KITCHEN & LAUNDRY APPLIANCES ROOFING + WINDOWS & DOORS FLOORS, FLOORING + HVAC CAN COMMUNITY HOUSING SOLVE OUR RENTAL ISSUES? PRINT POST APPROVED 100028280 PROJECTS PRODUCTS PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 / THE RESIDENTIAL ISSUE ADQ1-OFC_7.indd 1 4/2/23 1:51 pm
TRUECORE®, BlueScope and the BlueScope brand mark are registered trade marks of BlueScope Steel Limited. © BlueScope Steel Limited ABN 16 000 011 058. All rights reserved. The architectural vision of Phillip Island’s Penguin Parade Visitor Centre demanded an e cient, fl exible yet highly precise construction. Lightweight yet strong, the framing made from TRUECORE® steel made the angular detail of these stunning columns a reality. Engineered to incredibly fi ne tolerances, TRUECORE® steel is the perfect partner for innovative and ambitious architectural thinking. Visit truecore.com.au to learn more. Precision design requires a framing system to match. Perfectly. BLU0826_Truecore_A&D_DPS_430x297mm.indd 1 ADQ1-Bluescope DPS.indd 2 2/2/23 9:19 pm 20/1/2023 11:34 am BLU0826_Truecore_A&D_DPS_430x297mm.indd 2 20/1/2023 11:35 am
TRUECORE®, BlueScope and the BlueScope brand mark are registered trade marks of BlueScope Steel Limited. © BlueScope Steel Limited ABN 16 000 011 058. All rights reserved. The architectural vision of Phillip Island’s Penguin Parade Visitor Centre demanded an e cient, fl exible yet highly precise construction. Lightweight yet strong, the framing made from TRUECORE® steel made the angular detail of these stunning columns a reality. Engineered to incredibly fi ne tolerances, TRUECORE® steel is the perfect partner for innovative and ambitious architectural thinking. Visit truecore.com.au to learn more. Precision design requires a framing system to match. Perfectly. BLU0826_Truecore_A&D_DPS_430x297mm.indd 1 20/1/2023 11:34 am BLU0826_Truecore_A&D_DPS_430x297mm.indd 2 ADQ1-Bluescope DPS.indd 3 20/1/2023 11:35 am 2/2/23 9:19 pm
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Contents ON THE COVER The High Street Apartments is Gardiner Architects’ first high-rise multi-residential project. Located in Thornbury, Melbourne, the project is a mixed-use building, with thirteen apartments above a ground floor carpark and restaurant fronting High Street. Photography Rory Gardiner. PEOPLE APPOINTMENTS 4 PUBLIC HOUSING 8 JUSTIN HAMILTON INTERVIEW 10 POOLS FROM ABOVE 14 7-STAR HOUSING 16 BOOK REVIEW 18 PROJECTS HIGH STREET 20 BAYSIDE TERRACE 26 REVIVING THE FEDERATION 32 NARRABEEN RELOCATABLE HOME 38 THE LONDON 42 PRACTICAL HVAC 50 WINDOWS & DOORS 58 KITCHEN & LAUNDRY APPLIANCES 68 ROOFS & ROOFING 72 FLOORS & FLOORING 78 SECTIONS2 84 PODCAST CORNER 88 SHOWCASE 91 EDITOR Branko Miletic [email protected] ASSISTANT EDITOR Jarrod Reedie [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Stephanie Stefanovic Tone Wheeler Matthew McDonald Hamish McDonald Alessandro Antoci Trivess Moore Nicola Willand Prue Miller CREATIVE DIRECTOR Louise Gault DESIGNER Kaysan Gates ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Adrian Wilson Phone: 02 9368 0150 [email protected] GROUP OPERATIONS MANAGER Sheree Bryant [email protected] SENIOR CAMPAIGN MANAGER Kim Ruth [email protected] CAMPAIGN MANAGER Jessica Sukdana [email protected] CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR Felicia Cindyagatha [email protected] ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Phone: 02 9368 0150 Email: [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES Call Customer Service: 02 9368 0150 ISSN 1039-9704 ARCHITECTUREANDDESIGN.COM.AU Opinions and viewpoints expressed by interviewees, writers and columnists in Architecture & Design do not necessarily represent those of the editor, staff or publisher of the magazine. “For over two years, Australia’s home builders were commencing more new projects than they had been completing,” says HIA Senior Economist, Tom Devitt. “There were only 29,153 detached houses completed in the September quarter 2022, just 2.5 percent up on the same time the previous year. The number of homes reaching completion remains no higher than those being commenced with 29,177 new projects started in the September quarter,” says Devitt. “Over 104,000 houses are still under construction across Australia, almost double the pipeline that existed in mid2020,” he says. In other words, supply is down while demand is up, or at best, steady as before. Now some would think this is good for the design and build sector, but in reality, it’s not. Supply shortages coupled with labour issues means creativity, innovation and sustainability take a back seat. What ultimately comes to the fore is cost-cutting, mediocre outcomes, and economic survival. At a time when Australia’s residential house building sector should be going through a design renaissance in terms of both lowering energy use and material waste output, we are seeing an industry that is treading water and fearing what may or may not be just around the corner. As architect Tone Wheeler wrote in this very magazine not that long ago: “In the past, progressive architecture was often in the hands of governments.” Today, it’s more likely to be in Adam Smith’s “invisible hand of the market”. But all is not lost. Speaking to several architects and designers over the past few months, it’s clear that the concept of passive house is increasing in popularity in Australia – not just for homeowners but certifying authorities as well. Then there is the issue of the NCC and the intrepid NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, who’s making updates and improvements to our national building code with the same zeal and fervour as that of a tent revivalist preacher. Lead free plumbing products, energy efficiency, condensation mitigation, and liveable housing provisions are set to become standard as of October this year. There is more potential in the wind. As Wheeler notes, “Architects can play a key role in addressing the current inequality. Crucially they can advocate for federal programs in housing, schools and hospitals that follow in the footsteps of the innovations of the three previous post-war Labor governments, and improved Government Architects Offices (GAOs)”. As we know, nothing determines inequality in Australia like home ownership. So, there we have it – our next 12 months and what we need to do to fix our current malaise is clear as day. And we can’t forget the climate also – sooner or later, like with transport, agri-business, and mining, lowering our emissions will become a central focus. It’s going to be a big year. FOLLOW US Facebook @archanddesign LinkedIn architecture&designaustralia Instagram @architectureanddesignaustralia Podcast Talking Architecture & Design Editor’s Letter BRANKO MILETIC © Copyright Architecture & Design. All rights reserved. No part of the publication can be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Utmost care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial matter. Product specifications and claims are those of the manufacturers. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / CONTENTS / JAN-MAR 2023 3
4 Appointments TWO NEW DIRECTORS, SEVERAL PROMOTIONS AT FENDER KATSALIDIS Fender Katsalidis has appointed two new members to its Board of Directors, as well as seven internal promotions across its east coast studios. The practice is intent on nurturing its next wave of design talent and hopes the bolstering of its leadership structure will aid in that process. Tanya Cox and Greta Thomas have been appointed non-executive directors, ensuring increased diversification of skills and backgrounds from professionals outside of the architectural sector. The Fender Katsalidis board will soon restructure itself to ensure it has the appropriate size, skills and experience to deliver company strategy, while ensuring gender balance amongst both executive and non-executive Directors. ABOVE Tanya Cox (left) and Greta Thomas (right). A TRIO OF PROMOTIONS FOR TURNER Turner has announced the addition of a new Director and two Associate Directors in a period of solid growth for the practice. Shewanna Mendis has been elevated to the role of Director. An employee of the practice for more than 20 years, evolution is what excites the new Director the most for the future. Mendis will now oversee the design development of Turner’s projects, ensuring smooth delivery for clientele while developing staff through training and mentoring. Aniss Adler has been promoted to Associate Director and Head of Experiential Design, with Brian Fong joining Adler as a new Associate Director. Adler