Grand Designs
Concrete is widely used as a construction material, but it has a substantial environmental impact. When a building is demolished, what happens to all the concrete? Tampere University, Finland, is coordinating a new international project which aims to discover how used concrete elements can be deconstructed without damaging them and reused in new buildings – and to turn the process into a profitable business. The four-year project has received €12.5 million (approximately AUD 19.7 million) of funding under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. Concrete has been the world’s most commonly used building material for at least half a century. It accounts…
Winning design for Sara Hildén Art Museum selected
The winning design for the new Sara Hildén Art Museum building in Tampere, Finland has been announced. Organised by the Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, the Sara Hildén Foundation and the City of Tampere in cooperation with the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), an international architecture competition was held between August and December last year to determine the design for the building. According to the City of Tampere, a total of 472 competition entries were approved for the competition. The number of entries was among the highest ever submitted to an architectural competition in Finland. Last week Lumen Valo by…
A new approach to education design
Located 80 kilometres south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula, Victor Harbor High School is the first state high school to comprehensively employ principles of personalised learning into the design of its senior school campus. According to award-winning architectural firm, Hames Sharley, the formality of the traditional classroom is replaced with a more open, socially interactive, wireless technology environment comprising of flexible spaces, student commons, learning streets, courtyards and piazzas. The learning environment is one where students and teachers can socialise, exchange thoughts and ideas and acquire information either sitting at a desk, lounging on a sofa, on the carpet…
Playspace brings new joy to families at Wittunga Botanic Garden
An exciting new nature-themed playspace in Blackwood’s Wittunga Botanic Garden has officially opened, with the event attended by South Australian Minister for Environment and Water, the Hon David Speirs MP, and many locals and visitors. Construction on the new playground was funded under the $649 million Adelaide City Deal – a 10-year partnership between the Australian and South Australian governments, and the City of Adelaide. “This is a great example of how the City Deal is supporting Adelaide’s cultural and tourism economy, and providing a safe, fun environment for families to spend time together,” said Federal Minister for Communications, Urban…
Stunning entrance to Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre
A striking white ngutu – or ceremonial entranceway – will greet visitors at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. Called Te Aika, which means ‘the home people’ (te aika is a Ngāi Tahu version of te ahi kā: ‘the home fires burning’), the aluminium artwork recognises the mana of local hapu, Ngāi Tūāhuriri. Inspired by the southern maihi, or diagonal bargeboards, on whare on the bank of the Horotueka (Cam River), the design also reflects other influences. These include the kōtuku, a good omen; karanga weaving imagery as a tribute to Ngāi Tūāhuriri wāhine; the kahu huruhuru – or cloak – as…
Could this be the future of emergency housing?
Visitors to Geelong Design Week last weekend had the rare opportunity to take a guided tour of a new prototype one-bedroom unit – similar to a tiny house – designed to provide comfortable and sustainable emergency housing in areas hit by natural disasters. Known as Prefab21: Phoenix Response House, the prototype has been developed by academics and students at Deakin University's School of Architecture and Built Environment in conjunction with Geelong company, FormFlow. The prototype utilises new prefabrication technologies developed by FormFlow and includes a living space, bedroom and bathroom in a space measuring just 4 metres by 10 metres.…
Historic Sydney precinct joins National Heritage List
A slice of Sydney’s historic parks, gardens, streets and buildings dating to the first several decades of British settlement and associated with several people of importance in Australia’s cultural history including Bennelong, Governors Phillip and Macquarie and Francis Greenway have been added to Australia’s National Heritage List. The 100-hectare site on the eastern side of Sydney’s Central Business District, known as Governors’ Domain and Civic Precinct, covers the First Government House site, Hyde Park Barracks, the Conservatorium of Music (former government stables), the Mint and Parliament House (former Rum Hospital), Hyde Park, the Domain, Macquarie Place and the Royal Botanic…