AWARD FOR RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE - MULTIPLE HOUSING
NEWACTON SOUTH
FENDER KATSALIDIS
CATEGORY: RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE - MULTIPLE HOUSING
NewActon is being developed around the old Hotel Acton as an integrated residential and commercial precinct on the western edge of Canberra City. This new residential tower building is the most prominent element on the site to date. Its apartments have outstanding views of the city centre, Mount Ainslie and the extensive grounds of the Australian National University to the north. On the south face of the tower are panoramic views over Lake Burley Griffin to Parliament House and beyond to the Brindabella mountain range.
The crisp clean image of the NewActon South apartment building contrasts with and complements the lively patterns of circulation and open space at ground level. Two-storey shophouse type apartments line a shared access road on the north face of a podium building. This opportunity to combine residential and small scale commercial business space has not been seen previously in Canberra. The roof of the podium is landscaped as gardens for the use of residents of the apartments.
Two separated elevator banks and service cores are provided for access to the upper levels of the apartment tower. By this means, some apartments are able to run the full width of the building from north to south, allowing for northern sun and through ventilation. An extensive investment in landscape and artworks together with high quality materials and finishes mark the NewActon South project as an exemplar of the best of inner city apartment living in Canberra.
ART IN ARCHITECTURE COMMENDATION
NEWACTON SOUTH TOWER ART PROGRAM
FENDER KATSALIDIS ARCHITECTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH PAMILLE BERG CONSULTING, OCULUS AND MARK PAINE LANDSCAPING
ARTISTS: ROBIN BLAU, TIM KYLE AND KEVIN PERKINS
CATEGORY: ART IN ARCHITECTURE
The NewActon development has a continuing art installation and maintenance program aimed not only at its residents and commercial tenants but also at the visitors and passers-by. The program reinforces the client’s ambition to make the development a ‘special place’, and over the last few years the output of the program has enriched public and private spaces on all parts of the site.
The urban future of the site suggests that the artworks must have meaning for a range of people moving into or from the buildings and gardens and perhaps also for those with time to linger or meet and talk. Completion of the south residential tower has seen three new external installations that respond in these ways. Robin Blau’s large piece Time Thief, Sculptural Bower together with Kevin Perkins’ hoop pine benches have been put at the crossroad of movement between the apartment blocks and the old hotel buildings. Big and strong but at the same time delicate, these beautifully made pieces are delightful at all hours (lights come on at dusk) and are destined to be a popular rendezvous and resting point.
At each end of the shared access lane from Marcus Clarke Street are figurative works in concrete by Sydney sculptor Tim Kyle. Whimsical and oversize and somewhat cuddly despite their construction, these non-threatening pieces link the streets of the city to the heart of the precinct. All three new works sit comfortably within the pattern of hard and soft landscaping and extend further the central idea of pedestrian encounter and interaction in art and architecture.
PROJECT TEAM
Architect/Practice: Fender Katsalidis
Practice Team: Craig Baudin (Project Architect), Karl Fender (Design Architect), Kathie Hall (Interior Design), Joe Venuto (Architectural Team), Ixone Altube (Architectural Team), Sophie Zasempa (Architectural Team), Manching Chan (Architectural Team), Jessica Lee (Architectural Team), Penpa Namgyal (Architectural Team), Ashley Hunnisett (Architectural Team), Ben Sann (Architectural Team), David Sutherland
Consultant Team: MoMac 2 (Developer), AWT (Structural Consultant), Mott MacDonald Hughes Trueman (Civil/Traffic Consultant), Oculus (Landscape Consultant), Simpson Kotzman (Services Consultant), Gallagher Jeffs Consulting (Project Manager), Philip Chun and Associates (Certification), Clear Design (Graphics & Wayfinding)
Construction Team: PBS Building, D Group Commercial, IC Formwork Service, Gungahlin Concrete, Micos Aluminium, J&J Interiors, Fusca Painting Services, Erincole
Photographer: John Gollings
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