Category: Media Release

Federation Square decision cause for concern

The Australian Institute of Architects says there has been a lack of due process in the Victorian Government’s decision to allow the demolition of the Yarra Building in Federation Square and its replacement with a new Apple Flagship Store.

Victorian Chapter President Vanessa Bird said the decision has caused great concern within the architectural profession and broader community.

‘The Institute is pleased that Melbournians are so passionate and proprietorial about their iconic public buildings, places and recent heritage,’ Ms Bird said.

‘In approving these plans for Federation Square, we fear that an unacceptable process for dealing with a major public asset will set a poor precedent. We understand that there has been limited, if any, consultation with the City of Melbourne, nor has there been a competitive process for an appropriate commercial tenant or any public consultation.

‘While we understand that a commercial use is not incongruous with the original intent of combining cultural and commercial uses at Federation Square we do not support the lack of due process.

‘There is an international discussion about the City’s ability to ‘make corporates behave’, for example McDonalds at the Spanish Steps in Rome, however there has been no such public debate here. We need to have a public discussion around the best way to manage our public assets.

‘We are nevertheless encouraged that the OVGA and Donald Bates of LAB Architecture Studio have been consulted. Mr Bates has said: “Apple Federation Square respects and expands on the original vision for the site, with more public space, extensive landscaping and better access to the river allowing more people to enjoy this renowned civic, cultural and commercial hub.”

‘From an environmental perspective, the community expects a longer life from our public buildings and do not expect that they become landfill in just 15 years’, says Ms Bird.

‘A range of questions have been left unanswered: Could the building be repurposed for a commercial use? Could Apple go into the Bourke Street Mall?’

Architects welcome Victorian Cladding Taskforce interim report, call for urgent action

The Australian Institute of Architects welcomes the Victorian Cladding Taskforce’s interim report and unreservedly supports the finding that: ‘The problem of widespread non-compliant cladding can be attributed to three factors: the supply and marketing of inappropriate building materials, a poor culture of compliance in the industry, and the failure of the regulatory system to deal with these issues.’

Victorian Chapter President Vanessa Bird called for urgent action in response to the findings.

‘While auditing and rectification of existing non-compliance is important, immediate change is required to protect public safety in the future and remedy a poor culture of compliance in the industry,’ Ms Bird said.

‘We are calling for greater regulation and the registration of all building practitioners in Victoria to address the danger to our community posed by the de-professionalisation of building procurement over many years now.

‘We applaud the recommendation to restore of the role of Clerk of Works to oversee building works and provenance of building products, which traditionally has been the role occupied by an on-site supervising architect overseeing works.

‘We are calling for all practitioners in the construction industry to hold registration with either the Architect Registration Board Victoria, Building Practitioners Board or the Victorian Building Authority.’

‘Ensuring public safety in the built environment is the chief priority of the architectural profession.’

The Stakeholder Reference Group, of which the Institute was part, identified the ‘substitution of non-compliant products between the approval phase and the construction phase’ and ‘inadequate on-site inspection, supervision and quality assurance’ as significant contributing issues.

Over several years the Institute has identified a significant risk around substitution of specified materials.

‘Going forward, we seek greater regulation to address many of the issues that architects have identified over an extended period.’

‘Cutting red tape cannot and should not come at the expense of people’s safety.

‘We want to see compliance and enforcement mechanisms strengthened across jurisdictions to properly protect all Australians in their homes, workplaces and in our public spaces.’

Architects release first gender equity progress report

24 November 2017

The founding Architects Male Champions of Change group has today released its first progress report detailing the learnings and actions completed since its establishment and mapping out commitments for 2018 to improve gender equity in the profession.

Established in March 2015 by the NSW Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, it is one of the industry-specific groups under the broader national Male Champions of Change program and comprises CEOs and Directors of some of the largest state, national and international Australian firms including Bates Smart, BVN, Cox, Crone, Carter Williamson, HASSELL, PTW, SJB and Woods Bagot. Collectively, they cover over 2000 staff within the architectural profession.

The report includes a measure of participation rates, new starters, promotions and pathways, departures, parental leave and submissions ratio over 2015/16 and 2016/17.

