The Department of Defence has emerged as a design leader in Queensland after cluster of new and revamped buildings for Australian soldiers was awarded top honours in the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2011 North Queensland Regional Architecture Awards.

The Stage 4 Redevelopment of Lavarack Barracks near Townsville by BVN Architecture picked up the William Hodgen Award for Building(s) of the Year.

Lavarack Barracks is located on a 400 hectare site and is home to the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade and a number of supporting units.

The Stage 4 Redevelopment includes new offices, workshops and logistical facilities, all designed to reflect their working functions and the tropical climate and landscape in which they operate.

The awards jury comments: “This large scale project made up of over 80 smaller and some more substantial buildings and adaptive re-use of existing structures is a consistently well researched and environmentally and visually flexible suite of solutions to the individual building requirements.’

BVN Architecture has been responsible for the design of many stages of the Lavarack Barracks redevelopment since 2000, and the firm notes that this latest honour takes to 14 the number of awards given to Lavarack buildings.

The jury commended BVN Architecture on “the skilful delivery of many building types within the highly controlled financial, functional and bureaucratic constraints of the armed services culture…the end result is a successful complex of simple execution.”

David Kelly, principal, BVN Architecture says: “Lavarack Barracks set a new benchmark for good design in defence projects back in 2000 and this latest award demonstrates the Department of Defence’s ongoing commitment to well designed facilities to support their personnel.”

All up, 11 architectural projects were entered in this year’s awards. In addition to the Barracks, four regional commendations were awarded to: Unit 1201 Aquarius on the Beach by Architects North; Opposite Lock by Guymer Bailey; Tranquillity Base by ARM; and, JCU Discovery Rise by Architectus.

All commendation recipients are now in the running for Queensland Architecture Awards, to be announced in Brisbane on Friday 24 June.

Architecture & Design Team

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