1 Bligh, photography by HG Esch
The Commercial Architecture Awards have been taken out by architectus + ingenhoven architects, Grieve Gillett and Cox Richardson (architects in association) and Folk Archtiects.
The Harry Seidler Award for Commercial Architecture was taken out by architectus + ingenhoven architects for the design of 1 Bligh Street, Sydney.
The jury said:
"This distinguished high-rise commercial building comfortably fits into its urban context. It contributes to the quality of Sydney’s diverse skyline and acts as a new benchmark for quality and sustainability for this building type.
Photography by H.G Esch
The elliptical form aligns with the city grid and is orientated towards the harbour, maximising views and creating premium office space and a quality work environment. The reduced building footprint creates a significant new north-facing public space. A broad staircase rises to the sheltered wintergarden, which affords an ideal place to sit in the sun and overlook an extended Farrer Place.
The innovative floor plate, with atrium and glazed lifts, minimises the enclosed core area, and maximises views and natural lighting across a large and flexible floor area. A central atrium runs the full height of the building, enhancing workplace connectivity while introducing natural illumination and ventilation. The design of the roof space and location of a central plant are carefully considered and add to the quality spaces within.
The fully glazed double skin facade is a major contributor to the building’s 6 Star Green Star rating. The facade system includes an inner skin of performance glass, automated venetian blinds and an outer skin of clear glass separated by a naturally ventilated, externally accessible cavity.
All aspects of this impressive commercial building have been carefully considered and meticulously and consistently crafted."
Photography by H.G Hesch
Grieve Gillett and Cox Richardson (architects in association) have won the National Award for Commercial Architecture for Adelaide Studios.
The jury said:
"Located within the heritage core of the former Glenside Hospital, Adelaide Studios provides the highly regarded South Australian film industry with a world-class home. The listed administration building accommodates the SA Film Corporation and film industry tenants. Years of ad hoc alterations were removed, enabling the building’s quiet grandeur to be appreciated once more and providing a spacious context for the crisp new fitout.
New construction to the east houses state-of-the-art film production facilities. The design caters for varying production sizes and stages of production, enabling the filming of two productions, sound editing and pre-production to occur simultaneously. Film is the primary market; however, sound stage two is also designed for television, further diversifying the studios’ operational capabilities. Technically, the new facilities achieve industry best practice, providing high levels of acoustic performance.
Despite the scale required for the new facilities, significant views of the historic precinct from Fullarton Road and along the significant east/west axis of the hospital have been preserved. Three courtyards link old and new, providing breakout spaces away from the intensity of filmmaking and further defining the axis. Both the old and new architecture have a robust, no-nonsense character, resulting in an experientially rich and stimulating environment."
Photography by Peter Barnes
The Medhurst Winery - Folk Architects Pty Ltd has won a National Commendation for Commercial Architecture.
The jury said:
"Folk Architects has designed a new winemaking facility for Medhurst Wines in Victoria’s Yarra Valley that is completely embedded into the landscape and defined by a series of horizontal elements that follow the contours of the site. Nestled quietly into an existing hill to reduce its visual impact on the landscape, the building accentuates its natural setting by framing views to the surrounding Warramate Hills Nature Conservation Reserve.
The programmatic requirements, orientation and restrained material palette have been thoroughly evaluated and considered in order to reduce the building’s energy use and provide a sustainable outcome. The landscaped green roof covering the barrel store provides thermal mass to reduce the requirement for mechanical cooling of stored wine. By placing the barrels under earth less evaporation (‘the angels’ share’) of the wine occurs.
Similarly, the heat-reflective, translucent plastic cladding to the northern facade of the winemaking area allows artificial lighting to be replaced with filtered natural sunlight.
The new winery sits adjacent to an existing cellar door and is very much intended to enable public engagement with the winemaking process. A meandering path leads patrons from wine tasting through a series of landscaped spaces to views of the production area and vines beyond."
Photography by Peter Bennetts