As well as committing to the broader Male Champions of Change initiatives to address the gender pay gap, everyday sexism and taking the panel pledge, the group:

conducted a Flexibility Survey in 2016 and subsequently implemented All Roles Flex policies across participating practices in July 2017;
conducted 31 listening and learning focus groups in 2016;
co-hosted an Australian Institute of Architects (NSW Chapter) Domestic and Family Violence event to raise awareness as to why this is a workplace responsibility in 2017; and
committed to a Submissions Ratio to include women in all tender and bid submissions with the intent to measure and improve on female participation over time in this critical, client-facing aspect of architects’ work.

Among a range of actions committed to for next year, each practice in the group will also review the Best Practice Parental Leave Entitlement Guide it has established with the aim to incorporate fully in 2018.

NSW Chapter Immediate Past President and founder of the group Shaun Carter said: ‘Gender equality in architecture will mean a more successful, balanced, insightful, caring, family orientated and profitable workplace. Our challenge is to make this happen.

‘What we need is cultural change. We don’t need any more talking; we need action.

‘Through the Listening & Learning sessions, we are gaining real insights into the measures needed to make a practical and enduring difference in architectural workplaces across the country.

‘For example, our work has uncovered a 24/7 working culture which led to a preference for “ideal workers” who were prepared to invest long, unpaid hours in the office. This was supported by a business structure that recorded visible time spent on projects in lieu of documenting project deliverables or recognising project relationship building.

‘In response, we are reviewing how we measure performance to move away from timesheets towards deliverables.

‘Similarly, those that returned from parental leave in a part-time role, commented on challenges in receiving meaningful and rewarding work on reduced hours. Our submission ratios is another practical measure we are taking to effect change on this issue that will really be felt on an individual and a practice level.’

NSW Chapter President Andrew Nimmo said the Institute would continue to support and facilitate the group’s work to keep up the momentum for lasting change.

‘As the report notes, we are just at the beginning and recognise the extent of the work still to be done to achieve a truly equitable architectural profession,’ Mr Nimmo said.

‘However, we are seeing change and we will continue our efforts to drive this forward and embed it in the day to day operations and attitudes of all practices and practitioners.’

View the full report here.

Architects question plans to demolish stadiums

The Australian Institute of Architects has questioned the recent announcement by the NSW Government to demolish the Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park and the Olympic Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park to make way for new stadiums with similar spectator capacities.

‘The Sydney Football Stadium is barely 30 years old, while the Olympic Stadium is less than 20 years old,’ NSW Chapter President Andrew Nimmo said today.

‘When our major public buildings don’t last thirty years, we have a real problem. These are places where some of the greatest memories of modern Sydney were made, places where Sydney was elevated to the world stage.

‘To demolish, rather than refurbish, seems like an extraordinary waste.

‘These stadiums are buildings that should live for at least 50 to 100 years. We are doing something wrong as a society if we apply a throwaway mentality to assets that are still so relatively young.
‘It is not unreasonable to expect that it is time that both stadiums undergo significant upgrades to keep them commercially viable in the competitive world of major sporting events.

‘However, best practice, environmentally sustainable development will acknowledge the embodied energy contained in each of these structures – not only the metal, the concrete, the human hours of toil, but also the embodied memory that is locked up in each of these stadiums. All of this needs to
be taken into account when considering the business case.

‘Great cities are made up of many layers of built fabric. We cannot wipe the slate of history clean every 20 years. The loss of these buildings would be like losing a major landmark from the horizon.’

Regions surprise and delight, dominating 2017 Architecture Awards

From the Pilbara to Darwin, the Daintree and a remote bay on Tasmania’s Bruny Island, the winners of this year’s Australian Institute of Architects’ National Architecture Awards show that some of the most exceptional architectural contributions are coming increasingly from our regions.

A greater number of emerging practices also featured among the 44 projects earning a place on the 2017 winners list announced in Canberra tonight.

Jury chair and Immediate Past President Ken Maher said the Awards play a significant role in illuminating the value architects bring to our clients and community, as well as stimulating debate and defining values within the profession.

‘The jury gave preference to projects demonstrating the contribution architecture can make to the public good; projects that were inventive in their responses to context, site and program; and those that celebrated an understanding of materials and making,’ Maher said.

This year’s jury had the daunting task of awarding projects from the largest field of entries received in the almost four decades since the national awards program began, with a total of 983 entries received and 72 shortlisted for national honours.

Despite this, Maher observed that the jury’s experience was that ‘truly exceptional work speaks so powerfully that little debate is necessary – just an unspoken shared sense of joy and admiration.’