is an experienced Art Director and Graphic Designer who joined Turner in 2018. She has built the entire Experiential Design department from the ground up. Fong holds more than 20 years of experience in the built environment, designing projects in Australia, China and the UK. Throughout his career, he has delivered major masterplanning, medium and high-density residential and mixed-use development projects. ABOVE Aniss Adler (left), Brian Fong (centre) and Shewanna Mendis (right). ENVIROTECTURE ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC MERGER ALONG WITH A NEW DIRECTOR Sydney’s Envirotecture, led by Sustainability Awards judge Dick Clarke and Andy Marlow, has merged with Victoria’s Talina Edwards Architecture, to create what it calls a “partnership [that] will lead to greater impact and better outcomes.” Edwards has gained recognition as an industry leader, known for her sustainable architecture and as a passionate advocate for building a better future. She has received many awards recognising her meaningful contributions to sustainability with her architectural projects, and for her advocacy roles as Board Director at Australian Passive House Association, Coordinator of Australian Architects Declare, and for the ArchiTeam Advocacy Committee. ABOVE Talina Edwards. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / APPOINTMENTS / JAN-MAR 2023 4
QIAN BECOMES PRINCIPAL OF ARCADIA MELBOURNE STUDIO Arcadia has bolstered its growing Melbourne studio, with the landscape architecture firm announcing Jack Qian has joined the garden city outpost as its new Principal. Qian will assist current Principal Nelson Gomes in growing the studio, as well as delivering high-calibre projects. ABOVE Nelson Gomes (left) Jack Qian (right). JURY TO LAY DOWN THE LAW AS DKO EXPANDS NZ STUDIO DKO’s Auckland studio has appointed a new NZ Studio Director, Scott Jury and role elevations within the DKO New Zealand team. Jury joins the DKO team with over 20 years’ experience in construction and architecture. After graduating from Auckland University with a 1st Class Honours degree, he founded Jurado Architects in 2006. Since then, he has worked through comprehensive multi-residential and commercial projects with a determination to always provide a professional service and a drive for delivering projects of reputable quality. Jury is a Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, as well as an accredited member of New Zealand Institute of Building. ABOVE Scott Jury. WILLIAMS WILLING TO INCREASE ARCHITECTUS’ DEFENCE OUTPUT Architectus has appointed Ralph Williams as its new National Sector Leader for Defence, who joins the practice with over two decades of design experience across defence and government planning, design, and construction projects. Being named a Principal in conjunction with his new role in the defence sector, Williams will spearhead Architectus’ national growth within the sector by drawing on the firm’s cross-sector expertise in workplace, aviation, rail, science and research, education, urban planning, residential, and interiors. Before moving to Architectus, Williams led a number of high-profile defence projects, including Air 5428 Pilot Training Systems, Victoria Barracks Redevelopment Melbourne and the Riverina Redevelopment Program. ABOVE Deb Robbins. Aurecon has created a team of specialists to account for the demand for circular economy expertise in Australia and New Zealand, at a time when the engineering and design firm’s pipeline is set to quadruple in the next 18 months. The team, comprising 15 circular economy experts, hold international experience in the sector working for the likes of Ikea and Veolia. The experiences of team members in social enterprise and not-for-profit organisations puts them in good stead to work with a premier company in Aurecon. Kelly McClean cofounded Reuse Aotearoa to improve access to reusable packaging systems in New Zealand, Kunal Khanna recently delivered the All Living Things Environmental Film Festival live in India and online, while Bricout sits on the board of Circular Australia. The team members are located in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Wellington in New Zealand. Aurecon’s circular economy team is now involved in 18 projects spanning local and state governments, water utilities, resources, major infrastructure and renewable energy, including Rio Tinto, Sydney Water, City of Adelaide, Sustainability Victoria and Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency. ABOVE (from left to right) Emily Hendrikx, Audrey Christiansen, Leann Feng, Izzat Majid, Chase Wieland, Jodie Bricout are six of the 15 team members. AURECON ESTABLISHES SPECIALIST TEAM TO TACKLE CIRCULAR ECONOMY FRASERS CEO JOINS GBCA BOARD Frasers Property Australia Chief Executive, Anthony Boyd, has become the latest Director on the Board of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). Adding to his commitments as a member of the Property Council of Australia’s Corporate Leaders Group and Champions of Change Coalition and Board Member of the Property Industry Foundation, Boyd will assist the GBCA in its aim of facilitating the sharing of knowledge, expertise and innovation between industry and Council. ABOVE Anthony Boyd. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / APPOINTMENTS / JAN-MAR 2023 5
SJB has announced several promotions at their Sydney studio, setting the firm on a strong growth path by recognising the individuals who are shaping the future of the practice. Jacqueline Connor, Joel Sia, Tamara Kerr, Liam Williamsz and Noel Roche have been promoted as associates, while Rebecca Donoghue, David Maes and Stewart Cowan are the new senior associates at SJB Sydney. With recent accolades at the National Architecture Awards including 52 Reservoir Street awarded The Harry Seidler Award for Commercial Architecture, Quay Quarter Lanes awarded The Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design, and Newcastle East End highly commended for Urban Design as well as a swath of new competition wins, SJB’s growth remains stronger than ever. ABOVE (left to right) Noel Roche, Tamara Kerr, Liam Williamz, Jacqueline Connor, Stewart Cowan, Joel Sia, Rebecca Donoghue and David Maes. PROMOTIONS AT SJB SYDNEY RECOGNISE FUTURE LEADERS BUCHAN BOLSTERS INTERNATIONAL ROSTER Buchan has announced two new appointments in New Zealand, with both hires to work across all sectors for the practice and mentor emerging design talent. Scott Inverarity joins the Auckland studio as a Senior Associate, whilst Christchurch welcomes Associate Crispin Schurr. The practice’s fluid structure will allow for the pair to work on projects across the world, with Buchan pairing the best teams with the ideal client, irrespective of location. Inverarity holds 25 years of experience working across the commercial, industrial transport, retail, education, aged care, healthcare, hospitality, civic and heritage sectors. Schurr has more than 30 years of experience working on projects within New Zealand and the United Kingdom across the commercial, education, civic and residential sectors. Previously working at Christchurch City Council, Schurr was involved in a number of award-winning projects including the Kohinga St Albans Community Centre. Schurr will join the Buchan team tasked with designing the Australian Pavilion for Expo 2025 in Osaka. McEwan says Schurr will add allround strength and diversity to the studio and contribute to sector expansion. ABOVE Scott Inverarity (top) and Crispin Schurr (bottom). BEVILACQUA BEGINS NEW ROLE FOR FRASERS PROPERTY, HOSKINS DOUBLES UP ROLE ABOVE Anita Hoskins. Former General Manager of Real Utilities Paolo Bavilacqua will move to the company’s parent entity, Frasers Property Australia as the developer’s inaugural Group Head of Sustainability. Bevilacqua will be based in Sydney and will deepen the developer’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda, working alongside the leadership team and exploring strategic partnerships with external stakeholders. Bevilacqua joined Frasers in 2011 as Sustainability Manager and was promoted to General Manager for Sustainability before his prior position as General Manager of Real Utilities, where he was responsible for delivering carbon neutral energy to a number of Frasers’ developments. Anita Hoskins will replace Bevilacqua as the new General Manager of Real Utilities. Hoskins will combine the role with being Frasers’ Chief Financial Officer, taking the carbon neutral energy business through its next growth phase. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / APPOINTMENTS / JAN-MAR 2023 6
