UQ Brisbane City | BVN
In 2019, The University of Queensland (UQ) purchased the state heritage listed building, 308 Queen Street and its 2008 tower extension. The scheme establishes a distinctive, state-of-the art learning environment through the through the conversion of the historic bank and modern commercial tower, providing new settings for postgraduate students within the Architecture and Business Schools, alongside a hub for UQ alumni.
Three key space types were identified: Teaching Suites, Creative Suites, and a series of unique Engagement Spaces. Collectively they provide both informal and formal teaching and learning environments at varying scales, from individual to group and large format.
STEAM Precinct Brisbane Grammar School | Wilson Architects
The STEAM Precinct is an integrated multidisciplinary education facility which is not simply a new science building but rather reflects a whole of school approach pedagogically, physically and culturally.
Highly flexible classrooms wrap around a four-story high incubator space with suspended group study Petri dishes pods that give the space its character and reinforce the intended behavior around creative thinking.
The building explores themes from interconnected extended learning, highly pedagogically flexible teaching spaces and creating environments that invest in student directed/owned independent and collaborative space. The resulting innovation pushes the boundaries of team teaching, multidisciplinary learning and peer support.
Wilam Ngarrang Retrofit | Kennedy Nolan with Finding Infinity
Wilam Ngarrang is a minimalintervention retrofit of a 1970s apartment block in Fitzroy, it is Australia’s first plus energy retrofit of an apartment block. The purpose of transforming this building was to create an example for the city. A financially replicable model of low environmental impact retrofit concentrating on improving thermal performance, extending the lifespan of the building and increasing amenity for tenants. Importantly, there is also an emphasis on creating a sense of domestic comfort, on making places for people which are warm, welcoming and beautiful, in their own modest way. The design of the project was a partnership between Kennedy Nolan and Finding Infinity, regular collaborators on a diverse range of projects.
Up There | Kennedy Nolan
As part of a major refresh of the Up There brand, Kennedy Nolan was asked to design a new flagship store on Flinders Lane. The brief called for the theatrical, cinematic, abstract, curated, expansive and memorable. . Each element of the store has been considered through a rich and enjoyable collaboration with a designliterate Client: from the shimmering surfaces of flat and galvanised steel and the elevated experience of the fitting rooms with their secret salon, to the roughcast texture of the concession shells
Transurban | Bates Smart
Transurbans new workplace, located in Sydneys Poly Centre, achieves elegance by focusing on the essentials only. The base building architecture with its long, skinny floorplates, double height spaces and large concrete buttresses helped us to derive three interior principles.
1.Focus on simple but strong ideas, to sit cohesively within the base building.
2.Play with volume and shape, to buffer the space and create key moments of welcome and effect.
3.Prioritise the workzones to have just as much intent and impact as frontofhouse spaces.
The client floor avoids embellishment, instead demonstrating a few bold moves from the moody arrival in the lift lobby to the impressive glass conference rooms. A simple stair connects to the workfloors below, where workstations are reduced in density and illuminated by diffuse light. The interior cleverly integrates a material palette that speaks to Transurbans portfolio Sydney stone, concrete, steel and digital artworks.
Tiwu Kumangka (Blackwood Library and Community Centre) | DesignInc
Tiwu Kumangka’ celebrates the coming together of community services and a library within the hills-based suburb of Blackwood. The project is a catalyst for the revitalisation of the town centre, catering to the needs of locals and responding to the council’s vision for a vibrant and active public realm. Tiwu Kumangka responds to its local context with a natural material palette and architectural details referencing the wide variety of landscapes within the City of Mitcham. The building’s scale, visibility, and accessibility invite the community to wander through its central ‘street’, providing pedestrian access to the adjoining street, shops, cafes, and Waite Street Reserve. The transparency and permeability of the building’s design promote the shared experiences and activities within. Shifts in volume and scale invite enquiry, connection, creativity and exploration through flexible community spaces.
Michael Kirby Building | Hassell
The Michael Kirby Building at Macquarie University tells a story of sustainable adaptation and growth, crafting new gathering spaces that encourage interaction and promote the exchange of ideas.
The design utilises the concrete framework of a pre-existing administration building as a foundation for a new timber structural system. The transformation extends beyond the structural, replacing the concrete shell with a transparent, glazed façade directly connecting the building to the tree canopy along Wally’s Walk.
A previously exposed courtyard is now transformed into an enclosed, naturally ventilated atrium space. A series of skylights provide controlled lighting, providing equal parts sun and shade.
The decision to re-use rather than fully demolish has extended the life of the building. Creating a high quality crafted timber interior speaks to Macquarie University’s ongoing commitment to a sustainable campus.
Canberra Grammar School Centre of Music and Snow Concert Hall | Cox Architecture
COXs proposal the CGS Centre of Music and Snow Concert Hall was selected by the competition jury for its originality, innovation, and integration with its heritage context. The design proposed the 1400 seat auditorium be built underground with music rooms of various sizes placed adjacent, forming a plinth for the heritage buildings behind/above. Additional uses that went beyond the requirements of the brief were suggested as result of the additional space generated by the siting strategy. Critical to this approach is a three-dimensional circulation system that integrates both new and old movement patterns into a series of new circuits and points of entry/egress. A new library now sits atop the ceremonial front door of the campus, overlooking the historic Dining Hall, Quadrangle to the South, and Main Oval to the North. The intent was to enhance the context and not design from a tabula rasa.
Campbell House Private Office | Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
Campbell House Private Office is the adaptive reuse of a Federation style house from the early 1890s into a contemporary office. TZG’s approach to this design was to weave the built heritage fabric into the contemporary commercial design to unify the significant building and positively contribute to its Heritage Conservation setting.
The threshold between interior and exterior spaces is blurred by layered transparencies that welcome the established front garden and abundant natural light deep into the building. A mature Weeping Fig Tree was planted in the office atrium and is the central focus of the new building. The surrounding contemporary design interventions, like the tree, breathes new life into the building.
The office is an exemplar of environmental design based on natural light, passive ventilation, enduring materials and harvesting green energy facilitated by a contemporary intervention to a heritage building.
Australia Place Lobby Refurbishment | COX Architecture
Australia Place is a highly considered lobby experience that celebrates art, light and texture. At the heart of the project is a previously concealed existing stained-glass window now braced by black quartzite to become a beacon set deep within the lobby. The white Carrara marble that wraps lining the walls opposite, create a texture symbolic of a curtain, creating a secondary back drop for the lobby.
A focus was placed on providing low level mood lighting to the voluminous lobby space to create a sense of intimacy, comfort and privacy. The lobby is delineated with bespoke joinery and key furniture selected to provide an array of user experiences. The feature ceiling pendant lights anchor the lounge space centred within the lobby whilst the loose furniture and fixed high bench joinery adjacent to the glass curtain wall offers café patrons another experience and welcoming transition into a revitalised lobby experience.