‘Public architecture projects were strong, particularly in their contribution to community and their social and cultural benefits, where design invention has expanded the brief and delivered extraordinary value,’ Maher noted.

The East Pilbara Arts Centre by Officer Woods Architects won the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture with its ‘masterstroke building-within-a-building concept’ that quadrupled the client’s original brief for a five-hundred-square-metre arts centre and enabled ‘a group of remote Indigenous artists to make a substantial and tangible contribution to a town centre, thereby exemplifying reconciliation in this country.’

Perched on a remote site on Tasmania’s Bruny Island, the historic 1830s Captain Kelly’s Cottage by John Wardle Architects won the Eleanor Cullis-Hill Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) and a National Commendation for Heritage in what the jury described as ‘a labour of love and passion’ to bring the residence ‘from an advanced state of decay to a rebirth where old and new lend each other fresh beauty.’

The hotly contested Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New) was won by Durbach Block Jaggers Architects for Tamarama House with what the jury described as sublime detailing and beautifully sculpted spaces.

In a very strong showing, four projects received accolades in the Educational Architecture category this year. The East Sydney Early Learning Centre by Andrew Burges Architects in association with the City of Sydney won The Daryl Jackson Award, with National Awards going to Albert Park College Environmental Arts Hub by Six Degrees Architects, which also won the Lachlan Macquarie Award for Heritage, St Joseph’s Nudgee College Hanly Learning Centre by m3architecture and the UQ Forgan Smith Building – TC Beirne School of Law and Walter Harrison Library Refurbishment by BVN, the latter also receiving a National Award for Interior Architecture.

In total, the national jury presented 35 awards and 13 commendations across the 14 categories.

Full list of winners:

Commercial Architecture

The Harry Seidler Award – The EY Centre by fjmt (NSW)
National Award – Willinga Park by Cox Architecture (ACT)
National Commendation – NewActon Nishi by Fender Katsalidis Architects (ACT)

Educational Architecture

The Daryl Jackson Award – East Sydney Early Learning Centre by Andrew Burges Architects in association with the City of Sydney (NSW)
National Award – Albert Park College Environmental Arts Hub by Six Degrees Architects (Vic)
National Award – St Joseph’s Nudgee College Hanly Learning Centre by m3architecture (Qld)
National Award – UQ Forgan Smith Building – TC Beirne School of Law and Walter Harrison Library Refurbishment by BVN (Qld)

Enduring Architecture

National Award – 17 Wylde Street by Aaron M Bolot (NSW)

Heritage

The Lachlan Macquarie Award – Albert Park College Environmental Arts Hub by Six Degrees Architects (Vic)
National Award – Juanita Nielsen Community Centre by Neeson Murcutt Architects Pty Ltd in association with City of Sydney (NSW)
National Award – 100 Harris Street by SJB (NSW)
National Commendation – Captain Kelly’s Cottage by John Wardle Architects (Tas)
National Commendation – Embassy of Sweden by Guida Moseley Brown Architects (ACT)

Interior Architecture

The Emil Sodersten Award – Indigo Slam by Smart Design Studio (NSW)
National Award – UQ Forgan Smith Building – TC Beirne School of Law and Walter Harrison Library Refurbishment by BVN (Qld)
National Commendation – Canberra Airport – International by Guida Moseley Brown Architects (ACT)
National Commendation – The Gipson Commons, St Michael’s Grammar School by Architectus (Vic)

International Architecture

The Jørn Utzon Award – Amanemu by Kerry Hill Architects (Japan)
Australian Award – SkyVille @ Dawson by WOHA (Singapore)

Public Architecture

The Sir Zelman Cowen Award – East Pilbara Arts Centre by Officer Woods Architects (WA)
National Award – Juanita Nielsen Community Centre by Neeson Murcutt Architects Pty Ltd in association with City of Sydney (NSW)
National Award – The Globe by Brian Hooper Architect and m3architecture (architects in association) (Qld)
National Award – Sunshine Coast University Hospital by Architectus Brisbane and HDR Rice Daubney as Sunshine Coast Architects (Qld)
National Commendation – Act for Kids Child and Family Centre of Excellence by m3architecture (Qld)

Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations & Additions)