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If public housing is the question, community housing is the answer WORDS TONE WHEELER “Make housing a verb.” The message from Col James on the answering phone of the I.B. Fell Housing Research Unit at Sydney University. The last federal budget was judged reasonable and responsible, and by and large it was, but the housing section was not. The three-page document was appalling in its naivety, lack of policy and spending commitments. The tabloids glossed over it, and a piece in the NSW AIA Newsletter actually praised it, albeit with similar motherhood statements. My outrage was an outlier. The one thing I know a bit about the complete budget debacle. Making matters worse, whatever good there was does not commence for another two years. So, what, if any, is the upside? That’s today’s question. The answer is inevitably to ignore the federal government and turn to local communities. All good affordable rental housing has a strong component of the community in it, which leads us to the idea of ‘community housing’. COMMUNITY HOUSING We have gone from ‘housing commission’ to ‘public housing’ to ‘social housing’ as it has devolved from government by privatisation. Along the way we learnt that good ‘social housing’ has three characteristics, all involving the community. Firstly, social housing must be indistinguishable from the dwellings around it, mixed in with surrounding houses and apartments, so the occupants feel part of a mixed community, not lumped together as some form of leper colony as they have been in the public housing ghettos. Secondly, it should be widely distributed across the city, giving access to services and opportunities for work in many communities, not concentrated in one area. It should address the diversity of needy occupants in family make up, ethnicity and desires. Why does Mt Druitt in Sydney have upwards of 80 percent public housing and Mt Ku-ringGai has none? Thirdly, it should be located close to services and employment, so the occupants, often poor, have walking and cycling access and do not have to rely on cars or public transport. This means they are closer to the community of the ‘local village centres’, not cast out to the far-flung suburbs because the land is cheaper, but where it’s more expensive to live. In short, by the very nature of their housing, occupants should be integral to the common fabric of their community, not unfairly grouped or singled out or ostracised. HOW TO MAKE GOOD AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING The formula for affordable rental housing is simply said, difficultly done. If housing as property investment has traditionally had three roughly equal components, land, construction and profit, the way to reduce the initial costs is to remove two of those: land costs and the profit. Those two requirements then spell out who can successfully provide affordable rental housing, who has land without cost, and works on a not-for-profit basis? Well, that was the government, until the neo-liberal mantra entranced our recent politicians of both big party persuasions. But all is not lost. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 8
ABOVE Tone Wheeler. GOVERNMENT SPONSORED COMMUNITY HOUSING Governments own the largest portion of land in Australia. Unfortunately, the Feds love their defence land and are unwilling to give that up. So, we turn to the states. The Labor ones in WA, Queensland, and Victoria, now understand how government land can be permanently put to good use for housing. And NSW Labor is developing policies for the use of public land, some of it for affordable housing. If our formula for good social housing is that it is modest, indistinguishable, diverse but well located, how does a large state behemoth build such housing? In the more populous states, it’s by turning to ‘community housing providers’, smallish regionally based organisations, that know their communities, and how to integrate socially progressive affordable rental housing into them. The state is generally too big and clumsy to build the fine grain work required of social housing. Rather they should supply the land at nil cost, and fund community organisations, by mortgage, to continue their local, communitybased work. PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY HOUSING One initiative in the federal budget sought to couple superannuation to social housing, although no financial incentive was proffered for that change. A more likely path is through philanthropy, although Australia has a poor record there, but we are now seeing some wealth being directed towards social housing. A beautiful example is in North Fremantle WA where architect Michelle Blakeley has developed social housing that is innovative in so many ways. The intended occupants are women over 55 (the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness), who’ll pay a quarter of their Newstart Allowance, the one bedroom houses are ‘Passiv Haus’ standard, using digital fabrication techniques, and erected on site in weeks. NOT-FOR-PROFIT COMMUNITY HOUSING Churches are renowned for owning well located land. Now some churches, driven by their congregations, are moving from ‘worship to mission’. They want to use their time and efforts and money to provide low-cost affordable social housing for their community on the land of their church, traditionally used only for worship on Sunday. In NSW, various groups have banded together as the ‘Faith Housing Alliance’ to explore ways that planning laws can be improved to enable church land to be repurposed for housing. Projects already underway include a church site in Marrickville (under construction), approval for 30 apartments in Strathfield, and a design for a hundred student units in Leichhardt. It is the local community, the congregation, who are driving this new housing model. INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY HOUSING We are gradually ceding land back to the right custodians, a fundamental pre-requisite for affordable community housing, but without the wherewithal for the development of their own buildings, from within the community, housing indigenous communities in regional and remote areas fails. These are a few green shoots emerging to tackle affordable social housing through communities. Nowhere near the numbers we had in public housing in the 1960s, but it’s a good re-start. More examples are welcome of housing where occupants gain economic stability through community projects, leading to better social, mental, and wellbeing outcomes. Tone Wheeler is an architect. The views expressed are his. Contact at [email protected] ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 9
HAMISH MACDONALD: Tell us about how your connection to Newcastle came about? JUSTIN HAMILTON: I arrived at the architecture degree at Newcastle University, from home in outer northwest Sydney, in 1988. At the time the architecture faculty here held the highest rating in the country, with a design course they ended up selling to the Frank Lloyd Wright School in the US. It was an immense project-based course that produced many great architects including Peter Stutchbury, Lindsay & Kerry Clare, and Britt Anderson. Several gold medallists were teaching there, and we had guest lectures by Troppo and Burgess. HM: And you stayed? JH: I met my wife Julie at university. We moved to Sydney for one year, as she had training with Westpac in the city. We were living above the train station at Chatswood, it was hectic. One day she said: There’s 500,000 people living in Newcastle, why can’t we be two of them? We packed up and drove back. I got a job in quite a large practice. The director asked me: “What are you hoping to do in this practice? I said: I’d like to work here for five years, learn the ropes, and then start my own business”. He said: “You can’t say that in an interview!” But he gave me a job on the spot, and I gave him eight years. HM: What made you break away? JM: There was a mature-age student with me at Newcastle Uni, Kevin Schreiber. He’d migrated from South Africa and had been a photojournalist for The Age in Melbourne. He had a very good eye — for perspective, colour balance, depth of field and business. He called me and said he was starting a practice. Would I join him? That became Schreiber Hamilton Architecture. It was a necessary and symbiotic partnership: I was blue collar northwest Sydney; he was private school, international in his outlook. HM: How did it work out? JM: We caught a