Not all apartment buildings are making us sick and unhealthy
It’s possible to design apartments of all shapes and sizes to promote health and wellbeing. Architects and designers say they just need the right conditions to do so.
Architecture
Clare Cousins on why architects need to be city shapers
The debate on the role of architects just ramped up another notch this week, first with a thought piece by Philip Graus, and now Clare Cousins, national president of the Australian Institute of Architects, has her say.
Questioning the strategic role of architects in city making
Should architect stick to buildings or is their remit much broader, extending to strategic influence over the city itself?
Tomorrowland 2018 Keynote: Jefa Greenaway on how to shine a light on Indigenous influence
Leading Indigenous architect and academic Jefa Greenaway has a strong message he hopes Tomorrowland attendees will take away: how Indigenous knowledge can inform the conversation about shaping spaces, places, towns and cities.
CEO departure triggers strategic issues for architects, with a variety of views
The sudden departure of Jennifer Cunich, CEO of the Australian Institute of Architects, may or may not have been triggered by a clash of strategies in media presence or advocacy.
2018 BDAV awards dominated by green design
Sustainable designs cleaned up at the Building Designers Association of Victoria (BDAV) awards held in Melbourne over the weekend. The big Building Design of the Year award went to Melbourne Design Studios (MDS) for its sevenstar NatHERS-rated townhouses in Richmond, Melbourne. The sustainable brief led to an emphasis on natural light and ventilation and the inclusion […]
Architecture awards show sustainability is evolving
In choosing sustainable architecture, says Paul Worroll, chair of Queensland’s Institute of Architects sustainability committee and deputy jury chair for the 2018 awards, they looked for “more than the usual adding on of rainwater tanks and solar panels”.
NZ architect brings Maori beliefs into new law school design
In the design of the new University of Waikato law school New Zealand architect Eqo Leung, who recently opened a new architectural practice called ArchitectureRepublic, decided to keep the building’s courtyard open.
Why I want to live in a passive house
Architect Kylie Mills on why she wants to live in a passive house in Sydney that she “would not have to heat or cool pretty much year-round”.
Raffaello Rosselli: on a beehive of award winning sustainable reuse
It can take a bit of work, says architect Raffaello Rosselli, but builders can be “quite all right” about working with unconventional and quirky ideas.
NSW architecture awards stars sustainability and innovation
Procurement practice was recognised by the judges of this year’s NSW Australian Institute of Architecture Awards as a key element in achieving outstanding projects.
SAHMRI 2.0 strives for LEED Gold
The same architects behind the striking pinecone-inspired facade of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) building are on track to deliver a neighbouring facility that also puts energy efficiency at the heart of its design.
Social sustainability is at the heart of good public architecture
Well-designed public buildings are sustainable buildings, and I’m not solely referring to this in an environmental sense.
NAB helps institutional investors access $200 million renewables portfolio
Institutional investors can now buy into a $200 million pool of loans to renewable projects, in what is being touted as a new, game-changing clean energy investment model in the Australian market.
Kanye West’s new housing project, reviewed by a professor of urban design
There is a long history of patrons for architecture, who have ensured their legacy – and often enhanced their status – through the construction of lavish buildings.
Lovely, like aged timber – James Fitzpatrick and the new thinking in design
If you have a lovely timber table, people will admire it and sit around it, but if it’s laminate or glass, it’s not so likely, says architect James Fitzpatrick. It’s like the dents and scratches of an antique chair, prized because of the character they create.
These are 2018’s best tall buildings
Singapore’s Oasia Hotel Downtown has been named the world’s best tall building at the 2018 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) awards.
Ray Brown on next-gen offices and the tenant problem
The new frontier for office building sustainability is minimising reliance on airconditioning, Architectus managing partner Ray Brown says.