not to ignore the history of the site. We actually said yes to the positive aspects of the surrounding fabric and worked with it, says Whittle. The outcome produced an elegant response that seamlessly melds the old with the new. At nine storeys high the renamed Mayfair Building is approximately the same height as the original building. It functions as the main entry and leads occupants through to the adjoining atrium and new office tower that rises 20 storeys high on Flinders Lane. It s this tower that has been the topic of much discussion. The building s credentials are unquestionable in that it is the first Premium Grade office building, as defined by the Property Council of Australia, with 6 Star Green Star rating to be developed in Melbourne in over 20 years. It is also the only building in Melbourne that can boast those two criteria. Not only does it stand out at an urban level because it is respectful of its historic position in the city but it also stands out for its detailed craftsmanship. We ended up using cut glass on the laneway s facade that was sourced from the Freedom Tower project in New York, says Whittle. It enhanced the building at those lower levels and made it more interesting visually; more tactile. The tower s driving design concept was that it appears jewel-like. This was in homage to the high-end jewellery retailers who used to operate in Collins Street s Paris end during the 19th century. The glass facade has an angular sharpness and pristine finish easily associated with quality and refinement. It readily lends the building its own identity but also reflects its surrounds. The facade echoes the forms found in the neighbouring St Paul s Cathedral spires as well as the fractal geometry of Federation Square. It also changes with the weather and the way the facade catches the light determines its predominant hue at any given time on any particular day. This element of grandeur has been carried into the nine-storey atrium, which features imported Travertine and hundreds of pieces of glass inclined and declined at different angles. The atrium s height contributes to the interior s grand welcoming gesture and befits the calibre of currently confirmed tenants. BHP Billiton has moved its new global headquarters to 171 Collins Street and the first Australian retail store for Dolce & Gabbana is soon to open. Early 2014 will also see the opening of chef Andrew McConnell s new restaurant. The prominent restaurateur chose 171 Collins Street as the location for his new venture because of its interesting internal space, positive outward aspect and wonderful big city dynamic. For Kristen Whittle 171 Collins Street represents Bates Smart Architects ambition to design a building that was part of the new world; part of the 21st century. In so doing they hoped to surprise with a development that is as historically sensitive as it is boldly modern. What it offers the CBD is statement and splendour without the ego. Whittle might very well have a 2014 Victorian Medal contender on his hands. batessmart.com.au 171collins.com.au 171 COLLINS STREET ARCHITECT: BATES SMART MELBOURNE SYDNEY BRISBANE PERTH RIYADH Melbourne has fast gained a reputation for unabashed architecture. It is a melting pot of experimentation and its architects are not afraid to take risks. The city s resulting mix of bold design expressions rightly deserves its local accolades. Under such a bright spotlight Melbourne is also garnering strong international attention. It has quickly become a destination city and the cultural diversity of the people who call it home also adds to its international flavour. The CBD s progress has necessitated new ways of thinking about its architecture; traditional office buildings are being reimagined. In its place stand developments such as the recently completed 171 Collins Street. For Bates Smart Architects Melbourne office it is yet another impressive project in their commercial portfolio and for owners Cbus Property and Charter Hall it is reason to celebrate after eight long years of development. A level of creative thinking usually reserved for civic buildings has been applied here and the outcome instantly appeals. One can either overly embellish a building and ignore the functionality or you can have an overly functional building that ignores the aesthetics, says Bates Smart s Design Director Kristen Whittle. But what our work on 171 shows is a concern for both aspects and it s this cohesion that makes a positive contribution to the city s architecture. It was not without its challenges, however, as Charter Hall s Development Manager Mark van Miltenburg explains: There were actually five different parcels of land that we needed to amalgamate and so there were five different buildings that needed to be demolished to make way for the new 171 Collins Street precinct. The 3000sqm site sits between Collins Street and Flinders Lane in close proximity to Swanston Street. A large part of the project s undoubted charm is the rich character it imparts the so-called Paris end of Collins Street. Interestingly, a Simply the best track guided blind system. The new centre release mechanism makes the operation of Ziptrak blinds easier than ever. Additional handle optional; Lift handle to activate release latches on both sides of the bottom bar. You may also use a pull stick no need to bend down. Optional: An additional handle on the reverse side of the bottom bar to allow for unlocking your Ziptrak blind from both sides. 