THE JOHN ANDREWS AWARD FOR COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE
FYSHWICK MARKETS
COLIN STEWART ARCHITECTS
CATEGORY: COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE
At weekends, summer and winter, Canberrans flock to outdoor cafes, landscape nurseries, craft shows and particularly to produce markets. The fresh food market at Fyshwick is the oldest such market in the Territory, down near the light industrial area where the railway used to run. It was built as an open air market, with roller-shuttered stalls ranged around three sides of a car park, the nearest thing in town to a broad market square. Some markets in newer suburbs have been set up inside barn-like buildings. But then you have to go in through doors and, once inside, the place is not much different from a suburban shopping centre. There are no automatic doors or air conditioning at Fyshwick, this is the real thing.
The original Fyshwick buildings wore out and have been replaced, but the hustle and bustle of the place has been kept. The design has addressed customer demands like improved access and parking, more toilets and baby change rooms and wider pavements for tables and chairs. At the same time, the retailers have been given more storage space and somewhere for staff to park their cars on the roof of the shops.
The buildings adopt a non-threatening industrial language, using familiar materials honestly, and there is the wonderful freedom of knowing you are not shopping in a supermarket. Shopfronts are visually varied; there are few rules but the result is cohesive and legible. This is a commendable work of architecture in a field where the best result is often found when the users drive and the architect takes a back seat.
PROJECT TEAM
Architect/Practice: Colin Stewart Architects
Practice Team: Adrian Lance (Project Architect), Caleb Murray (Graduate of Architecture in Project Architect role), Colin Stewart (Design Architect), Marcus Graham (Design Architect), Blake O'Neill (Senior Draftsperson), Lauren Beattie (Interior Designer), Harry Soo (Graduate of Architecture)
Consultant Team: AWT (Structural Consultant), Sellicks (Civil Consultant), Northrop (Electrical/Mechanical Consultant), THCS (Hydraulic Consultant), JEA (Landscape Consultant), Peter Adamson (Access Consultant), Fire Safety Science (Fire Engineer)
Construction Team: HDL Projects (Project Manager)
Photographer: Stefan Postles
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