Murrook | Derive Architecture & Design with Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council
Murrook represents a deep collaboration between Derive Architecture & Design and the Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC), which began in 2013. The project aimed to create a culturally significant, multifunctional space through a comprehensive masterplan that integrated the Worimi people’s vision. The project was constructed in phases to manage costs independently of government funding. The Centre includes cultural performance spaces, conference facilities, a cultural collection and interpretation space, educational areas, a restaurant with a culinary training program, and spaces for local artists and an on-site land management initiative. Highly nuanced design strategies included adaptively reusing existing structures, using a roof form inspired by the nearby sand dunes, and a weathering steel façade integrating language with cultural significance. The project is centred around a respectful, collaborative approach, with a view to creating a lasting cultural and functional space for the community.
Mangrove Creek Dam Visitors Centre | Slater Architects
The original Mangrove Creek facilities were lost in the Three Mile Fire in 2019. Central Coast Council reached out to Slater Architects with a brief was to redesign and recreate the Mangrove Creek Dam Visitor Centre, incorporating a new interactive visitor education centre, accessible amenities, picnic shelters and a children’s play area.
The design encourages insight into the natural environment, cultural heritage and highlights important components of the Central Coast’s water supply system. The design of the visitor centre comprises of a feature butterfly roof that is angled in 2 directions to embrace the views and orientation towards the dam.
Materials have been selected to reflect the natural environment and provide longevity and include natural finishes such as rammed earth, polished concrete, plywood, timber look screens, black steel and framing. The amenities building and picnic shelters have been designed with a similar aesthetic to provide a cohesive built form.
Forster Civic Precinct – Solaris | TVS Architects
Solaris is a large mixed-use development that was initiated to facilitate moving the Council’s community facilities from a suburban site to this central beachside location. This first stage of the development comprises a residential apartment tower with 56 units, a restaurant and commercial space, and the Forster Civic Centre comprising a Library, Community Lounge, Visitor Information Centre and Customer Service Point for MidCoast Council.
The philosophy behind the master-planned community precinct was to provide the community with a wide variety of amenities in an architectural context which facilitates adaptability and future flexibility for an evolving population. The diverse mix of uses future-proofs Solaris to better cater for the changing needs of an evolving population. The amenity enriches the public experience, creating a new social precinct to engage with the local community through its built form and presence near the lake and beachside commercial precincts.
Bathurst Animal Rehoming Centre (BARC) | Welsh and Major
BARC (Bathurst Animal Rehoming Facility) is a flexible, multipurpose public facility run by Bathurst Regional Council where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals are housed and re-homed. Located in Kelso, east of Bathurst, this innovative facility replaces an outdated pound with a new design comprised of four distinct ’farmbuildings’, including a public-friendly ‘homestead’, practical shed spaces, and a circular adoption pavilion set amidst an open cloistered garden for prospective owners to bond with pets.
Designed with environmental sensitivity, the new facility integrates efficient heating, cooling, and water management systems, including a substantial solar array and rainwater harvesting.
BARC is an example of well considered, practical and flexible architecture, one that quietly goes about its multi-faceted job quietly and pragmatically – providing a socially aware response to the issue of animal welfare in regional NSW.
Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshore Community Building | King and Campbell
The Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshore Community Building (CJFCB) is located on a key node within the Coffs Foreshore Precinct and alongside the iconic Coffs Jetty. Conceived through a rigorous community engagement and analysis process, the design of the building and ‘spill-out’ zones around it are both flexible and adaptable to accommodate a range of sporting, community, and food and beverage uses. A key feature of the project is the recreated sand dune, which pays homage to natural systems whilst reducing built form bulk and providing compliant and inviting access to the second level. The effect of this design initiative, along with the use of reclaimed hardwood timber and simple finished concrete that reflects the character of this important coastal precinct, is that the building appears to be set into and a part of the natural landscape. The CJFCB has been welcomed with immediate and clear community acceptance.
The Round | BKK Architects + Kerstin Thompson Architects
Yellamundie at Liverpool Civic Place | fjcstudio
The public library has never been more important than today as the most inclusive and democratic of buildings. In Liverpool, the existing library, though highly valued, evolved from a public carpark, obscured from view.
Following a fire, Council saw an opportunity to revitalise its main street’s southern end. Combined with council facilities and civic square, a unique 21stcentury library, Yellamundie, emerged, inspired by the graceful curve of the Georges River, known as Tuggerah before European arrival.
Yellamundie’s curvilinear design reflects the river’s flow, creating diverse, inviting spaces. Positioned at Macquarie Street’s treelined end, it fosters a welcoming, pedestrianfriendly environment with shaded gathering spaces. Circular glazed surfaces draw in natural light, framing city views. Multilevel zoning accommodates vibrant activities and quiet study areas. Children and youth spaces atop symbolise protection and support.
The multilevel design harmonises with Georges River’s lush landscapes, the Cumberland Plane’s suedelike hues, and bursts of native flora.
Atherton Hospital Redevelopment | Peddle Thorp
The Atherton Hospital Redevelopment is a building at the heart of its local community. A building that feels like home, that supports and retain staff, and nurtures and brings joy to patients.
References to the history of the site are woven throughout the design of the building, utilising shape and colour to connect to the history and natural form of the surrounding community. The building is wrapped in a colourful brick façade that reflects the form of the existing Hospital building demolished to make way for the new. Creating a playful welcome gesture that de-institutionalises the experience of people at the start of their healthcare journey. Familiar forms and access to nature creates immediate connections for the community to the new facility fostering a sense of familiarity and belonging, creating a building that staff and patients want to be at, providing them with a joyful, healthy, and user-friendly Hospital.
Bradbury Park Playscape | Alcorn Middleton
Nestled in Brisbane’s Northern Suburbs, Bradbury Park’s Playscape emerges as a vibrant testament to the role of public architecture in fostering inclusivity and invigorating community life with cultural, artistic, and interactive aspects. Through the concept’s theme of ‘Byways and Hollows, byways usher visitors into a world of discovery, with hidden alcoves and dynamic structures that mirror the wild’s untamed paths. Each turn of the playscape’s design unfolds a story, transforming ‘hollows’ into retreats that reflect the homes of lorikeets, alive with lashes of vibrant hues and spirit. The architectural prowess of the structure, intentionally situated among the ironbark sentinels, honours their grandeur and charred palette, emphasising these natural icons through both materiality and physical form, capturing the resilience and spirit of the Australian landscape.
A beacon of public architecture, this playscape redefines communal play with an innovative and striking presence, weaving artistic and cultural vibrancy into Brisbane’s inner Northern Suburbs.
Cairns Convention Centre Expansion | Cox Architecture and CA Architects
The Cairns Convention Centre Expansion is a significant addition to an important public building first constructed in 1996.
The Project reorientates the building to face the Trinity Inlet and the mountain range beyond. The design solution was a specific response to place and provides a new address and identity and was orchestrated to face the view. The joyful façade screen is a response to the sun path, whilst allowing views and reflecting the local botanic colours.
The building is an important magnet for tourism supporting businesses as well as being an important addition to regional Queensland. The expansion allows the facility to maximise the limited seasonal window in Cairns.
The building includes a new plenary, exhibition, banquet space, meeting rooms, terraces and an undercover Garden Arrival. Additionally, a major upgrade was provided to the existing building, focusing on the Auditorium and the Arena in response to the Convention Centre market.