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3 54 The Melbourne Review August 2013 melbournereview.com.au The Melbourne Review August FEATURE AIA AWARDS Victorian Awards It is encouraging to note that in a period of economic turmoil the Victorian Awards program continues to expand, this year attracting a record 240 entries across eleven national and three state categories, in addition we had 21 entries to the Bates Smart Award for in the Media. During an ongoing global financial crisis the Victorian Awards program has continued to grow. The standard of work across all categories is truly exceptional and it reflects the fact that, in the face of adversity, our members continue to demonstrate an undivided commitment to improving the quality of our built environment. Our legacy is judged by the built work we leave behind. The results demonstrate that the public face of architecture in Victoria Commercial Sir Osborn McCutcheon Award for Commercial Crown Mahogany Room Expansion Bates Smart Award - National Centre for Synchrotron Science Bates Smart Commendation - South Melbourne Market Roof Paul Morgan Architects Commendation - Spring Street Grocer KGA an extract from Jon Clement s opening address at the 2013 AIA Awards CPM...Third Generation Building Contractors is in excellent shape and on behalf of all our members I would like to congratulate the winners of awards and commendations. Our celebrations should also recognise the extensive professional commitments from the private face of architecture and the many people who collaborate in the interests of delivering a successful project. We can be optimistic about the fact that architecture continues to be embraced in a wider range of spaces; however, it is clear that our profession also faces many challenges. In the current environment you can be assured that the Institute is working hard to protect our territory and to advocate for the value of architecture, but significant change and advancement for our profession cannot be achieved without change from the architects. Bates Smart Crown Mahogany Room Expansion. Photo: JohnGollings. Sean Godsell Architects in association with Peddle Thorp Architects RMIT Design Hub. Photo: EarlCarter. Heritage John George Knight Award for Heritage - Hamer Hall ARM Award - Good Shepherd Chapel, Abbotsford Robert Simeoni Architects Award - Maryborough Railway Station Conservation works RBA Architects + Conservation Consultants Commendation - Ormond College, Main Building Gables Lovell Chen ARM Hamer Hall. Photo: JohnGollings. James Stockwell Architect Crofthouse. Photo: JamesArchibald. Regional Prize Winner - Marysville 16 Hour Police Station Kerstin Thompson Architects Interior Marion Mahony Award for Interior - Hamer Hall ARM Award - Footscray Nicholson Learning Commons Cox Award - Move-In Elenberg Fraser Architects Commendation - Captain Melville Breathe Commendation - National Centre for Synchrotron Science Bates Smart Public William Wardell Award for Public - RMIT Design Hub Sean Godsell Architects in association with Peddle Thorp Architects Award - Penleigh and Essendon Grammar Senior School McBride Charles Ryan Award - South Morang Rail Extension Cox Award - Swanston Academic Building Lyons Commendation - Bayside Police Station, Sandringham fmjt (Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp) Commendation - La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science - Lyons Commendation - The Richard & Elizabeth Tudor Centre for Contemporary Learning, Trinity Grammar McIntyre Partnership Sustainable Allan and Beth Coldicutt Award for Sustainable - Crofthouse James Stockwell Architect Kerstin Thompson Architects Marysville 16 Hour Police Stat. Photo: TrevorMein. Urban Design BKKTCL Partnership Revitalising Central Dandenong. Photo: John Gollings. Joseph Reed Award for Urban Design - Revitalising Central Dandenong: Lonsdale Street Redevelopment BKK/TCL Partnership Award - Serrata Docklands Hayball Pty Ltd Award - South Morang Rail Extension Cox Commendation - Langtree Mall Pavilion Bellemo & Cat ARM Hamer Hall. Photo: Peter Bennetts. CPM Building Contractors is a diverse company with an expansive scope of construction in Commercial, and Urban landscape. CPM Building has stood for three generations, established in 1988 and founded by Mr Grahame Blaby. The company is centred in the Mildura region, however maintains a comprehensive project base throughout Victoria and New South Wales. Category: Awarded: For: Designer: URBAN DESIGN Commendation Langtree Mall Pavilion Bellemo + Cat The Australian Institute of Architects extends congratulations to the exemplary field of 55 winning projects recognized with Victorian Awards and Commendations in The Australian Institute of Architect s Awards are the highest accolade for architectural achievement within the State of Victoria. Proudly sponsored by 18a Madden Avenue MIldura Victoria 3500 Telephone: (03) Facsimile: (03) Mobile: cpmbuilders@cpmbuilders.com.au

4 56 The Melbourne Review August 2013 melbournereview.com.au The Melbourne Review August FEATURE AIA AWARDS ARM Hamer Hall. Photo: John Gollings. Public (Alterations & Additions) Award - Hamer Hall ARM Award - Institute of Koorie Education, Deakin University Gregory Burgess Architects Nest Architects Seventh Heaven. Photo: Jesse Marlow. COLORBOND Award for Steel COLORBOND Award for Steel - RMIT Design Hub Sean Godsell Architects in association with Peddle Thorp Architects Commendation - shelter shed multiplicity Small Project Kevin Borland Award for Small Project - Seventh Heaven Nest Architects Award - Abbotsford Convent Breezeway Jackson Clements Burrows Award - Third Wave Kiosk Tony Hobba Architects Commendation - Move-In Elenberg Fraser Architects Commendation - Penny Wise Marc Dixon Architect Commendation - The Purple Rose of Cairo Sean Godsell Architects in association with Peddle Thorp Architects RMIT Design Hub. Photo: Earl Carter. Exhibition of Entries This year, the Exhibition of Entries