big break. As a student I spent my Uni holidays working in Sydney with Maitland and Butler Architects in their nuts & berries studio in Galston. Their biggest client was the Federal Airports Corporation. So, I was trained in airport design – particularly the dirty end like baggage carousels. They rang and said they had a job to expand the Newcastle Airport, but with travel considerations suggested a joint venture. It was an $800,000 extension. It grew into an $8 million job, and then into an $80 million masterplan to expand the airport from 1 million passengers a year to 5 million. We then picked up other airports: Albury, Byron Bay-Ballina, Port Macquarie, plus the 12 years of continuous work at Newcastle Airport which included work for the RAAF and British Aerospace. HM: But you didn’t stay Australian-regional. Tell us about your ventures abroad. JH: Kevin applied to the NSW government for an export marketing grant. It was dominated by the capital city practices so we were extremely surprised to be the only regional firm. We won a $100,000 grant that had to be spent overseas to promote Australian architecture. We travelled to China, Oman, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We settled on Abu Dhabi as it was very familiar, just like Newcastle: a four-storey scale with a range of government departments and civic architecture. We ended up travelling there over six years, opening an office and working on joint ventures with a local engineering company. We exhibited 6 years in a row alongside LAB Architecture (designer of Melbourne’s Federation Square) with Zaha Hadid across the aisle! We completed 10 design projects, one a design for a $300 million defence academy. We designed it to represent the rising sun emerging out of the desert. We invested in an architecture business in Tunisia and provided this young practice with our Australian methodology. Kevin and his wife Gwenda went to live there to promote the practice and I stayed in Newcastle to promote our local practice. HM: How did the death of Kevin Schreiber impact the business? JH: That was a big shift for us. We had 30 people in the terrace house in Darby St, six in the Middle East, doing airports all over Australia, medical centres, hospitals, and education. We had just started winning awards and developing our design and business identity. We reflected on our success and our valued people, we tightened the practice up, we sold the terrace house, promoted our senior people to directors and shareholders, and found this old warehouse to renovate and help reinvent ourselves. We reflected upon our place, our connection to Newcastle and the Hunter, how grateful we are for this community and our connection to Country. Love SHAC PHOTOGRAPHY ALEX MCINTYRE WORDS HAMISH MACDONALD From a converted warehouse in Newcastle’s inner working-class suburb of Islington, the SHAC has produced award-winning designs for education ecosystems, airports, health facilities, civic and commercial centres. Founder Justin Hamilton explains how precious residential work has come as a by-product of the commercial practice, and why he remains a “regional” architect. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 1 1
I related to Gregory Burgess, the Victorian architect who did the Brambuk and Uluru KataDjuta Indigenous cultural centres. We all go to architecture school because we are artistic, to draw, sculpt and create; to make models and to ultimately contribute and to improve our communities and the built environment, not because we are business tycoons. We added a “C” for “collaborative” to rebrand the name to become SHAC. It’s almost like a surf brand; it belongs to all of us! We only had one customer who didn’t like it at first, now they’re our biggest client. HM: But you stayed in Newcastle? JH: Newcastle has come of age. Back in 2010 Lonely Planet voted Newcastle in the top 10 cities in the world to visit. Cafes and restaurants have exploded. People were moving back into the city. It’s safe, affordable, accessible, and close-knit, where you know everybody. You can walk, ride, or drive to the beach and get parking free any time. We were able to reinvent industry and technology after the closing of the steelworks: then the CSIRO relocated here, and technology was on our doorstep. The port may get a container terminal. The airport has just embarked on a $50 million upgrade to complete that masterplan we started and become international. We can communicate and do our business anywhere in the world from right here. If a project is complex, we can partner up. A great example is the expansion of the Newcastle Art Gallery competition. We had never done an art gallery that big before, so we rang Andrew Anderson at PTW, entered a joint venture bid with his team, shortlisted into the final four, winning the people’s choice award. HM: What gets transferred from your commercial work into other areas? JH: Aviation architecture is about lowering anxiety – will I make it in time, get through the check-in, etc – so we try to reassure passengers through spatial design, colour, patterns, and outlook that they can slow down, dwell comfortably and buy a coffee – I guess in school, hospital, and university design. We’ve just designed a birthing suite for Hunter New England Health. We didn’t just talk to the doctors and executives; we spoke to the mums, the dads and the midwives about light, colour, views, anxiety, and stress. Now Hunter New England Health want to take that design and recreate it across regional NSW. They wrote to thank us and shared that they noticed their demand for blood We’ve just completed a house at Wangi Wangi on the shore of Lake Macquarie, on a terraced block of land close to where William Dobell lived and painted. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 1 2
transfusions had gone down because patients’ stress and anxiety was down. HM: How does it influence your residential projects? I guess people in Newcastle have lower budgets than the big cities, but also a keen sense of community and heritage? JH: Many clients know us from working with us on our commercial work. We tend to be asked by our existing clients to take on their personal projects which is a real honour. The house they want is deeply connected to themselves and their sense of place. People are very parochial and tend to live in certain key pockets of the city: by the beach or near the harbour, up on the mountains, in the valley by the vineyards, or down by Lake Macquarie. HM: Tell us about some of them? JH: We’ve just finished a house up in the Barrington Tops for a professional couple. They are very interested in the Australian bush, the Australian farmhouse aesthetic. They’d seen the Hunter Valley farmhouse we completed nearly a decade ago for my father, who is a retired shearer and wool-classer. Influenced heavily by Murcutt, so no doubt this was our little chance to “touch the earth lightly” and to respect something my father had lived through. These new clients were interested in living in the bush, but they didn’t like the critters. So, we made a little courtyard with pavilions, almost like tents around the campfire, which they could open or close as they liked, and was elevated off the ground, bushfire and flood protected. We prefabricated the house, out of cross-laminated timber in a factory in Cardiff, and then put it in a flat pack and trucked it up to this site. It was put together in three days, and it’s exquisite. HM: That’s the bush and Hunter Valley. What about your beach dwellers? JH: We did a beautiful home for a family at Bar Beach. The sons all walk down to the beach barefooted with their boards under their arm, then come back and dip in the plunge pool, have a shower, then open the house right up to grab the nor’easter breeze that kicks in at 2 o’clock every day in Newcastle. Then when it gets too windy, they want to shut down that front, and go and sit in a sunny courtyard out the back in winter. Every time you design a home for someone you must respond the entire family, what’s unique to them, their pets, their collection of art and their extended family gatherings. And of course, you get to understand and respectfully design for the place and the landscape. HM: And the people down on the lake? JH: We’ve just completed a house at Wangi Wangi on the shore of Lake Macquarie, on a terraced block of land close to where William Dobell lived and painted. These people are avid sailors, so they know about rigging, fine detail, tension, and compression. They’re interested in views of the lake, and the dappled