Prince of Wales Hospital: Acute Services Building | BVN with TERROIR

The new Prince of Wales Hospital, Acute Services Building (ASB) is located on the land of the Bidjigal peoples adjoining the existing Prince of Wales Hospital and the UNSW Kensington campus. The building is the first built outcome of a long masterplanning process. The project both provides a vital boost to existing hospital’s capacity, and supports the need to embed research, education and training initiatives into day to day clinical practice.

At the heart of the project is a public landscaped courtyard. An important welcoming space, incorporating meeting settings, landscape and artworks that connect to a country narrative. Wrapping the courtyard an internal entry space is designed as an extension of the garden bringing together research and education, shops and community and cultural facilities. The building’s form is broken into a series of layered elements, creating terraces at upper levels that offer further opportunities for landscape and the use of outdoor spaces.

Princes Studio | Curious Practice

Made for a family of 5 crammed into a small, three bedroomed single bathroomed cottage who were in need of some relief Princes Studio is a detached living pavilion.

Timber provides the spaces of this project with a feeling of warmth and beauty. With fixings and structure exposed and celebrated, there exists an honesty in the making process that carries through to the completed building down to the locally made blacksmith’s brass componentry. A custom translucent cladding system was developed which sits adjacent timber windows and terracotta tiles, creating a rich tapestry of texture and transparency.

Princes Studio is an extremely cost effective appendage to the existing dwelling, providing the inhabitants freedom in how they use the space now, and into the future. This outcome could be further developed as a quality response to housing affordability, adaptability and sustainability, having achieved a huge amount of program and delight within a very small floor area.

qubec, Newport | nettletontribe

qubec is a cluster of eighteen, three bedroom townhouses, grouped around a landscaped courtyard. Located in the Northern Beaches suburb of Newport, qubec combines urban style with bayside living.

Formerly occupied by six private homes, the 3700m2 site with significant falls in two directions, is also flanked by single residential dwellings set in landscaped gardens to its east, and a small but vibrant neighbourhood corner shops which is anchored by a popular waterfront hotel to its west.

The townhouses, with a bold and distinctive architectural language, form and materiality, are stepped to follow the natural site topography and act as the physical and visual link between the two contextual bookends. The simple forms and bold aesthetic add visual interest to the two street frontages and at the same time remind us of the close proximity to the stunning waters and bays of Pittwater through individual vistas and views from each townhouse.

Queens Park | Downie North

Queens Park House pushes to the peripheries and sleeves into the gaps left over by the original semi detached house it adapts. The transformation of an enclosed, two bedroom house into a spacious, multifunctional home for a young family evolved to incorporate diverse needs from outdoor play spaces and the capacity to host extended family. The architectural response was to inhabit edges, using the unused, from occupying the existing roof void to minimize overshadowing and bulk through to the creation of a roof garden above an existing garage.

Communal areas follow a curvilinear plan, fluidly adapting programmatic needs to make the most of sunlight and sea breezes. A new outdoor terrace invites interior and exterior to merge, doubling outdoor space and prioritizing landscape and views without compromising privacy. Shaded openings, exposed thermal mass, and ventilated facade are complemented by the photovoltaic solar array, demonstrating a harmonious blend of functionality and sustainability.

Redfern Station | DesignInc

Redfern Station is a transformative piece of urban infrastructure that revitalizes, reconnects, provides universal access and enhances the station and precinct. The new southern concourse and station entries at Little Eveleigh and Marian Streets provide high quality, high amenity places that draw on their rich natural, cultural and built heritage context.

Design cues are taken from Eveleigh’s original wetland landscape as well as its more recent industrial past, with ideas of mist and steam expressed in the perforated cladding, and views framed towards local vistas and the existing heritage buildings. The design also adaptively reuses the industrial warehouse at 125 Little Eveleigh Street as a main entrance. Along with the new public connection across the railway line, shared pedestrian and bicycle zones improve access to local facilities. Thoughtfully combining Indigenous, natural, industrial, and contemporary heritage, the project truly encapsulates the spirit of place, promoting a vibrant local community.