The Eleanor Cullis-Hill Award – Captain Kelly’s Cottage by John Wardle Architects (Tas)
National Award – Annandale House by Welsh + Major Architects (NSW)
National Award – Burleigh Street House by ME (Qld)
National Award – Jac by panovscott (NSW)
National Commendation – Dornoch Terrace House by James Russell Architect (Qld)

Residential Architecture – Houses (New)

The Robin Boyd Award – Tamarama House by Durbach Block Jaggers Architects (NSW)
National Award – Cape Tribulation House by m3architecture (Qld)
National Award – Coogee House by Chenchow Little (NSW)
National Award – Mitti Street House by James Russell Architect (Qld)
National Commendation – Dark Horse by Architecture Architecture (Vic)
National Commendation – Rose House by Baracco+Wright Architects (Vic)

Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing

The Frederick Romberg Award – Tropology for DHA by Troppo Architects (NT)
National Award – Crown 515 by Smart Design Studio (NSW)
National Commendation – RMIT Bundoora West Student Accommodation by Richard Middleton Architects (RMA) (Vic)

Small Project Architecture

The Nicholas Murcutt Award – Lizard Log Amenities by CHROFI (NSW)
National Award – North Bondi Amenities by Sam Crawford Architects with Lymesmith (NSW)
National Commendation – The Piano Mill by Conrad Gargett (Qld)

Sustainable Architecture

The David Oppenheim Award – Central Park Sydney by Tzannes and Cox Richardson and Foster + Partners (NSW)
National Award – 88 Angel St by Steele Associates Architects (NSW)
National Commendation – Gen Y Demonstration Housing Project by David Barr Architect (WA)
National Commendation – Mt Alvernia College Anthony and La Verna Buildings by m3architecture (Qld)

Urban Design

The Walter Burley Griffin Award – Frank Bartlett Library and Moe Service Centre by fjmt (Vic)
National Award – The Goods Line by ASPECT Studios with CHROFI (NSW)

COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture

The COLORBOND® Award – Arts West, University of Melbourne by ARM + Architectus (Vic)

People’s Choice Award

Winner – Tent House by Sparks Architects (Qld)

2017 National Jury

Ken Maher (Chair) – Immediate Past President of the Australian Institute of Architects; Fellow, HASSELL; Honorary Professor, UNSW Sydney
Lawrence Nield – Northern Territory Government Architect; Professor of Architecture, University of Newcastle
Sue Dugdale – Director, Susan Dugdale and Associates
Peter Maddison – Director, Maddison Architects; Host, Grand Designs Australia
Melissa Bright – Founding Director, MAKE architecture

The 2017 National Architecture Awards are proudly supported by Principal Partner BlueScope; Major Partner Brickworks; Supporting Corporate Partners AWS, Bondor, Dulux and Smeg; Insurance Partner Planned Cover; and Media Partners Architecture Media and The Australian WISH.

Voting now open for Australia’s favourite house

In celebration of World Architecture Day on Monday 2 October, voting has opened for the annual People’s Choice Award as part of the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2017 National Architecture Awards.

The People’s Choice Award gives members of the public the opportunity to select their favourite house from the 15 residential projects on the national jury’s shortlist.

Chosen from more than 250 entries, the homes showcase the best residential architecture – both new builds and alterations and additions – from around the country.

Voting is open until 5:00pm AEDST Friday 27 October. Some fantastic prizes, thanks to our Corporate Partners, are also up for grabs for those who vote in the People’s Choice Award and enter the competition by telling us in 25 words or less why their chosen project is their favourite.

The winning project will be revealed at the National Architecture Awards ceremony on Thursday 2 November at Albert Hall in Canberra along with all the winners as chosen by the expert panel of judges.

More information on the 2017 National Architecture Awards and access to voting in the People’s Choice Award is available via architecture.com.au/awards-2017

Projects in the running for the 2017 People’s Choice Award are:

Annandale House by Welsh + Major Architects (NSW)
Burleigh Street House by ME (Qld)
Captain Kelly’s Cottage by John Wardle Architects (Tas)
Cape Tribulation House by m3architecture (Qld)
Coogee House by Chenchow Little (NSW)
D’Entrecasteaux House by room11 (Tas)
Dark Horse by Architecture Architecture (Vic)
Dornoch Terrace House by James Russell Architect (Qld)
Jac by panovscott (NSW)
Little Sister’s House by Candalepas Associates (NSW)
Mitti Street House by James Russell Architect (Qld)
Rose House by Baracco+Wright Architects (Vic)
Sorrento House by Figureground Architecture (Vic)
Tamarama House by Durbach Block Jaggers Architects (NSW)
Tent House by Sparks Architects (Qld)

The Institute gratefully acknowledges the generous donation of prizes by Corporate Partners BlueScope, Dulux, AWS, Smeg and Architecture Media.