light through the gum trees on the foreshore. And something attracts us to pavilion architecture, taking the pieces apart a little bit and letting light and ventilation and orientation in, and let the landscape bleed between the pavilions so that it’s immersed in the space and there is a view from every space. HM: How about your more urban, inner-city housing? JH: Last year we finished a place on the top of The Hill in Newcastle. The site had an original, worker’s cottage and a large block of land beside it. The family decided they’d subdivide it, keep the cottage and maybe Airbnb it, and build themselves a new home. It’s a very quiet part of Newcastle even though it’s right in the centre, with long vistas over Fort Scratchley all the way up to Port Stephens, or out to the whales off the coast, and a glimpse of the obelisk up on the very top of The Hill. So, we understood the sea breezes and views, and made the house a pavilion to have your keepsakes in, but one that opens and shuts. You can open that front door and just wander down into the city and enjoy the cafes, the beach, the art gallery, and the library. And when you go back home, it’s warm and cosy, lots of caramels and browns and local timbers, a little crow’s nest on the top Shepherds Hill. HM: And you’ve done some medium-density housing too? JH: We also focus on small townhouses and affordable housing such as around the back streets of Cooks Hill, a lovely suburb like the “Glebe” of Newcastle, tiny terrace houses. We put four townhouses into one of the backstreets a couple of years ago. We didn’t know who the end-users were going to be, but we still wanted them to have the right scale and form. We are not interested in heavy bold statement juxtaposing something very radical next to something traditional. We will look at the context, and understand height, scale, repetition, form, character, and take cues for our design. We don’t want to copy the heritage work. We want it to be the architecture of its day, but we want it to be quite respectful of what’s been here before and leave a delightful legacy for future generations. ABOVE Justin Hamilton. PAGE 10 & OPPOSITE Wangi Waterfront House by SHAC, Wangi Wangi, NSW. A lakeside family home that complements and captures their most treasured way of life. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 1 3
Pools From Above WORDS PRUE MILLER In many ways, this is the success of Brad Walls’ new photographic essay, Pools From Above. In his own words, Walls wanted us to experience a ‘wave of nostalgia’, that lightness, that simplicity found in the gleaming watery expanses of the swimming pool. For those who love summer, it will take us back to carefree times of wet hair and damp towels, of exasperated parents calling out to us not to ‘walk water all over the house’ and memories of exquisite, weightless freedom. But then our mind, now calm and receptive, is allowed to wander over these pristine images collected across the globe by this remarkably talented aerial photographer, and we consider the other aspects of these pictures. Often captured off centre, or from other unexpected angles the pools, the captured images become so brilliantly graphic. The brittle water textures offset by the unrelenting outline of the pool edges, punctuated by sparse furniture and often dramatic shadows. From this angle, from this bird’s eye view, the architecture of the pools becomes quite mesmeric. Occasionally the book sees the deft hand of an artist who feels the need to add just one extra daub – an inflatable swan in a Malibu waterscape, the single tiny figure of a child in a hug expanse of water in Sydney, the circle of an inner tube toy in perfect relationship to angular sun lounges in a Mexican garden. Each time that happened I couldn’t help but smile and say aloud, to no one in particular, “Yes, perfect.” In just 89 images, with almost zero copy, offered in coffee table size, Brad Halls has brought us the joyous familiar, from an entirely new angle. Far from negative, here is a positive experience that will leave every observer delighted. Representing the visual experience of negative space presents some risk for the creator of the work. The expression of nothing, leaves space for the observer’s mind to wander, to become less focussed. Pools From Above Brad Hall Smith Street Books ISBN 978-1-9258-1197-1 BOOK REVIEW ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 1 4
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Will 7-star housing really cost more? WORDS TRIVESS MOORE AND NICOLA WILLAND The required energy-efficiency rating of new housing in Australia will increase from 6 to 7 stars from October this year. Some claim this will greatly increase housing costs. But is this true? Costs for new home owners are the sum of three things: • capital costs to build the home • costs to heat, cool and live in the home • mortgage costs. The focus has been on the upfront capital costs of new homes – over a million are expected to be built over the next three years. The costs of living in the home and impacts on mortgage payments are neglected. Given the move to 7 stars will cut energy use for heating and cooling by about 24%, the cost savings will outweigh any increase in mortgage repayments in many circumstances. And there are simple ways to achieve a 7-star rating on a budget, as we’ll explain. HOW WILL THE NEW STANDARDS BE APPLIED? The recently announced improvements to Australian housing performance standards were the most significant in a decade. As well as the 7-star standard – on a scale from 0 (worst) to 10 (best) – a whole-of-home energy budget will be introduced. It’s based on the performance of a “benchmark home”, including the building shell, heating and cooling equipment, water heating and lighting. A dwelling will be compliant if it has the same societal cost of operating as the benchmark home. Societal costs here relate to the wider financial costs of infrastructure (e.g. energy networks) and the environment (e.g. carbon emissions). If one element performs worse than the benchmark, it will need to be offset by outperforming the benchmark in other areas, or by installing on-site renewable energy sources such as solar panels. These changes are an important first step towards more sustainable housing. Future changes in 2025 and 2028 will likely improve performance to near-zero emissions. WHAT DOES THE EVIDENCE SAY ABOUT COSTS? The regulatory impact statement provided for the ministers modelled the changes. For detached housing and townhouses it estimated an average capital cost increase of A$1,704 to achieve the higher standard. The figure varied from $545 in Queensland to $3,275 in the Northern Territory. For apartments, the average increase is $2,051. Queensland was again lowest at $464, with Western Australia the highest at $2,975. These increases amounted to 0.1-0.8% of total capital costs. Energy bill savings generally outweighed any increase in mortgage repayments. However, the analysis does find in some locations, such as Brisbane and Sydney, the move to 7 stars may not be cost-effective based upon the conservative assumptions it applied. These costings are broadly in line with research findings over the past decade. Our 2012 research estimated the cost of moving from a 6 to 7-star detached dwelling in Victoria at $3,012, but as low as $400 in some cases. A 2015 analysis estimated achieving 7.5-star performance in South Australia would cost $3,500. And 2018 Climateworks Centre research put the cost of moving to 7 stars at between $650 and $3,000. In some cases, this could be done for almost no extra cost. In a 2012 analysis of 20 dwellings across eight climate locations in Australia, Sustainability House found the average cost could be as low as $37! DID COSTS RISE WITH PREVIOUS CODE CHANGES? In the past, improving energy efficiency added little to new home costs. Reserve Bank analysis shows the construction cost inflation rate barely changed when 5-star (2006) and 6-star (2011) standards came in. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 1 6