celebrated and made accessible to the public the projects entered into the 2013 Victorian Awards. The initial brief from the Institute to Monash Art Design & (MADA) was simple: to design an exhibition which expands the ambition of the annual awards exhibition from a simple predictable arrangement of the traditional A2 display board submissions. The higher objective was to make an interesting show intended to open a new dialogue with the architectural community. Photos Warren Taylor Houses (New) Harold Desbrowe-Annear Award for - Edward Street House Sean Godsell Architects Award - Fairhaven Residence John Wardle Architects Award - Merricks Beach House Kennedy Nolan Award - Sorrento Blue House Neeson Murcutt Architects Commendation - Crofthouse James Stockwell Architect Commendation - Merricks House Robson Rak Architects Pty Ltd Sean Godsell Architects Edward Street House. Photo: Earl Carter. Melbourne Prize Winner - Revitalising Central Dandenong: Lonsdale Street Redevelopment BKK/TCL Partnership» TO SEE MORE SOCIAL IMAGES VISIT MELBOURNEREVIEW.COM.AU Houses (Alterations & Additions) Award - HOUSE House Andrew Maynard Architects Award - The Mullet March Studio Commendation - Ferrars Place antarctica Commendation - shelter shed multiplicity Commendation - Victoria Road House Fiona Winzar Architects BKKTCL Partnership Revitalising Central Dandenong. Photo: John Gollings. March Studio The Mullet. Photo: John Gollings. MGS Architects McIntyre Drive Social Housing. Photo: Trevor Mein. Multiple Housing Best Overend Award for Multiple Housing - McIntyre Drive Social Housing, Altona MGS Architects Award - Serrata Docklands Hayball Pty Ltd Commendation - Aerial Apartments Wood/ Marsh Pty Ltd Commendation - Leopold SJB Architects & Fender Katsalidis Architects Commendation - Malvern Hill SJB Architects Bates Smart Award for in the Media Award Dream Build ABC TV (National) Award Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Rory Hyde (National) Award Parlour: women, architecture, equity Justine Clark (State) Commendation Cities of Hope: Remembered/Rehearsed Conrad Hamann Commendation Designer Suburbs: Architects and Affordable Homes in Australia Judith O Callaghan and Charles Pickett RMIT Design Hub Architect s Statement by Sean Godsell The purpose of the Design Hub is to provide accommodation in one building for a diverse range of design research and post-graduate education. RMIT is a world leader in design research; however post-graduates are currently dissipated across various campuses and facilities. The Hub provides a collegial research base where postgraduates in fields such as fabric and fashion design will work alongside those involved in architecture, aeronautical engineering, industrial design, landscape architecture, urban design and so on. Research groups have the ability to locate and fine tune their accommodation within warehouses open plan spaces where research teams can set up and tailor their work environment to suit their particular needs. Teams may stay for anywhere from six months to three years depending on the nature of and funding limits to their research and education programs. Research may include the need for workshops to make physical models to be located alongside computer studios, three dimensional printing, virtual reality modelling and so on. Given the time frames associated with research projects all the warehouses require a high level of adaptability and flexibility. In that sense these spaces are designed to accommodate the organic nature of research ever evolving, adapting, changing and growing. Each of the warehouses is a 60m x 10m column free space with a raised floor which houses air, power and data distribution. The warehouses are configured and re-configured by researchers using a kit of parts system of mobile furniture. The plan of the Design Hub acknowledges the desire for incidental cross pollination where researchers from one field encounter those from other (often completely unrelated) fields as part of their day-to-day use of the building. Two public exhibition spaces and Design Archive provide a public interface with both industry and research outcomes. The Design Archive is housed in the steel framed pavilion to the west of the main tower. These spaces, combined with a variety of lecture, seminar and multi-purpose rooms facilitate high level exchanges in a number of forums. Researchers also have access to state of the art sound studios, model making and robotics workshops. The Design Hub has a number of ESD features and incorporates strategies of water, waste and recycling management that are the equal of any ESD focussed building on the planet. The façade of the Design Hub incorporates automated sun shading that includes the capacity for the incorporation of solar cells along with fresh air intakes that improve the internal air quality and reduce running costs. The cells have been designed so that they can be easily replaced as research into solar energy results in improved technology and part of the northern façade is actually dedicated to ongoing research into solar cells to be conducted jointly by industry and RMIT. The entire building façade, in other words, has the capacity to be upgraded as solar technology evolves and it may one day generate enough electricity to run the whole building. The façade is made up of 600 mm diameter sandblasted glass disks, which are fixed to either a horizontal or vertical aluminium axle. The discs are controlled through a centralised building management system (BMS) and are automated to open and close based on the time of day, time of year and orientation. designhub.rmit.edu.au MADA would like to thank the profession for their ongoing support and contribution to our program. monash.edu/mada/architecture Image: Design<>Make project - Stawell Steps, 2012, MADA students, Hiroshi Nakao and Professor Nigel Bertram. The project was made possible through the generous support of the profession, Krause Bricks, Northern Grampians Shire Council, Rural Councils Victoria and the Country Education Project, and Monash University Museum of Art. Photographer: Peter Bennetts. Photo: Earl Carter