Jury releases shortlist for Australia’s highest architecture accolades

September 15, 2017

The competition for recognition as the best in Australian architecture has reached its most fierce with a record 983 entries being received across 14 categories in this year’s Australian Institute of Architects’ National Architecture Awards, the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

Following the Chapter Architecture Awards presentations earlier in the year, 205 entries were eligible for national judging and the jury has today revealed their shortlist of 72 projects ahead of the prestigious awards ceremony on Thursday 2 November.

Jury chair and Immediate Past President Ken Maher said the entries exemplified ‘the positive impact architecture has on our cities, towns and landscapes. Of course, the exceptional projects we visited represent only a small part of this contribution, much of which goes unrecognised.

‘Reflecting on the state of architecture as observed from the visits, we were heartened by the maturity, creativity and accomplishment demonstrated by the profession across the board, from well-recognised practitioners to emerging practices and younger architects,’ Maher said.

‘The remarkable testimonies from clients were touching – many revealed that they had gained a true understanding of the value of architecture through undertaking their projects.’

Keeping pace with the recent apartment construction boom, particularly along the eastern seaboard, there was a record number of projects in the Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing category on the shortlist.

A large number of educational projects were also selected by the jury for ‘inventive design thinking that has expanded the pedagogic and experiential agendas’.

Maher was joined on the jury by Mel Bright, Lawrence Nield, Sue Dugdale and Peter Maddison. Launching on World Architecture Day, Monday 2 October, the annual People’s Choice Award will once again give members of the public the opportunity to vote for their favourite residential project from the shortlist.

The 2017 winners of the National Architecture Awards will be announced at Albert Hall in Canberra on Thursday 2 November. Tickets and further information available at architecture.com.au/awards-2017

Full shortlist:

Commercial Architecture (5)

NewActon Nishi by Fender Katsalidis Architects (ACT)
Sydney Processing Centre by Genton Architecture (NSW)
TarraWarra Cellar Door by Kerstin Thompson Architects (Vic)
The EY Centre by fjmt (NSW)
Willinga Park by Cox Architecture (ACT)

Educational Architecture (7)

Albert Park College Environmental Arts Hub by Six Degrees Architects (Vic)
Arts West, University of Melbourne by ARM + Architectus (Vic)
East Sydney Early Learning Centre by Andrew Burges Architects in association with the City of Sydney (NSW)
Mt Alvernia College Anthony and La Verna Buildings by m3architecture (Qld)
St Joseph’s Nudgee College Hanly Learning Centre by m3architecture (Qld)
The Grimwade Centre For Cultural Materials Conservation – The University of Melbourne by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects (Vic)
UQ Forgan Smith Building – TC Beirne School of Law and Walter Harrison Library Refurbishment by BVN (Qld)

Enduring Architecture (2)

17 Wylde Street by Aaron M Bolot (NSW)
University South Lawn Underground Car Park by Loder & Bayly in association with Harris, Lange and Associates (Vic)

Heritage (5)

100 Harris Street by SJB (NSW)
Albert Park College Environmental Arts Hub by Six Degrees Architects (Vic)
Captain Kelly’s Cottage by John Wardle Architects (Tas)
Embassy of Sweden by Guida Moseley Brown Architects (ACT)
Juanita Nielsen Community Centre by Neeson Murcutt Architects Pty Ltd in association with City of Sydney (NSW)

Interior Architecture (5)

Canberra Airport – International by Guida Moseley Brown Architects (ACT)
Indigo Slam by Smart Design Studio (NSW)
Slack Melbourne Office by Breathe Architecture (Vic)
The Gipson Commons, St Michael’s Grammar School by Architectus (Vic)
UQ Forgan Smith Building – TC Beirne School of Law and Walter Harrison Library Refurbishment by BVN (Qld)

International Architecture (3)

Amanemu by Kerry Hill Architects (Japan)
International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) by Studio Milou Singapore (Vietnam)
SkyVille @ Dawson by WOHA (Singapore)