In fact, CSIRO research found prices dropped in 2006. New houses built to a 5-star standard or above were cheaper on average than lowerrated houses by about $5,000 in Melbourne and Adelaide and $7,000 in Brisbane. Other reviews found the move to 6 stars cost less than predicted. Government assumptions tend to be conservative. They often overlook the capacity of designers, builders, manufacturers and consumers to find cost efficiencies. International evidence shows costs for higher performance have been over-estimated and fall more quickly than policymakers and industry predict. HOW TO ACHIEVE 7 STARS ON A BUDGET One reason costs have been less than expected is because construction prices depend on design. When the 5-star standard came in, houses became more compact. External walls and windows (which cost more per square metre than walls) were reduced. Orientation makes a big difference too. Research has found a difference in performance of 1-2 stars between best and worst orientation. Simply ensuring your dwelling faces the right way (north) can greatly improve performance, or cut the costs of achieving compliance. House size also affects construction and running costs. Star ratings express the energy demand per square metre, so a big 7-star home will cost more to heat and cool than a smaller 7-star home. Australian homes are among the largest in the world. New home buyers should think about the number and size of their rooms and corridors if they wish to keep costs low. Other basic and low-cost things you can do include adding more insulation (ceiling, floors, walls) and external shading. Windows are also important and the cost of high-performing double-glazed windows will fall as they become the norm. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel to get to 7-star homes. Online resources such as Your Home already have freely available 7-star house plans. And we can easily exceed 7 stars. Real-world examples include Lochiel Park, Cape Paterson ecovillage and Nightingale Housing. MORE THAN CAPITAL COSTS Capital costs are just one element of the whole-of-life cost. Running costs depend on: • thermal performance of the building envelope – walls, windows, doors, roof, airleakage gaps • efficiency of heating and cooling appliances • daily electricity and gas tariffs. Higher-performing dwellings and all-electric homes with heat pumps will save money and be more resilient in a changing climate. Increasing research shows their financial, social and environmental benefits. We need to move beyond the narrow focus on capital costs, which are often overstated. We should think about how higher standards improve our quality of life and liveability. For example, a growing body of research suggests improved energy efficiency can produce more comfortable temperatures and reduce mould, improving respiratory health. And, if that doesn’t convince you, improving a home’s sustainability greatly increases resale value, outweighing any extra capital costs! Trivess Moore, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University and Nicola Willand, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. ABOVE The Cape Project at Cape Paterson, Victoria, by Ecoliv, is a 7.7-star rated modular home. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 1 7
WOHA New Forms of Sustainable Architecture WORDS PRUE MILLER Architecture was once seen more as an art than a science, more about show that substance. How amazing to see this evolution, and never more clearly than in the work of Wong Munn Sum and Richard Hassell’s WOHA. When people talk of sustainable architecture, it should be here they first look, to see what is possible on a global scale. The pair and the practice have had six books written previously, yet this tome, at over 300 pages is not a list of projects but rather, as Bingham-Hall notes, a “mid-career assessment of WOHA’s oeuvre, but will also serve as a documentation of their (ongoing) proclamation of intent”. A quick recap; Wong and Hassell met as students and began their practice in 1994. They each had strong, contrasting interests outside architecture, yet their pairing proved to be ideal. And this is where we pick up the story – to see their evolution from students to masters. Self-sufficient cities, the ideal, requires a homogenous existence of sustainable building and a new vision of social urbanism where living close together is not a license to kill. Harmony, in the built environment and in the mind of man is a mighty ideal. And perhaps this book does have a touch of the weighty earnestness found in righteous circles, but there is no quibble about vision of WOHA. “We are bringing radical ideas, but with a conscience. Even if our projects are never built, we have an equally important role as advocates … promoting practical strategies for mega-city sustainability.” As you would expect the book is flooded with images of both built and dreamt creations, but also sketches and elevations that will satisfy the technical mind, and examples of more playful buildings such as the Oasis Downtown building in Singapore – cloaked not in a curtain of glass, but rather in bright red mesh which is rapidly being over shadowed by vines. Indeed, having structures dominated, obscured and adorned by organic matter while maintain an integrity of design is what this practice is about. The balance. They ask why not design sky villages, sky schools, sky hospitals – why not go upward? Urbanisation needs to interact on better levels; WOHA has always taken on the challenge in a purposeful and articulated form. What we are seeing in this book is the passion of a practice that sees the sky is not the limit. Bingham-Hall has produced a laudatory and rightly virtuous review of a global practice taking huge strides in designing a better way to live. There is something curiously inspiring about Patrick Bingham-Hall’s new book. Curious I guess because inspiration is unexpected in a book that one would imagine could be fairly dry – yet very soon, in fact as soon as you read the first chapter, something noble stirs. WOHA New Forms of Sustainable Architecture, Paperback, ISBN 978-0500025307 Published, 2022 BOOK REVIEW ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 1 8
BELOW A major overview of Singapore’s most exciting architecture practice, documenting the complete corpus of WOHA’s pioneering sustainable and built work. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PEOPLE / JAN-MAR 2023 1 9
The High Street Apartments is Gardiner Architects’ first high-rise multi-residential project. Located in Thornbury, Melbourne, the project is a mixed-use building, with thirteen apartments above a ground floor carpark and restaurant fronting High Street. High Street Apartments PHOTOGRAPHY RORY GARDINER ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 2 1
Inside the apartments, the palette is warm with splashes of colour, while still restrained enough to allow future residents to add their own style to the spaces. With long-term occupation in mind, opportunities for storage are maximised so that growing families can expand within the space. A single central, open stairwell wraps around the lift. The south stair façade is built with glass bricks so that gentle natural light can wash into the space. When homes are stacked vertically, the stairwell and rooftop garden are places of impromptu interaction and community connection. The building employs prefabricated crosslaminated timber (CLT) construction to achieve a more sustainable outcome, with the apartments achieving an 8.4-star rating on average. This building methodology allowed for greater flexibility of layout, with each level and apartment a completely individual design responding to the varied orientation, size and aspect of each apartment. Overall, the High Street Apartments see a very liveable outcome, that responds to its context and exemplifies the need to test and develop new, more sustainable construction methods in Australia. IMAGES Inside the apartments the palette is warm with splashes of colour, while still restrained enough to allow future residents to add their own style to the spaces. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 2 2
PROJECT CREDITS Architect Gardiner Architects Builder Sinjen Group Building Surveyor Jaz Building Surveying Land Surveyor Goodison Quantity Surveyor MBM Quantity Surveyors Structural Engineer 4Site Engineers CLT Engineer Vistek Acoustic Engineer Octave Acoustics Fire Engineer Red Fire Engineers Geotechnical Engineer GeoAust Project Size 2068 m2 Site Size 471 m2 Year Completed 2022 Building Levels 5 ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 2 3
