Rural West Australian art centre among big winners in National Architecture Awards
The East Pilbara Arts Centre, by Officer Woods Architects, took out the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture at the National Architecutre Awards. Photo: Robert Frith

Rural West Australian art centre among big winners in National Architecture Awards

A rural WA art gallery, described as ‘masterstroke building-within-a-building’ was among the top winners at this year’s Australian Institute of Architects’ National Architecture Awards.

The East Pilbara Arts Centre, designed by Officer Woods Architects, was among 44 projects from across the country to earn a place on the winners list at the award ceremony held in Canberra on Thursday night.

The contemporary gallery and working space for Martumili Artists, an organisation representing self-employed artists spread across seven Aboriginal communities in the eastern Pilbara, was honoured with the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture.

Jury chair and immediate past president of the AIA Professor Ken Maher said the judges were unanimous in awarding the gallery, located in the small mining town of Newman, in WA’s North West 1186 kilometres north of Perth, the accolade.

The arts centre has a breathable outer layer. Photo: ???? The arts centre has 2000 square metres of space. Photo: Robert Frith

The judges said the gallery had enabled a group of remote indigenous artists to make a substantial and tangible contribution to a town centre, thereby exemplifying reconciliation in this country.

Mr Maher said the arts centre had transformed the local community and he had never seen a building of its kind before.

“It was up against other significant projects but what we were looking for as a jury is something which is exceptional,” he said.

“It was just a great community building project. And I think the remarkable thing we thought about it was, the architects took a brief initially for quite a modest gallery to display the indigenous works and rethought that and managed to build a very large building, that had the capacity to support the community.

“And also did it in sort of the sense of this semi-industrial almost shed, which somehow speaks a little bit of the Pilbara idiom if you like, but did it with a sense of delight, letting daylight through, using bar code colours on the facade – it is not just a basic functional building.”

Officer Woods Architects designed the arts centre to have a civic presence and it has a gallery, support spaces, an artists’ studio, a residence and a large undercover multipurpose area.

They quadrupled the client’s original brief for a 500-square-metre arts centre by placing it within a 2000 square metre industrial shed.

The shed has a ventilated fly roof that reduces heat via perforated and translucent panel lift doors, multiple approaches and entry points and a gallery with 7.2-metre high ceilings, specialised artificial lighting and a large moveable display wall.

Additionally, the large shed allows privacy and a connection to the surrounding landscape and outdoor areas for artists and their families to paint and spend time.

The EY Centre in Sydney, by ????, won the Commercial Architecture Award. Photo: ???? The EY Centre in Sydney, by the firm fjmt, won the Harry Seidler Award for commercial architecture. Photo: Supplied

Mr Maher said the awards played a significant role in illuminating the value architects brought to clients and community.

“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,” he said.

This year the jury were faced with the daunting task of awarding projects from the biggest amount of entries received in the almost four decades since the national awards program began, with a total of 983 entries and 72 shortlisted for national honours.

“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,” Mr Maher said.

In the commercial architecture category, The Harry Seidler Award was presented to the firm fjmt for their work on The EY Centre in central Sydney.

The judges said the EY Centre lent a distinctively public character to a part of central Sydney undergoing significant renewal and set a benchmark for design quality.

They said the new tower knitted seamlessly into its site and set the agenda for implementing a new urban morphology in its larger block structure.

The Willinga Park equestrian centre, by ????, took out the ???? award. Photo: ????? The Willinga Park equestrian centre, by Cox Architecture, took out the national award for commercial architecture. Photo: Ginette Snow

Cox Architecture won the national award for its work on Willinga Park, at Bawley Park (ACT) – an equestrian centre, covered arena and polocrosse pavilion.

“The Equestrian Centre comprises a series of overlapping folding roof planes designed to scoop in cool breezes and shield the spectators and dressage arena from the western sun,” the judges noted.

“Luxurious finishes and facilities are designed to attract influential patrons globally. The expansive proportions of the covered arena are remarkable.”

Tzannes and Cox Richardson and Foster + Partners won The David Oppenhein Award for Central Park, Sydney, which was described as an exemplar of density done well.

The project featured 2200 residential units, additional student housing and a mix of retail and commercial uses and demonstrated how a brownfield site with defunct industrial uses could become a vital, much loved and used new urban precinct through design led development, the judges said.

Other notable winners included four projects being recognised in the Educational Architecture category. Among these winners was The East Sydney Early Learning Centre by Andrew Burges Architects in association with the City of Sydney, who won The Daryl Jackson Award, for bringing a four-level 1920s industrial building back to life to house a 60-place childcare centre and community space in Darlinghurst.

The design was conceived as a ‘mini-city’ and featured a series of play space houses or ‘pods’ connected by indoor parks and social laneways.

The national jury presented 35 awards and 13 commendations across the 14 categories.

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)

Get a weekly roundup of the latest news from Commercial Real Estate, delivered straight to your inbox!

By signing up, you agree to Domain’s Privacy Policy and Conditions of Use. You may opt out at any time.