As national attention increasingly focuses on child care as a key priority for families across Australia, a deceptively simple family day care office in Hobart has won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects 2006 Tasmanian Architecture Awards major prize for public buildings.
The Clarence Family Day Care Offices by 1+2 Architecture has taken out the State's top award for Public Buildings (New and Recycled), with the jury describing the centre as a demonstration that 'excellent architecture is not related to the scale of the building or the size of the budget'.
Jury chairman Mr Keith Drew said 'the building exemplifies a comprehensive thoughtfulness' and that the jury had 'marvelled at how the architects' respect for others underpinned all design decisions'.
1+2 Architecture emerged as this year's big winners, taking out three of the eight awards and one of the eight commendations presented by the RAIA. Their other awards included: the Residential (Alterations and Additions) Award and Environmental Design Award for 179 Liverpool Street Apartments; and an Interior Architecture Commendation for the RAIA Tasmanian Chapter Premises.
The awards were presented by Tasmanian Governor William Cox at a special ceremony in Hobart on Saturday 20 May attended by 175 architects and building professionals from across the state.
Mr Drew said the quality of this year's entries reflected the high level of activity in the building industry in recent years, giving architects many opportunities to demonstrate the value of design excellence. A consistent theme in all entries was the respect architects had shown, not only to their clients’ needs and aspirations, but also to the impact their design decisions had on the surrounding community, and to the environment. He said environmental design was starting to become mainstream practice for the profession.
Two outstanding projects received Residential Awards: Woodbridge Residence by DesignInc, a small house surrounded by bushland with views to the D'entrecasteaux Channel, and 179 Liverpool Street Apartments by 1+2 Architecture, six single room apartments and a retail gallery tucked behind a 19th century shophouse façade in Hobart's CBD.
The jury noted that 'the design clarity of the delightful small Woodbridge Residence exemplifies architecture at its best', while the control exercised by 1+2 Architecture in the Liverpool Street Apartments 'demonstrated sophistication in spatial, material, constructional, servicing and financial solutions without over-indulging in architectural trickery'.
In awarding the Environmental Design Award to 1+2 Architecture for the 179 Liverpool Street Apartments, the jury said they 'represent a new typology for urban living'. They added: 'With a dwelling area of approximately 25 square metres, the studios are less than one third of the average dwelling area per person in Australia. The environmental benefits of such a reduction in building footprint are numerous, encompassing resource consumption, embodied energy, operational energy, land use, and perhaps most notably in this instance, the absence of car parking for residential tenancies, reflecting the needs of an alternative urban dweller lifestyle.'
Rosevear Architects & jawsarchitects received two major awards for the Moorilla Wine & Food Centre, a 'modernist building which takes pride of place in the oldest commercial winery and vineyard in Tasmania'. The tourist centre received the Commercial Architecture Award and the Colorbond Award, and was described by the jury as a 'bold and taut composition' which sits 'monastically on the site with a coincidental T-shaped plan, reminiscent of places of worship'. 'Food and wine are the gods in this building, and great homage is paid.'
The Heritage Architecture Award was presented to Morris-Nunn + Associates for the Edwards + Middleton House at West Hobart which features 'delightfully playful yet sophisticated design elements' which unite a collection of heritage buildings. The jury said the 'resultant complete work is a cohesive 21 st century fusion of old and new'.
The UTAS Library Learning Hubs by Crawford Shurman Architects took out the Interior Architecture Award, with the jury stating: 'Libraries are evolving from static centres of knowledge storage to dynamic places of learning. This move is echoed in a project for the University of Tasmania where the architects, in collaboration with Futago, have orchestrated a complete transformation of the lifeless libraries on the two main campuses to dynamic learning hubs. '
The President's Award, in recognition of long service to the profession and outstanding achievement in the advancement of architecture, was presented to architectural practitioner and educator Barry McNeill.
In awarding the honour, RAIA Tasmanian Chapter President Neal Mackintosh said Barry was a nationally acknowledged profession educator, who had consistently endeavoured to broaden the base of architectural learning. He also possessed a unique range of planning and architectural skills, with his projects receiving award recognition in Tasmania and Canberra over the past 25 years.
The James Blackburn Triennial Award, open to Residential Award winners in the preceding three years, was awarded to two projects - Brett’s House Rocky Hills by Rosevear Architects, which ‘balances perfectly between land and sea, between ground and sky, and between the intimacy of the enclosed spaces and the infinite horizon’, and Camp Site Douglas River Residence by Jack Birrell Architects, described as an ‘exemplary work of residential architecture’.
The SWT Blythe Student Award was presented to Garth Ancher for the Launceston School of Contemporary Music, with the project described as ‘an architectural exploration of the notion of rock fusion’.
For more information contact:
RAIA Tasmanian Jury Chair Keith Drew: 0419 571 979
RAIA Tasmanian Chapter Manager Janine Saunders: (03) 6234 5464 for images
RAIA National Media / PR Advisor Trish Croaker: 0408 756 163 |