Public Architecture (7)

Act for Kids Child and Family Centre of Excellence by m3architecture (Qld)
East Pilbara Arts Centre by Officer Woods Architects (WA)
Juanita Nielsen Community Centre by Neeson Murcutt Architects Pty Ltd in association with City of Sydney (NSW)
Orange Regional Museum by Crone (NSW)
Sunshine Coast University Hospital by Architectus Brisbane and HDR Rice Daubney as Sunshine Coast Architects (Qld)
The Globe by Brian Hooper Architect and m3architecture (architects in association) (Qld)
Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre by sthDI+MCR (Vic)

Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations & Additions) (7)

Annandale House by Welsh + Major Architects (NSW)
Burleigh Street House by ME (Qld)
Captain Kelly’s Cottage by John Wardle Architects (Tas)
Dornoch Terrace House by James Russell Architect (Qld)
Jac by panovscott (NSW)
Little Sister’s House by Candalepas Associates (NSW)
Sorrento House by Figureground Architecture (Vic)

Residential Architecture – Houses (New) (8)

Cape Tribulation House by m3architecture (Qld)
Coogee House by Chenchow Little (NSW)
D’Entrecasteaux House by room11 (Tas)
Dark Horse by Architecture Architecture (Vic)
Mitti Street House by James Russell Architect (Qld)
Rose House by Baracco+Wright Architects (Vic)
Tamarama House by Durbach Block Jaggers Architects (NSW)
Tent House by Sparks Architects (Qld)

Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing (7)

88 Angel St by Steele Associates Architects (NSW)
Crown 515 by Smart Design Studio (NSW)
President Avenue by Candalepas Associates (NSW)
RMIT Bundoora West Student Accommodation by Richard Middleton Architects (RMA) (Vic)
Solis: Little Bay Apartments by Fox Johnston (NSW)
St Joseph’s Nudgee College Bathersby Boarding Village by m3architecture (Qld)
Tropology for DHA by Troppo Architects (NT)

Small Project Architecture (4)

Lizard Log Amenities by CHROFI (NSW)
North Bondi Amenities by Sam Crawford Architects with Lymesmith (NSW)
Studio for Indigo Jungle by Marc&Co (Qld)
The Piano Mill by Conrad Gargett (Qld)

Sustainable Architecture (6)

88 Angel St by Steele Associates Architects (NSW)
Central Park Sydney by Tzannes and Cox Richardson and Forster + Partners (NSW)
Gen Y Demonstration Housing Project by David Barr Architect (WA)
Mt Alvernia College Anthony and La Verna Buildings by m3architecture (Qld)
Sunnybanks House by Core Collective Architects (Tas)
South East Water by BVN (Vic)

Urban Design (4)

Central Park Sydney by Tzannes and Cox Richardson and Foster + Partners (NSW)
Frank Bartlett Library and Moe Service Centre by fjmt (Vic)
Kensington Street Precinct by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects (NSW)
The Goods Line by ASPECT Studios with CHROFI (NSW)

COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture (2)

Arts West, University of Melbourne by ARM + Architectus (Vic)
Lizard Log Amenities by CHROFI (NSW)

View the gallery of shortlisted projects here.

Support for Senate report’s strong recommendations on cladding

6 Sep, 2017

The Australian Institute of Architects fully supports all of the recommendations put forward by the Senate Economics References Committee inquiry into non-conforming building products in their interim report on aluminium composite cladding tabled today.

National President Richard Kirk said the Institute shares the Committee’s view that the use of non-conforming and non-compliant building products represents a very real and present threat to the community.

‘Ensuring public safety in the built environment is the chief priority of the architectural profession,’ Kirk said.

‘We support the Committee’s call for further urgent action to address the danger to our community posed by the de-professionalisation of building procurement over many years now.

‘As our cities become increasingly dense, and our buildings more complex, it is essential that those within industry become more – not less – skilled and qualified and their work subject to appropriately stringent checks and certification.

‘Architects already have, and maintain, a level of qualification, expertise and conduct codes of practice, as well as continuing professional development requirements, that exceed those of other professions within the building sector.

‘We believe the bar should be raised across the board with increased transparency and accountability for all participants throughout the vast and complex supply and construction chains.

‘The built environment is an area where regulation is not only appropriate but necessary. Cutting red tape cannot and should not come at the expense of people’s safety.