5 58 The Melbourne Review August 2013 SOMEBODY DREW THAT Brasilia Congresso Nacional. Organisation and Chaos Categorising and organising things can be a great Sunday pastime, particularly if you are a bit of a nerd like me. Folding the towels a particular way, arranging the spoons in the cutlery drawer so the soup spoons and dessert spoons are grouped together, colour coordinating the 35 sponge cloths in the cupboard under the sink. If I haven t lost you already, (I can feel a collective eye-rolling of those who know me well) I m getting to the point. We re taught that order and organisation are good things. They make businesses work more effectively, they give certainty to those who we engage with and allow others to see the point of what we are doing. The problem is, people see this as a way of solving all problems. You can see this in design all the time. The catch in the breath that comes from resolving a particular detail on a building or object; the new tapware for Caroma designed by Marc Newson; the entry sequence through an Alvar Aalto building in Finland; what it feels like to sink into a Pierre Lissoni sofa. Things that by Byron George are so resolved they feel effortless, fresh and timeless at the same time. In the early half of the 20th century this kind of logic was applied to cities. Places that make architects wet their pants. Great plazas, monolithic facades, elevated roadways and cars racing on multiple levels. Places that take your breath away. It reminds me of a time I drove out to the end of the Gordon River Road in South West Tasmania to see the Gordon Dam. I was completely alone, terrified and exhilarated at the same time. Standing on a narrow concrete structure, a 140m drop of sheer concrete on one side, and mirror finish black water surface on the other. No sound but the trickling of water through the rocks. Nothing but wilderness and this beautiful, overwhelming and austere piece of engineering. This was absolute resolution on an awesome scale. A singular engineering gesture, the minimum amount of concrete necessary to hold back a massive amount of water. Put in just the right place to minimise the amount of concrete and maximise the amount of water retained behind. Great modernism often does this. The city of Brasilia by Oscar Niemeyer, Lucio Costa and Roberto Burle Marx. The United States Air Force Force Academy by Skidmore Owings and Merrill. Both of these are modernism writ large and designed to make you feel something (generally power and authority). The irony is, they work the best when they are absent of people. This is the problem with singular gestures on an urban scale. They take away the very things great cities need to be great cities. Ruthless organisation and spatial planning work really well in a 35 square metre apartment or when designing a door handle, but not so well when applied to cities or whole suburbs. Despite what politicians and traffic planners would have you believe, cities are not about efficient movement of goods and bodies, they are about people. Look at any 20th century new town plan and see how it was initially presented and sold to the relevant authority. The standard image is usually a room full of older men, one in a bow tie (the architect), pointing and staring at a large model of row after row of little rectangular blocks. Blocks are arranged in a square to form the town centre or local school, in rows for housing, and elegant ribbons connect blocks from one new town to the other. Maximum efficiency with minimal contact between one ant going about their business and another. The problem is that we don t experience our cities when in aeroplanes, we experience them on the ground. This kind of planning works only when the subtle nuance of sunlight, proportion and scale are manipulated in a way that responds directly to the human condition and chance encounters can occur. Unfortunately this was the exception rather than the rule. Our own city is littered with mistakes like this. St Kilda Junction was once a thriving, if seedy, shopping centre. It was the interchange for several tram lines, and was a centre for shopping and entertainment. Unfortunately, it was also where six major roads came together, including the two major arterial routes to the south-eastern suburbs. After a drastic intervention in the 1960s, it is now a highway running under a vast slab of asphalt with a disconnected sunken tram interchange and a series of dingy tunnels. Sure, the traffic problem was solved, but at what cost? Traffic planners would say that St Kilda shopping was relocated to a more appropriate location near the water. I would say that a great urban centre was lost for the sake of moving a few cars. Bringing order and organisation into the urban realm might seem like a good idea, but too often ends up destroying the very character that attracted people in the first place. Sometimes cities need a little congestion or disorganisation to keep them vital and interesting. After all, the type of thinking that leads you to organise your sock draw not only leads to boring conversation; if applied to the urban realm it makes for rather dull cities.»» Byron George and partner Ryan Russell are directors of Russell & George, a design and architecture practice with offices in Melbourne and Rome. russellandgeorge.com