An inspiring collection of students, emerging architects and professional leaders have been honoured at the 2014 Australian Achievement in Architecture Awards presentation ceremony in Hobart on Thursday 20 March.

The annual awards recognise and reward outstanding contributions in the fields of architecture and the built environment across a range of expertise including leadership, sustainability, education and advancement.

Phil Harris and Adrian Welke, co-founders of Troppo, have been selected as the 2014 recipients of the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest honour, the Gold Medal.

Driven by a desire to produce socially responsible architecture, the pair founded Troppo in Darwin in 1980, and have since grown the practice to include offices in Perth, Adelaide, Townsville and Byron Bay cultivating a portfolio of over 2500 projects ranging from tiny remote buildings to full-scale city design.

‘Troppo’s work pioneers a unique and special Australian approach to architecture: irreverent but sophisticated, inventive with a tinge of larrikin spirit. In 34 years of practice they have evolved an architecture that deals with the heat, the rain, the place and subtleties of climate, while understanding and reviving the lessons of the Top End’s important history and legacy of projects,’ Paul Berkemeier, National President and Jury Chair said.

Troppo’s work spans the continent and is extensively recognised, including numerous state and national residential awards and the 1994 Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Buildings for the Bowali Visitors Centre in Kakadu, a joint project with past Gold Medallist Glenn Murcutt. In 2010, at a ceremony in Paris, Troppo were the recipients of the Global Sustainable Architecture Award.

Their ethos epitomises the importance of building for place and people: producing work that is sympathetic to the land, using locally relevant materials to create settings that work for the informal Australian lifestyle. In addition to their built work, Adrian and Phil have been committed to the role of the profession as agents of change: enthusing, educating and influencing people’s views on architecture and its position in society. They have supported, mentored and educated many students and graduates, helping to develop new generations of architects and collaborators.

The 2014 National President’s Prize was posthumously awarded to Ross Langdon who was senselessly murdered in the brutal terrorist attack on a Nairobi shopping centre in September last year.

‘Ross was a talented architect and an inspirational leader who left a great legacy and example for all the profession. He was already well on the way to shaping a better world future as a great Australian and exceptional world citizen,’ National President Paul Berkemeier said.

Sydney architect and winner of the 2013 Jørn Utzon Award for International Architecture, Andrew Burns, received the National Emerging Architect Prize for ‘his extensive involvement in local, international, public and industry engagement and his considered and thoughtful body of work showing an incredibly high standard of excellence,’ the jury noted.

The jury selected John Macdonald from DesignInc in Melbourne as the winner of the Leadership in Sustainability Prize. John Macdonald has made an outstanding contribution over the last 35 years in the design and delivery of a wide range of innovative projects that have pushed the boundaries of sustainable design and energy management.

In recognition of his internationally renowned research and teaching in heritage and conservation, Professor Emeritus Miles Lewis AM from the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne was honoured with the 2014 Neville Quarry Architectural Prize.

An asset to both the local and global design community, HY William Chan from the University of Sydney was a most outstanding candidate and a very worthy recipient for the 2014 Student Prize for the Advancement of Architecture. The Bachelor of Design in Architecture graduate’s contribution to the architecture industry, the broader community and interdisciplinary initiatives associated with sustainable design and emergency humanitarian aid work has been extensive.

Architectural editors, critics, writers and publishers Haig Beck and Jacqui Cooper were selected as recipients of the William J Mitchell International Committee Prize in honour of their significant contribution to the profession, study and advancement of architecture beyond our shores.

Five talented emerging architects from New South Wales and Victoria will participate in an architectural tour of Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York on the 2014 Dulux Study Tour. Jenna Rowe, Suzannah Waldron, Michael Zanardo, Ben Milbourne and Cherry Williamson have been rewarded for their hard work and enthusiasm for the profession.

The COLORBOND® Steel Student Biennale, which acknowledges outstanding works of design by architecture students across Australia, was presented to Jessica Chidester of RMIT University. Commendations were awarded to Ben Juckes, University of Western Australia, and Doug McNamara, University of Newcastle.

Image gallery.

The Australian Institute of Architects has launched a new Foundation that will promote the benefits of architecture and design to the wider community through a national program of initiatives.

Chaired by former Director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Edmund Capon AM OBE, the Foundation will focus on projects that positively impact our communities through architecture and design including exhibitions, scholarships and education programs.

‘A Foundation supporting the development of architecture is a fresh concept for Australia. Previously, other art sectors have been the major recipients of cultural philanthropy, however architecture, having the capacity for direct and positive impact on the future of our cities and urban spaces, should also be nurtured through philanthropic assistance,’ Mr Capon said.

The Foundation’s fundraising initiatives will include the launch of a Patrons program. ‘Patrons will be our key allies in the development of a range of initiatives that draw architecture and design to the forefront of Australia’s creative consciousness, as well as educating the wider population about the benefits to be gained by good design,’ Mr Capon added.

‘Architecture and design is a vital pillar of community wellbeing, and to ensure continued improvement of the quality of our built environments, we must develop outreach programs and initiatives to generate purposeful conversations about the benefit of good design. It will also make architecture accessible to a more informed public – this is the guiding mission of the Foundation,’ David Parken, CEO of the Australian Institute of Architects said.

The first initiative of the Foundation is an architecture residency program, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The Australian Institute of Architects’ Droga Architect in Residence will encourage the exploration of new approaches, the exchange of ideas, international collaboration and cross fertilisation, by inviting international architects to participate in a three-month program.

Cultural philanthropist and supporter of the Institute, Daniel Droga, generously gifted his award-winning Droga Apartment in Surry Hills for use by the Foundation as an architect residency.

