Moshe Safdie is undoubtedly a starchitect of the 20th and 21st centuries, who appears not to have fallen for his own hype. At almost 80, he claims not to entirely understand the tricky process of winning projects. Marian Edmunds asks, ‘what can we learn from the Israeli-Canadian architect?’ Sometimes people seek you because of your […]
Studio Ongarato has injected a uniquely Queensland feel into the W Brisbane hotel, which is the first 5-star hotel to open in Queensland’s capital in more than 20 years. The project is the latest in a string of engagements for Studio Ongarato with the W brand, with the studio having worked on W Shanghai and […]
Polly Harbison has a Sydney-based practice that specialises in coastal residences. Here she shares some recommendations with AR for the best materials to use when constructing in this environment. AR: What are the particular design challenges in this space? Polly Harbison: A lot of the buildings on the south coast are quite cold. They have […]
Emotion can render all manner of situations uncomfortable. A relationship break-up, bidding on a dream home at auction… or the merger of three architectural practices comprising 400 employees. Senior management of The Buchan Group, unified and rebranded as Buchan since May, recognised several years ago that a merger was in everyone’s best interest. But they also […]
Brisbane-based prefabricated home company Happy Haus has designed a home with a central lush courtyard that takes advantage of the South East Queensland sub-tropical climate. The clients, a young couple building for the first time, wanted an open courtyard-style home on their medium-sized block, which is closely bordered by the estates’ project-style-homes. To meet their needs, Happy […]
After a six-month global search, Green Spine by Dutch architecture firm UNStudio and Melbourne-based Cox Architecture has been announced as the winning design for the Southbank by Beulah competition. Conceived as a “conceptual extension” of Melbourne’s Southbank Boulevard, the Green Spine will be home to a vertical city of green spaces with a strong focus […]
Some would find working alongside their partner a sure path to divorce, but Rosa Coy and George Yiontis says the only drawbacks are talking about work too much at home and organising family holidays… There are many different business models for an architecture practice, but one of the most fraught, surely, would be one run […]
One half of Amsterdam-based designed studio Scholten & Baijings, Carole Baijings is renowned for her innovative use of pattern, colour and graphic elements. As she launches her ColourForm sofa collection with Herman Miller & Maharam, ADR spoke to Baijings about design inspiration and what excites her about the industry. ADR: You have collaborated with Herman Miller […]
“We are creating homes and pushing institutionalisation to the background. We’re designing for residents, not patients, who want to be treated as such,” says James Kelly, associate at ClarkeHopkinsClarke.
Perched above Lake Michigan and surrounded by the Indiana Dunes in the US, this house by Bamesberger Architecture captures the essence of a modern lake home. The home of approximately 5,000 square feet is separated into three functional boxes, which rotate towards each other and face the lake to accentuate views of the trees and water, while […]
AR begins the first in a planned series looking at typologies currently undergoing significant growth – exploring their particular requirements and potential for architectural practices looking to branch out and extend their range. We start with religious buildings via DKO’s experiences designing a megachurch in the outer Melbourne suburb of Knox. DKO architects completed City […]
With interior designer parents and a life-long love of building and creating, Adam Kane was almost destined to work in the architecture industry. AR talks to him about how that passion led him to set up his own practice. I’ve always had a fascination with design and construction and if I wasn’t an architect I’d […]
The Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) has sacked its CEO Jennifer Cunich, replacing her with national president Clare Cousins in the interim. According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Cunich’s departure follows “months” of ongoing discussions between the two sides. Cunich joined AIA IN 2016 during a period of financial difficulty, and one of her first […]
Fender Katsalidis and Mim Design have come together to design Australian Unity’s latest retirement project, which features unique ‘courtyard community clubs’ that run vertically through the building. Located at Melbourne’s Albert Park Lake, the $120m, vertical, independent retirement community will comprise 79 one, two and three bedroom residences across 18 levels. The focus for the design was to ensure […]
ADR catches up with global director and education sector leader at Woods Bagot, Georgia Singleton, to find out the biggest challenges that architects are facing and how the design of educational institutions is evolving. What does a ‘typical’ day look like in your role as global leader of Science and Education? The only consistency is […]
A strong use of colour was the guiding design principle for the Ivanhoe Grammar Senior Years and Science Centre, with architects McBride Charles Ryan playing with pattern and shape. The brief for this new school building in Melbourne included a variety of general learning areas, provision for the senior year teachers and a science centre. The circular […]
AR speaks to members and the leaders of three distinct, national organisations that all provide professional support to Australian architects – the Australian Institute of Architects, Architeam and the Association of Consulting Architects – to find out what they offer and their future plans. Australian Institute of Architects The Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), which […]
Designed by BSPN Architecture, the new Centenary Library at Anglican Church Grammar School, commonly called Churchie, is the most significant project undertaken in the school’s 105-year history. The brief was to redefine the library’s role as the ‘heart-of-the-school’ during a time that many are questioning the importance and purpose of school libraries, explains Bretton Watson, director at […]
In 2014 Heatherwick Studio was commissioned to radically rethink two heritage rail buildings from the 1850s in London’s King Cross as a major new shopping district and public space. With the announcement that Coal Drops Yard is set to open to the public in October, ADR takes a look at the studio’s design. The site itself […]
The six shortlisted designs for developer Beulah International’s Southbank tower competition have been revealed, with the design concepts including twisting towers, a propeller penthouse and stacked neighbourhoods. The $2 billion mixed-use tower development in Melbourne’s Southbank will include retail, hotel, residential, commercial, cultural and public spaces. Currently occupied by a BMW car dealership, the site is […]
Family-friendly design guidelines for apartment buildings must be introduced to promote the health of the growing number of children being raised in Melbourne’s high-rise apartments, according to a new Deakin University study. The most recent statists show 79,000 Australian families live in high-rise apartments – classified as dwellings more than three stories tall – an […]
Small yet well designed, this efficient and flexible space literally must “weather the storm” of three lively young boys. The three-level townhouse in bayside Melbourne was extended to create a functional and flexible space along with a crafted set of materials selected to withstand the rigours of a young, highly active family. “Functionally, other than the […]
Nest Architects has transformed a Melbourne house that was abandoned for years and became a squat, into a light and airy environmentally sustainable home. “Basically, we tore the house apart to let light and air into rooms that otherwise would have been very dark,” explain the architects. “This created a number of landscaped courtyards and light-wells. […]
Bringing Australia’s architecture and design community into focus since 2009.