The longevity of the apartments was important. The architects were interested in using materials in their natural form, rather than applying a surface treatment that might chip and wear poorly over time. The architects used timber where possible, especially in the corridors and lobbies, to be inviting and create warmth rather than a sterile white environment. The idea was to essentially make the project a collection of stacked homes, each with its own sense of presence, unique layout and designed to respond to its outlook and orientation. The unrepeated floor plans generate an irregular façade that breaks up the scale of the building and provides definition. The articulation of the form comes from the recessed balconies and the varied pattern of the windows – there was no need to apply decorative elements or a plethora of materials to break up the mass. FOLLOW US for more projects like this ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 2 4
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MITSUBISHI ALPOLIC™ NC/A1, HEAD TO www.networkarchitectural.com.au/alpolic/ Following a series of stringent tests, the safest non-combustible cladding in the world gets an additional tick of approval from the NSW state government. Network Architectural’s Mitsubishi ALPOLIC™ NC/A1 has now met all testing requirements for use in Project Remediate. With a plethora of issues caused by combustible cladding materials both in Australia and overseas, the construction industry has been working towards the identification, removal, and replacement of these dangerous materials with new, highly tested, alternatives. As part of this drive, the NSW Government has worked to establish a key oversight panel for these developments, and a funding program, called Project Remediate, to help building owners that are required to replace combustible cladding on their residential buildings. The program will provide any NSW-based Class 2 residential apartment building owners with a 10-year loan, and an assurance service for the remediation of combustible cladding with materials approved by the Cladding Product Safety Panel (CPSP). While the first report issued by CPSP in April 2021 didn’t include Bonded Laminated Material (BLMs) as one of the initially approved cladding alternatives, a few months later testing criteria for BLMs were released. Network Architectural’s Mitsubishi ALPOLIC™ NC/A1 Deemed-to-Satisfy (DtS) cladding was one of two BLM products that were selected to be tested – both were put through rigorous testing procedures over the course of five months. As per the NSW Government’s Cladding Replacement Pattern Book, BLMs that have been subjected to the additional Project Remediate reference testing, and have satisfied the CPSP requirements have now been approved for reclad use under Project Remediate. Meeting these additional fire testing criteria further elevates the exceptional safety and compliance profile of the Mitsubishi ALPOLIC™ NC/A1 DtS cladding. The product meets all Australian Standards set out by the National Construction Code (NCC), and has long been considered the world’s safest and most tested facade material. The cladding’s non-combustible mineral core contains zero polyethylene, which makes it far superior compared to other aluminium cladding alternatives on the market. Mitsubishi ALPOLIC™ NC/A1 offers architects, designers and specifiers an added level of confidence where fire safety is concerned. These qualities are backed by Mitsubishi’s 20-year unconditional full rectification cover manufacturer’s warranty, making this a product that is not only extremely safe for use, but an extremely safe investment. Passed the test: Mitsubishi ALPOLIC™ NC/A1 satisfies all testing requirements for Project Remediate NETWORKARCHITECTURAL.COM.AU / A&D X NETWORK ARCHITECTURAL / JAN-MAR 2023 2 5 PROMOTION Network Architectual-FP-Adv.indd 25 3/2/23 7:34 am
Sittin’ on the dock of the bay PHOTOGRAPHY LILLIE THOMPSON A smart, tailored conversion of a small Victorian terrace that takes ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / advantage of its Bayside locale. PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 2 6
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The client was passionate about European design. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 2 9
Located on a tree-lined street a few blocks from Middle Park beach, this south-facing Victorian terrace had seen better days. A full conversion and extension of the 130-year-old residence saw it transformed into a more spacious, intuitive, and light-filled family home, informed by robust materiality and a simple, refined expression. A rear excavation allowed for generous threemetre-high ceilings and greater volume in the main living areas, while a new rooftop deck provided a second outdoor living space with views across Melbourne. The client was passionate about European design, and we were particularly influenced by the Belgian style, with architectural lines that emphasised high ceilings, solid plaster walls and repetition through panelling, as well as a palette of classic, grounding materials. Floor-to-ceiling steel-framed glazing, and French doors that opened onto a landscaped courtyard amplified the expanded volume of the living area. A light court was added to capture northern morning light, further brightening the space. A new second storey includes a study or third bedroom, as well as a deck to take advantage of city views and the characterful rooftop vistas of Melbourne’s bayside neighbourhoods. FOLLOW US for more projects like this PROJECT CREDITS Architect Pasquale Cook Year Completed 2021 Building Levels 2 ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 3 0
DOWNLOAD THE WHITEPAPER bit.ly/Stormtech_ADQ1-23 In September 2021, research published by the New South Wales government on serious building defects in strata communities found that the most commonly occurring serious defect related to waterproofing, which affected 23% of surveyed buildings (followed by fire safety at 14%). A resolution was only possible in 47% or so of the buildings with significant defects. For homeowners, tenants, and strata managers, serious defects typically resulted in considerable financial and emotional stress, highlighting the importance of a thorough and upto-date understanding of current best practices and the changing regulatory environment. When it comes to waterproofing of domestic wet areas, the 2021 update of the AS 3740 “Waterproofing of wet areas within residential buildings” and the 2022 update of the National Construction Code require careful consideration. Waterproofing of Wet Areas: Navigating the Key Changes in AS 3740-2021 for Residential Projects discusses the key changes to AS 3740 and how it may affect your next residential project. We provide an overview of AS 3740, including some of the key structural changes in the 2021 update, its relationship with the NCC and the most notable new requirements. The role of waterproofing is to retain water within the designated wet area and exclude water from non-water-resistant building elements. The 2021 revision was intended to bring AS 3740 in line with current waterproof practices. Accordingly, the structure of AS 3740-2021 has been reorganised under four sections, as follows: • Section 1. Scope, definitions and other specific normative reference documents. • Section 2. Design principles that apply to the standard. • Section 3. Requirements for acceptable materials to be used in the waterproofing of wet areas. • Section 4. Details for the installation of waterproof and water-resistant materials to be used in domestic wet areas. The revised standard also adds several additional informative appendices, including Appendix C Membrane continuity testing, Appendix D Suggested installation checklist, Appendix E Compatibility, and Appendix F Testing for moisture content in subfloors. Recently, the NCC 2022 was released, and both Volume One and Volume Two included a full restructure of the provisions as well as a number of revisions for both interior and external waterproofing requirements. Both NCC 2022 Volumes One and Two adopt the updated version of AS 3740-2021. We then consider some potential issues that may arise between the NCC and the updated waterproofing standards. For example, in AS 3740-2021, falls in areas adjacent to the shower have an allowable minimum fall of 1:100, whereas the NCC 2022 Volume Two combined with the Livable Housing Provisions has a minimum of 1:80. We also cover ambiguities relating to leak control flanges, waterproofing membranes and linear drains. Australia’s leading linear drainage manufacturer and supplier, Stormtech is committed to providing the highest quality, expertly tailored drainage solutions for today’s building projects. Boasting an unrivalled depth of experience in linear drainage solutions, Stormtech welcomes questions on product selection, code compliance and fault-free installation. Waterproofing of Wet Areas: Navigating the Key Changes in AS 3740-2021 STORMTECH.COM.AU / A&D X STORMTECH / JAN-MAR 2023 3 1 PROMOTION Stormtech-FP-Adv.indd 31 3/2/23 8:15 am