‘We want to see compliance and enforcement mechanisms strengthened across jurisdictions to properly protect all Australians in their homes, workplaces and in our public spaces.

‘As we have said, and the Committee has recommended, non-compliance must be punished with substantial fines and other penalties.’

Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Cunich said the Senate Committee had considered the evidence and recommended solutions the Institute had put forward.

‘The recommendations, if implemented, will go a long way to addressing many of the issues that architects have identified over an extended period,’ Cunich said.

‘We have called for improved measures to manage the risks posed by non-conforming and non-complying building products now and into the future.

‘Unlike other building practitioners, an architect who is a member of the Institute is professionally qualified with a minimum of five years’ study of an accredited university program, mandatory practical experience and a registration exam, legally registered to practice by State Registration Boards and bound by a code of conduct established by Institute.

‘We welcome the Committee’s adoption of our recommendation to establish a national licensing scheme, with requirements for continued professional development for all building practitioners.

‘The Institute has been supportive of the various measures being taken by State and Territory governments, as well as the work being coordinated by the Commonwealth through the Building Ministers Forum, but equally we have highlighted that there are some gaps and inconsistencies in the actions being taken by various jurisdictions that must be addressed.’

Member Advisory Alert – NCBPs and NCPs

Message from the National President

Richard Kirk

As specialist, highly-qualified, registered professionals, architects have specific obligations and duties when it comes to product specification and use in the built environment. Beyond the regulations imposed by government, the Institute’s members are also bound by a code of ethics, and by a duty to constantly improve our practices. This commitment to excellence underpins our social licence to operate and the trust our clients, and the broader community, place in the profession.

Cognisant of these responsibilities, in the wake of the Grenfell fire tragedy in London and subsequent Australian federal, state and territory government actions in response, the Institute’s National Practice Committee has produced a new Advisory Note for members on non-conforming building products and non-complying products.

We urge you to take the time to review this important information, which will shortly be followed by a Practice Note currently under development by the Acumen Content Review Panel. You can download the full Advisory Note here.

All building work in Australia must meet certain performance and legal requirements to ensure it is safe, healthy and durable. In recent years concerns have been raised about the risks of using non-conforming building products (NCBPs), or using non-complying products (NCPs). There are particular concerns around the health and safety risks associated with the use of NCBPs and NCPs. With particular reference to flammable cladding, these represent a clear and unacceptable threat to public safety. This year’s Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in the UK showed the lethal risks of non-conforming products.

Building audits currently underway by state and territory governments, including the one that commenced in Victoria following the 2014 Lacrosse fire, clearly demonstrate this is an issue – and a danger – we must urgently address in Australia.

The Institute is engaging with government and advocating strongly for improved measures to manage the risks posed by NCBPs and NCPs now and into the future.

We are urging decision makers to recognise the role architects are uniquely qualified and placed to play in ensuring better public safety in our built environment.

We welcome the measures governments at all levels have taken to date acting to address the urgent public safety issue NCBPs and NCPs but more is needed.

The Senate Standing Committee on Economics’ inquiry into non-conforming building products has held five public hearings this year and received 87 submissions – including ours which you can read here.

Next Wednesday the Committee is due to release their Interim report on external cladding materials with the interim report on asbestos due for release in October and the final report on both in April next year. We will circulate the Committees’ interim report to members once it is released.

Your Institute’s position
1.   The threat of non-conforming and non-compliant building products can be reduced at every stage of the supply and building process.
2.   Rigorous enforcement of existing laws, including more stringent examination of overseas certification and third-party evaluation of locally produced materials, can ensure that a product is what it is represented to be, with consistent performance.
3.   Traditionally, architects were the final arbiters of material selection. Decisions are now made by builders, project managers, and others to substitute products to save costs, with the decision being based on materials that ‘look the same’ rather than ‘perform the same’ as that originally selected by the architect designer.
4.   With reduced levels of oversight by skilled and experienced practitioners, inappropriate use and substitution of building products can result in low quality and often dangerous buildings.
5.   The Institute will push to realign decision making responsibilities with expertise. We will push for stringent enforcement of the building code and proper oversight. We will closely monitor government action and reforms to ensure our members are well informed.

Together, we will continue to advocate for high quality, safe and durable buildings to our community that architects are well-placed to deliver.

