28 Jan

Typology display village
In response to the frustration with the limitations imposed by some current planning controls in the ACT, and in an effort to explore housing typologies which will be more in tune with the aspirations of the ACT community, the Chapter has been promoting a concept to design and construct a demonstration project containing several alternative house/unit types not commonly seen in Canberra.

The proposal has received significant support from within Government in the form of LDA, ACTPLA …and also including Minister Corbell himself. The proposal is to design and construct up to (say) 12 to 15 homes, across a variety of types, preferably in a central accessible location to meet the following criteria;

•    To explore suitable new housing types for infill sites,
•    To do so outside of the current regulatory control environment, so as to test and explore the validity of the new typologies.
•    To educate and broaden the Canberra community’s perception of what a house or home might be.
•    To explore avenues for alternative approaches to more affordable housing.
•    To be the basis for consideration and implementation of more flexible planning controls.
•    To promote the value of architecture and design to the community

It is intended to hold some form of design competition to design, build and market contemporary homes that respond to the needs of all levels within the emerging Canberra market without the normal planning controls inhibiting innovation. Part of the competition criteria will be that there will be mandatory involvement of a registered architect.

This will be a rare chance to demonstrate what architects believe the markets are crying out for, at a premium infill site, without being hamstrung by the current planning controls. It time for us to be an agent for change, to push the envelope!

Light rail competition
Some members who may have missed the members Christmas party would also have missed an exciting initiative. The big announcement of the night was the official launch of a design ideas competition for a Canberra Light Rail station with a trip for two to the Venice Biennale among the great prizes up for offer.  The competition is for ACT Chapter members exclusively including architects, graduate architects and students of architecture.

For more information please visit www.architecture.com.au/light-rail-station-competition

Elections
As many of you would be aware my presidential term comes to a close in the near future and for the first time in many years there will be more than one candidate and consequently an election. Combine this with the with the nomination of more people standing for Chapter Council than there are places available it suggests there is an increasing vitality and desire to engage with the profession from within the membership … Long may it continue.

Tony Trobe
ACT Chapter President

I recently attended a Pecha Kucha night in Braddon run by Tate Waddington Architects. The vibrancy of this evening indicated to me that there is a potent interest in a broad range of design matters across the whole spectrum of disciplines in the capital. Although this event was well supported by architects it was not however an Institute organised event.

The event itself seemed to be a great networking opportunity, particularly for young architects and students and it would be a great coup for the chapter if some of this manifest energy could emanate from within the Institute rather than perhaps being seen as a counterpoint to it. The Institute should never be seen as a club for employers but as a touchstone for all those who have a connection to the profession.

With this in mind it should be noted that within the next few months there will be an opportunity for the membership to elect new chapter Councillors and it would be of great benefit to the Institute if these spots were competed for by energetic and passionate architects. To all to see some of the buzz and energy that was evident at the Pecha Kucha night overlaid onto the core activities of the chapter would be a rising tide lifting all boats. I would encourage some of the younger members of the Institute who in the past may not have considered putting their hands up for an elected position to seriously consider it this time around.

The position of the chapter president will also become vacant soon. There is no mandate that says the candidate should come from within the current round of chapter Council members. I would encourage all members to approach the chapter with any suitable suggestions into whose hands this important role could possibly be placed.

Tony.

Tony Trobe, ACT Chapter President

Last week Glen Murcutt attended a president’s lunch at the chapter and in the evening went on to feature in a ‘Michael Parkinson’ style interview with our own Annabelle Pegrum as part of the contemporary speaker series at the National Gallery. This was a sell-out. Given this success it makes it clear that given the right exposure the public have a significant appetite for architecture and design. We, as a profession just need to continue to provide it.

We seem to be claiming a toehold within key media outlets including: the Canberra Times Relax magazine on Sundays, a weekly president’s column on Saturdays and biweekly ABC interviews with Alex Sloan on 666; it would be great to be able to build on these.

To keep the momentum with these initiatives however we do need the active involvement of chapter members so I would greatly encourage all members to think about potentially becoming involved. The Canberra Times Relax represents incredible value for the promotion of practices; particularly for anybody working in the domestic sphere. It is surprising to me that we struggle to find suitable candidates to participate.

I personally am always searching for contributors to the weekly column in the paper; all that is required here is that for ‘guest of the week’ to come up with 450 words on a topic that they are passionate about in ‘question-and-answer’ format. This is a very simple process and an easy vehicle pass comment on a wide variety of design issues. It is also very visible platform for us as a profession to keep architecture at the vanguard of the news cycle.

This is a plea for more members to step forward.

Tony Trobe
ACT Chapter Manager