Wallabies Watch | StudioMODA

Wallabies Watch whispers its presence, a subtle surrender to the landscape’s embrace. The project’s reductive approach creates a serene and tranquil atmosphere, allowing nature to take center stage. The exterior’s dark, moody presence synchronizes with the shadows of the trees, while the interior’s neutral backdrop emphasizes the lightness of being. The result is a symphony of contrasts, where the made and found converge in harmony. Wallabies Watch is a fleeting testament to the beauty of restraint, a haven for those seeking refuge from the tangible world. By stripping away the unnecessary, the project reveals its beauty, beckoning occupants to surrender to the tranquillity of the surroundings.

Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre, Shellharbour | Edmiston Jones

The Centre offers comprehensive services for victim/survivors of family, domestic, and sexual violence, with practical, evidence-based support. A collaborative effort involving the Leadership Team, Women with Lived-Experience Advisory Group, and Aboriginal Women’s Reference Group, the Centre was designed with a trauma-informed approach. Co-design workshops focused on themes of welcome, support, privacy, and security, integrating natural light and scenic views.

A ”Connecting to Country” framework informed cultural safety for Aboriginal women, with the design featuring symbolic elements like a coolamon in the ceiling. The Centre, imagined as a turtle shell – protective externally and warm and inviting internally – prioritizes a calming, secure environment for recovery. Flexible spaces accommodate various practitioners, with careful attention to acoustic and visual privacy. The project’s all-female team directed its holistic design.

Fast-tracked due to urgent need and supported by ongoing evaluation, the Centre serves as a prototype for future expansion to combat Australia’s family violence crisis.

Project 465 | Robertson Collectif

The brief for this rural retreat was that it needed to work equally well when the retired couple who own the property were on their own, as when they were hosting all eighteen of their children and grandchildren for extended family gatherings.
The concrete slab, structural framework and parts of the roof of an existing homestead were retained and added to, creating a sprawling seven bedroom residence with resort-style amenity. At the heart of the home, the ‘great room’ incorporates an open gable roof form and generous kitchen, living and dining areas that spill onto a terrace overlooking the surrounding bush landscape and valley. Adjacent, two more modestly scaled rooms provide an intimate living zone for the couple to enjoy when staying at the property alone.
Sitting within the highest risk bushfire zone, the design required that all new construction, materials, fixtures and fittings comply with strict BAL flame-zone requirements.

Tasman Gallery | Benn + Penna

Hybrid space blends work and lifestyle – a workplace in a gallery

Tasman Gallery by Benn + Penna demonstrates how spatial and material design can improve wellbeing and stimulate cross-pollination of ideas.

The concrete and steel shell of a prefabricated storage shed in the Byron Bay Arts and Industry Estate is transformed into a hybrid workspace and gallery, embracing the zeitgeist of the post-covid era.

With overlapping activities and requirements, a minimalist design rationalises elements with different scales and atmospheres within the one box.

From drama – the mezzanine wraps the void, like a stage, with a stainless steel curtain. To dynamism – the strong sculptural staircase sweeps up sight lines across the levels, evoking movement, and acts as a catalyst for workplace interaction. To softness – diffuse light, gentle acoustics, intimate scaled spaces.

Calm, constrained and considered zones, a minimal material palette, with a modest, timeless design – an incubator for the local creative community.

Rosedale House | Scale Architecture

On Yuin country, Rosedale is a beautiful oceanside bushland setting. During the black summer fires of 2019-2020, the seaside community was completely razed, and the original Polish-style summer house, was lost to fire. With this project, we found a way to make a small but meaningful contribution to the bushfire recovery effort.

Clad entirely in red corrugated iron, its hip-roof profile is an unashamed reference to the modest tin shacks that once lined our coastal towns. The monochromatic response might appear in contrast against its bushy coastal suburban context, but at the same time is so fitting, that it almost hides in plain sight.

TAFE NSW Muswellbrook Campus – Block V Building | EJE

TAFE NSW Muswellbrook Campus Block V is a brand new multi-faculty building designed to deliver training across a range of industries, including hair and beauty, childcare services, and business studies. The facility also includes a library, communications hub, and office space for teachers and staff. The building’s design uses an innovative approach and efficient spatial planning to create a space that fosters a sense of collaboration and community.

Solaris Apartments | TVS Architects

Solaris is a large mixed-use development that was initiated to facilitate moving the Council’s community facilities from a suburban site to this central beachside location. This first stage of the development comprises a residential apartment tower with 56 units, a restaurant and commercial space, and the Forster Civic Centre comprising a Library, Community Lounge, Visitor Information Centre and Customer Service Point for MidCoast Council.

The philosophy behind the master-planned community precinct was to provide the community with a wide variety of amenities in an architectural context which facilitates adaptability and future flexibility for an evolving population. The diverse mix of uses future-proofs Solaris to better cater for the changing needs of an evolving population. The amenity enriches the public experience, creating a new social precinct to engage with the local community through its built form and presence near the lake and beachside commercial precincts.

Sadlier Residence | Source Architects

Sadlier House is a substantial Victorian Italianate Style Country home originally design by Matthew Sadlier which dates from the 1870’s. The house as found was in quite good condition for a property of this vintage but had suffered through a series of ill-conceived interventions at the rear.

The project saw the removal of unsympathetic veranda infills, and the creation of north facing living spaces that open to the expansive new landscaped gardens. An extensive renovation of the existing house was undertaken which included restoration of the fine cedar joinery work, seamless insertion of contemporary electrical and mechanical systems and insertion of a number of bathrooms to bring the property up to contemporary living standards.

The result is a beautifully restored house that offers all the modern services and facilities one expects of a property of this stature whilst retaining all of its heritage significance.

New Boarding House, Yanco Agricultural High School, SINSW | ARM Architecture

Yanco Agricultural High School (YAHS) has built a new female boarding house to replace the temporary buildings used since the school became co-educational in 1995. The new building will accommodate 86 female students and two accessible staff apartments. The design prioritizes equity, safety, environmental responsiveness, and value for money.

The dormitory respects the school’s heritage and agricultural context. The building’s orientation maximizes natural light and minimizes heat, enhancing operational efficiency and reliance on air-conditioning. A vast veranda provides covered outdoor space and a backyard to this home-away-from-home.

Collaborations with students, contractors, consultants, schools and SINSW has proved the success of this regional project. The generosity and refinement inherent to the design has delivered a homely building to be proud of in this important regional schools

Novello – 20-26 Young Street, Wollongong | Design Workshop Australia

Novello is a high-quality design response in the City of Wollongong and its ever-changing built and natural environment. The building integrates into the desired and future street character in a diverse and changing part of the city. Novello is a visual tribute to the City of Wollongong.

The building responds well to the site and the surrounding context, and creates a significant form which sits proudly within the city centre. Novello creates a sense of space, responding to the scale, visual context, views and the local community.