Richard Kirk,
National President,
Australian Institute of Architects

Photo credit: Toby Scott

Sowing seeds for 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale – creative team announced

An Australian grassland will be brought to life inside the Australian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Biennale in Venice in 2018 with the successful proposal announced at events in Sydney and Melbourne tonight.

Louise Wright and Mauro Baracco (Baracco+Wright Architects) with Linda Tegg. Photo: Sharyn Cairns

Presented by the Australian Institute of Architects, repair by Baracco+Wright Architects collaborating with artist Linda Tegg will see thousands of temperate grassland species cultivated and nurtured within the pavilion alongside large-scale architectural projections. Visitors will enter a physical dialogue between architecture and endangered plant community. Reminding us what is at stake when we occupy land.

Jill Garner, Chair of the Institute’s Venice Biennale Committee, congratulated the team on their ‘immersive, multi-sensory exhibition that will engage visitors with the concept of repair, an approach to architectural thinking, set to become a critical strategy of architectural culture’.

Louise Wright from Baracco+Wright added ‘While ideas of repair are internationally relevant, they are particularly applicable to Australian architects, who work cheek-by-jowl in one of the most diverse and ecologically sensitive landscapes in the world.

‘We want to provoke and stimulate this discussion and position Australian architects at the cusp of international architectural consciousness around issues of repair,’ Louise said.

Collaborating with Baracco + Wright, artist Linda Tegg worked with grasslands at the State Library of Victoria in 2014, ‘I wondered what the library had replaced. This question pointed to a blind spot, and prompted me to bring this unique plant community into renewed proximity with our cultural institutions. It’s exciting to collaborate with Baracco+Wright to bring a grassland into focus at the Venice Biennale,’ Linda said.

Explicitly addressing the Biennale Architettura curators Farrell and McNamara’s theme of Freespace, repair responds by encouraging new ways of thinking and seeing the world, ‘of inventing solutions where architecture provides for the wellbeing and dignity of each citizen on this fragile planet’ .

repair will frame and reveal an architectural culture in Australia that is evolving through processes that integrate built and natural systems to effect repair of the environment, and in so doing, repair of other conditions such as social, economic and cultural ones.

Baracco+Wright is a Melbourne-based architectural practice, founded by Louise Wright and Mauro Baracco. Collaborating with artist Linda Tegg and with architect Paul Memmott, landscape architect Chris Sawyer, landscape architect and urban designer Tim O’Loan and curatorial advisor Catherine Murphy to inform, refine and complement their skills*, the winning concept aims to showcase Australian architecture that engages with the repair of our natural environment.

The Creative Directors will call upon Australian architects, urban designers and landscape architects to submit designs that have been conceived in relationship with their ecosystem to effect repair be it civic, social, cultural, economic or environmental. From these, a selection that displays a range of approaches, scales and geographic locations will be selected for exhibition.

repair will be the seventh exhibition coordinated by the Australian Institute of Architects at the Biennale Architettura. An initiative of the Institute, Australia has had a continued national presence since 2006 at what is widely considered the most important event of the international architectural calendar. In 2018, the Institute is pleased to welcome back Janet Holmes à Court as Commissioner of the Australian Exhibition.

The 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will run from 26 May to 25 November 2018 in Venice. For more information on Australia’s participation in the 2018 Venice Biennale visit architecture.com.au/venicebiennale.

The exhibition is supported by Austral Bricks, Smeg, Bespoke Careers and Architecture Media. In addition, the Institute gratefully acknowledges the support given by the Australia Council for the Arts.

*The broader team supporting the Creative Directors includes ecologist David Freudenberger, Senior Lecturer in the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University, architect Lance van Maanen and graduate of architecture Jonathan Ware. Mauro Baracco is an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Design of RMIT University Melbourne; Linda Tegg is the Artist in Residence in the School of Geography at The University of Melbourne and a Lecturer in Creative Practice in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University; Professor Paul Memmott is a trans-disciplinary researcher (architect/anthropologist) and the Director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre (AERC) and the Indigenous Design Place Initiative at the University of Queensland where he is affiliated with the School of Architecture and the Institute of Social Science Research; Chris Sawyer is a co-director of Site Office with Susie Kumar and an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University; Tim O’Loan is a director at Aecom; Catherine Murphy is a Senior Research Consultant in the Department of Architecture at Monash University.