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Reviving the Federation PHOTOGRAPHY LUC REMOND The idea was to refurbish the existing federation cottage in a bold and contemporary way whilst respecting the original form. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 3 3
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The original elements of the cottage were re-interpreted and lovingly restored. PROJECT CREDITS Architect Hobbs Jamieson Architecture Project Size 200 m2 Site Size 335 m2 Year Completed 2022 Building Levels 2 This project involved the revival and extension of a single-level federation detached cottage. The scope involved refurbishing the street façade and retained lower-level rooms, influenced by the original period detailing, and extending to the rear and above with a first floor and detached carport in a contrasting material aesthetic. The site has good amenity with rear lane access and a long elevation to the north, however we needed to manage the noise challenges of a café use immediately adjacent. The original elements of the cottage were re-interpreted and lovingly restored. The new areas of the home were extended in a way that respected the existing, whilst creating elevated volumes with a minimal aesthetic to the rear and first floor extended footprint throughout. FOLLOW US for more projects like this IMAGES This project involved the revival and extension of a single level federation detached cottage. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 3 6
Designer kitchens that don’t cook the planet At ForestOne, our brands set the standard for sustainability, as well as style. From EGGER Eurodekor particleboard panels with their impressive carbon-negative footprint of -13.8kg CO2/m2, to 100% silica-free Acrylic Solid Surface by MEGANITE®, our decorative materials deliver contemporary lines with a clear conscience. Specify Responsibly with ForestOne. www.forest.one Forest_One_AND_full_page_KITCHEN_Artwork.indd 1 13/1/23 4:09 pm
Narrabeen Relocatable Home PHOTOGRAPHY KURT CRISP Modular homes prefabricated and constructed off-site are often classed as a novelty, but their ability to be utilised for leisure and even permanency cannot be understated. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 3 8
Most of the construction process was undertaken off-site, with linings and features installed once the home was put in place via crane. The Relocatable Home, based at Narrabeen Caravan Park, outlines the benefits of sustainable, transportable modular homes, which achieve high-performing outcomes at low cost and little damage to the environment. Overall, buck&simple’s task was to replace a two-bedroom home for residents within the park with a sustainable, architecturally designed home. The home’s design outlines the environmental focus, with passive design principles and sustainable palette adopted by the practice. Most of the construction process was undertaken off-site, with linings and features installed once the home was put in place via crane. buck&simple adaptively reused redundant walls and a roof from two separate projects that the contractor was demolishing at the time. A scooping curve to the ceiling draws light in and allows hot air to circumvent through the windows. The spotted gum weather screen acts as the building’s facade, overlaid on recycled metal sheet cladding which works to shade the exterior and withstand heat. The interior palette features timber throughout, with the material used for flooring, ceiling and window frames. PROJECT CREDITS Architect buck&simple Project Size 58 m2 Site Size 250 m2 Year Completed 2022 Building Levels 1 FOLLOW US for more projects like this ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 4 0
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The London occupies a prominent corner site, offering uninterrupted views to Port Melbourne beach. The London of Melbourne PHOTOGRAPHY JENAH PIWANSKI ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 4 3
The relaxed, bayside context inspired the design team to develop an authentic design language that strikes a fine balance between luxury and approachability. Clean lines, elegant steel detailing, expansive balconies and a well-articulated corner gives presence to the architecture, while the apartment planning benefits from the natural environment with access to natural light, passive solar gain and framing of expansive coastal views. Internally, the design team sought to capture the feeling of residing in a boutique hotel, where every touchpoint is considered for its unique experiential value. The kitchen, complete with luxury European appliances, is the fulcrum of the plan; a place to come together, entertain and dwell, while the spacious main bedroom and luxurious symmetry of the ensuite offers a retreat to unwind and take in the view. Natural stone, terrazzo, brushed stainless steel and reeded glass craft a sophisticated, understated palette, while Port Melbourne’s strong tradition of craftsmanship is reinterpreted through a refined suite of bespoke interior details; fine, inset steel shelving, raised plinths, solid timber handles and mitred finger pulls. While The London’s spaces are expansive, these fine-grain details create intimacy and refinement. IMAGES Internally, the design team sought to capture the feeling of residing in a boutique hotel, where every touchpoint is considered for its unique experiential value. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 4 4
Unlike most multi-residential developments, each apartment and penthouse at The London is customised to suit the specific needs of each buyer. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 4 5
PROJECT CREDITS Architecture & Interior Design Ewert Leaf Project Size 799 m2 Year Completed 2022 FOLLOW US for more projects like this Unlike most multi-residential developments, each apartment and penthouse at The London is customised to suit the specific needs of each buyer, liberating purchasers to create a unique home that responds to their specific living needs. Variations in layout, palette, appliances and details ensure each residence performs at its best, with the comfort and functionality of residents positioned as a key priority. The London’s feeling of escape, the generosity of its floor plan and the framing of coastal views gives distinction to each residence, elevating the impact of its beach-side location and inspiring a holistic lifestyle for residents. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN / PROJECTS / JAN-MAR 2023 4 6
HOSPITAL GRADE ANTIMICROBIAL DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY. NOW AVAILABLE ACROSS CARE BASINS, CARE TOILETS AND GRAB RAILS. Visit caroma.com.au to learn more 416020W Caroma Care White Round Button 687461SS Caroma Care Support Stainless Steel Grab Rail - 90 Degree Angled 960x600 901920BW Caroma Care 800 Cleanflush® Wall Faced Suite with Backrest Products Featured: Provide the confidence of healthier living with Caroma GermGard® protection. Protecting common touch-points across bathroom products, this unique antimicrobial formula kills 99.9% of harmful bacteria, providing a more effective and efficient way to keep surfaces cleaner. Enjoy peace of mind with technology that will not wash or wear off. ADQ1-Caroma 2 FP.indd 1 20/12/22 2:37 pm
Episode 141: Former Head of Sustainability at AMP Capital Real Estate Chris Nunn on how & why Sustainability is changing Chris Nunn is the former Head of Sustainability at AMP Capital Real Estate, which has a portfolio valued at approximately $28 billion, consisting of approximately 100 shopping centres, of ces and industrial assets. He is also the winner of the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2022 Sustainability Awards and a man who’s whole working career has been about promoting the concept of sustainable growth across Australia’s corporate sector. He talks with us about how the idea of sustainability is changing and where it will ultimately end up and how this will affect us all. Uncovering what really goes on behind the scenes in the world of architecture and design… Talking Architecture & Design Podcast Now available for listening on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Google, Soundcloud and Buzzsprout. Search Talking Architecture & Design to stream or download episodes. If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review. ADQ1-2023-TADPodcast- DPS.indd 16 3/2/23 12:35 pm