Parramatta Aquatic Centre | Grimshaw and Andrew Burges Architects with McGregor Coxall

The Parramatta Aquatic Centre (PAC) is a recreational facility located in Parramatta. Situated on a 20 hectare park adjacent to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Parramatta Park and Old Government House, the centre embraces the vision of the Mays Hill Masterplan while complementing the surrounding landscape. Instead of an enclosed structure, the PAC is a connected community landscape with a sunken courtyard at its centre.

The pools appear to be carved out of the site’s topography, minimising their impact on the park. Construction materials like recycled waste, concrete, and timber were selected to blend with the environment. The design also includes First Nations interpretive elements in collaboration with local Darug elders. Sustainability was prioritised, incorporating woodland restoration, water sensitive urban design, and renewable energy. The PAC has attracted over 20,000 visitors per week since opening, offering essential swimming and recreational facilities to Western Sydney while addressing urban heat concerns.

Parramatta North, Western Sydney Startup Hub | TKD Architects

As the site of the first purpose built Female Factory in Australia and over 175 years of mental health care, a key step in re-activating the place has been achieved through sensitive adaptation of buildings and open spaces for a range of new uses. In addition to the Western Sydney Start-up Hub, café and community spaces, opportunities were pursued to enhance public engagement with a place that had previously excluded them.

The design response, led by TKD Architects, was guided by a comprehensive understanding of the place and the need to achieve the design brief through a heritage led decision making process. Adaptation works, including removal of accretions and introduction of new elements, were designed and detailed to enhance appreciation of the diversity of stories that tell us much about the lives of those living in government institutions, helping to ensure that the place’s heritage values are retained and communicated for future generations.

Parramatta Riverfront House | Shiro Architects

Designed by award winning Japanese architect Hiromi Lauren’s team at Shiro Architects, this modern, minimalist, streamlined Parramatta River waterfront house follows the contours of its site, raking towards the cliff on which the house stands, to give its client direct access to the river at water level without adding visible building height from the street.

Offering a complete 180-degree scenic journey throughout, with nothing interrupting its view of the river and parkland opposite, its design seamlessly blends with its exterior, to bring the outside in.

In a highly visible location, adjoining public parkland, its minimal features, and organic materials concrete walls with softening timber ceilings are a perfect complement to the nature in which it exists.

And its design enables both a large, extended family to gather together, while providing the immediate family generous and comfortable private living and bedroom areas distinctly separate from such shared spaces.

Parramatta Town Hall | DesignInc Sydney, Lacoste+Stevenson, Manuelle Gautrand Architecture and TKD Architects

The revitalisation of Parramatta Town Hall honours its significance as a historic civic hub and gathering place. Led by DesignInc, Lacoste+ Stevenson and Manuelle Gautrand Architecture, the project upgrades the Town Hall to contemporary standards, activates Parramatta Square and Northern Laneway and integrates it with Phive, Parramatta’s new civic hub.

Guided by a conservation management plan, the project respects the tangible and intangible values of the site and recognises its importance to the Aboriginal community. The addition of the Southern Annexe reinforces Parramatta Square’s public role and is designed to respect the significant archaeological site.
Fabric repairs led by TKD Architects include render, plaster and cedar joinery conservation and reinstated historic decorative schemes.

Sustainability measures align with the City of Parramatta’s goals, incorporating renewable energy, recycled construction waste and rainwater harvesting. The project retains and repurposes later additions, reflecting a commitment to heritage and sustainability.

Patanga Estate | Fabric Architecture Studio

Patanga Estate, located in a bushfire prone zone, is a prime example of sustainable, off grid development on a greenfield site. Anchored in a conceptual framework of environmental stewardship, resilience, and community connection. The strategic placement of structures optimises solar gain and bushfire resilience. Solid stone flooring and low VOC paint contribute to greater indoor air quality, showcasing a commitment to functional excellence. Interdisciplinary collaboration with engineers, ecologists and landscape architects enriches the project, while economically prudent decisions align with long term sustainability goals. Patanga Estate transforms a greenfield site into a client centric, off grid haven, meeting modern living needs while embodying environmental responsibility.