The apartment, designed by Durbach Block Architects and winner of the Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture at the 1998 National Architecture Awards, will accommodate the inaugural architect in residence, Dr Carmen Fiol-Costa who arrived from Barcelona in early March for a 12 week residency.

Selected from a very strong field of international practitioners, ‘Dr Fiol-Costa exemplifies the vision of the Institute and the Foundation through her commitment to design excellence, social wellbeing and environmental responsibility,’ National President Paul Berkemeier said.

Australian Institute of Architects Foundation – Board Members
Edmund Capon – Chairman, Australian Institute of Architects Foundation
Daniel Droga – CEO, DCM BlueLake
Penelope Seidler AM -Director, Harry Seidler & Associates
Sue Cato – Principal, Cato Counsel
Karl Fender – Director, Fender Katsalidis
Brian Zulaikha – Founding Partner and Director, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
David Parken – CEO, Australian Institute of Architects

More information.

Contact: mandy.obryan@architecture.com.au

The announcement of winners at the 2014 Newcastle Architecture Awards at Merewether Surfhouse on Thursday 6 March, has seen both the ‘big’ and the ‘small’ rewarded for excellence in design, proving size does not matter when it comes to good design.

The multi-million dollar WesTrac facility by EJE Architecture at Tomago has taken out the top design nod from jurors in the Commercial Architecture category, who acknowledged the building as, ’setting new standards’ in industrial facilities.

Awards Juror, Alex Kibble said, ‘The WesTrac facility is an accomplished piece of contemporary industrial architecture that addresses issues of workplace, training and corporate identity in an efficient and spirited manner that is an exemplar for future industrial development.’

In comparison, a modest renovation project in MacMasters Beach by architect Dianna Thomas won top honours in the largest group of architectural contenders in the Residential category for Alterations and Additions, and was a stand-out favourite with the jurors.

‘Your first reaction on entering Dianna Thomas’s MacMasters Beach House is to sit down and never leave because you’ve arrived home. The house is an exercise in modesty, continuity and fun,’ juror Ramsey Awad noted.

A Commendation was also awarded to Wingham Architects and Austin McFarland Architects, for the renovation of a 100 year old Hamilton cottage. The jury were impressed with their ‘creative thinking’ and bringing ‘new spacious character’ to an original inner city building.

In the New Houses category, EJE Architecture took out top prize for their New Residence: The Junction, which was noted as being ‘superbly constructed’ and a ‘delight’ to walk into and a Commendation was also awarded to Killen + Doran Architects for a new house in New Lambton Heights, for its exceptional ‘attention to detail’.

Joint winners were awarded in the Public Architecture category, with the jury unable to choose between two very significant and unique buildings in Newcastle. Both the Newcastle Museum by fjmt Sydney, and the new Birubi Surf Life Saving Club by EJE Architecture were awarded top Architecture Awards, with both buildings equally celebrating the historical significance of their projects and providing ‘positive and significant contribution’ to sensitive sites.

Young architecture firm, Space Design Architecture has won the Small Projects category for the second year in a row, with their clever office fit out at Maxim Workplace and a Commendation was awarded to CKDS Architecture for their bright and playful adaption of an old library courtyard at the University of Newcastle.

Winners from the night will now present their projects to the NSW Architecture Awards’ juries for consideration of state honours which will be revealed in June.

Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce AC CVO, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, has today officially opened Victoria’s new home of architecture at 41 Exhibition Street.

Developed by the Australian Institute of Architects, 41X is a 21-storey Five Star Green Star strata-titled commercial tower that accommodates the Institute’s Melbourne offices, including the Victorian Chapter, over five levels. 41X is the first strata commercial office building in Melbourne to target carbon neutrality over its 30 year operating lifespan -accounting for embodied energy, base building operational energy, transport and waste.

‘41X successfully shows how private and not-for-profit organisations can have a positive impact on the development of our cities by creating world class, cutting-edge, environmentally responsible commercial buildings,’ Her Excellency said.

‘This elegant addition to Melbourne’s CBD makes a bold statement about the value of design. With this building, the Institute is strongly reinforcing the value of architects and architecture to the sustainable growth of our community – tangibly fulfilling its mission of ‘making the world a better place through architecture’.

Conceived as a hub for architecture, for Institute members and the public alike, 41X is the place for design enthusiasts to meet, with a design haven on level 1, complete with a comprehensive architecture and design bookshop (Architext) and a café run by Axil Coffee Roasters. In addition, the Institute is currently developing a program of public events focusing on architecture and design.

41X is situated on a small footprint block at the corner of Exhibition Street and Flinders Lane and is also home to 15 other purchasers and tenants keen to be part of this exemplar building.

The project’s inception dates back to 2006, when a detailed feasibility study for the site, encompassing a range of potential options for its future including renovation through to relocation, was commissioned.

After extensive consultation, the Institute’s National Council decided that the site would be redeveloped into a small office tower that would set new standards in quality Australian commercial architecture.

In 2008, the Institute held a two-stage design competition. The commission was awarded to Lyons Architects with a concept that explored ideas about the hybrid public/commercial building, the engagement of the Institute with the public and targeting a carbon-neutral outcome.

In 2012, following a rigorous selection process, HASSELL was selected as architect for the fit-out of the five Institute-occupied levels.

Paul Berkemeier, National President of the Institute said ‘We are immensely proud of our new Melbourne home. It is an exemplary, small footprint, commercial building that shows how good design, sustainability and the work of architects can deliver outstanding results.’

Please see accompanying fact sheet for full details on the sustainability, design and development features of 41X.