Gore Street Apartment: Rebecca Lewis
I was 26 when I bought my apartment. Young, inexperienced, green as an olive. I had been house-hunting for nine months when I stepped inside the 1960s Gore Street apartment.
Sonny’s: Design Theory
Nestled within tall tuart trees off a bustling strip, Sonny’s, with its articulately curated wine list, is Mount Hawthorn’s newest neighbourhood bar brought forth by passionate hospitality veterans Jess and Aaron, crafted by Design Theory.
Wangaratta District Specialist School: Sibling Architecture
The recent addition to the Wangaratta District Specialist School’s ageing buildings from the 1980s and mostly relocatable classrooms, provided an opportunity for Sibling Architecture to design for wellbeing through creating tactile and tranquil spaces in a new learning hub.
NextSense: WMK Architecture
The NextSense centre for innovation at Macquarie University by WMK Architecture has opened heralding a new era for hearing and vision loss in Australia.
His Majesty’s Theatre – Balcony reconstruction: Griffiths Architects
Located in Perth’s west end on Hay Street, His Majesty’s Theatre’s immediate context includes many former showrooms and offices from the early twentieth century. Like almost all Perth buildings, the theatre balconies were removed via a 1947 Act of Parliament enforced in 1953 and replaced with a simple awning, in common with many Perth and Fremantle buildings. In a touch of irony, COVID-19 recovery funds made the reconstruction of the balconies by Griffiths Architects possible, and they opened with huge fanfare in February 2023.
Clifton and Central: MJA Studio
Formerly a quintessential Australian icon, the corner store deli has regrettably given way to the expansive reach of supermarkets and servos in recent times. The deli has always symbolised more than convenience for locals. Across the suburbs, they have seemingly embedded themselves within our streets, generating activity and serving as vibrant meeting spots where residents and neighbours alike can socialise and interact with the wider community. Clifton and Central by MJA Studio with CAPA Studio is a boutique mixed-use development in Mt Lawley on an old corner store site.
Abbotsleigh School Library & Centre for Science and Art: AJC Architects
The built environment in education settings is often referred to as the ‘Third Teacher’ from the Reggio Emilia philosophy acknowledging the significant role the built environment has on student learning and engagement. So significant the Australian Children’s Education & Care Authority has a quality area dedicated to it, citing that “Behind educators and families, physical spaces hold the potential to influence what and how children learn.”
Deepwater House: AHA Studio
Deepwater House by AHA Studio references the nearby location at which the Djarlgarra /Canning River is at its deepest; but it is perhaps better understood as a metaphor of an architecture borne from a deeper critical engagement with its place among Perth’s Swan Coastal Plain.
Tanoa: vittinoAshe Architects
Originally one half of a duplex built in the 1960s, Tanoa was lovingly restored in the early 2000s by local architect, Gerard McCann. With the ever-increasing demands of a family with teenagers, the current occupants simply required more space in which to grow. vittinoAshe were approached to respect as much of the existing residence as possible, while adding new spaces for the family to be both together and apart.
119 Redfern Street: Aileen Sage with Djinjama, Jean Rice and Noni Boyd
A question that has been percolating in my mind for several years now is: How can architecture in Australia respectfully engage with both Indigenous heritage and post-settlement non-Indigenous heritage? How can we create architecture that responds to multiple stories and histories, however difficult and tricky those relationships might be, and what might this look like?
