GC30+: Documenting the Gold Coast Architecture Awards, 1984-2013 by andrew leach

URP Research Monograph 15

Documenting the Gold Coast Architecture Awards 1984Ââ&#x20AC;&#x201C;2013 Andrew Leach, Katherine Rickard & Finn Jones Urban Research Program 1

Andrew Leach, Katherine Rickard & Finn Jones

Documenting the Gold Coast Architecture Awards 1984–2013

Every effort has been made to correctly identify owners of the images reproduced herein. Interested parties are welcome to contact the publisher. Cover photograph by John Gollings ISBN 978-0-987-6055-2-8 ebook ISBN 978-0-987-6055-7-3 paperback

Published by the Urban Research Program, Griffith University Q4222 Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x192; (c) Griffith University

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Research for this book has been generously supported by the Australian Institute of Architects, Griffith University (through its Industry Collaboration Scheme) and the Australian Research Council (as Future Fellowship project FT120100883). The authors wish to note with thanks the generosity of the practices, photographers and clients who kindly supplied the images and other materials that have been included in this volume.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Andrew Leach is Professor of Architectural History at Griffith University, where he is an ARC Future Fellow and Deputy Director of the Urban Research Program. His books include The Baroque in Architectural Culture 1880-1980, What is Architectural History?, Manfredo Tafuri and Campus Confessions. Katherine Rickard is a registered architect and manager of the Gold Coast studio of Mode Design Corp and a tutor in architectural history at Griffith University. Her research on post-war Gold Coast hotels has been published in the Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand. Finn Jones is director of Finn & Co. He has been the Principal Architect and Urban Designer at the City of Gold Coast and chair of the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers region of the Australian Institute of Architects. He teaches architectural design and technology at Griffith University.

View south towards Greenmount Beach Resort, Coolangatta (opposite) and north towards Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise, from Burleigh Heads Photographs by Andrew Leach

Left: Tiki Village International Resort, Media Five, Surfers Paradise, completed 1982 Below: Soul, DBI Design, Surfers Paradise, completed 2012 Render (below) by Warren Coyle, images courtesy DBI Design

THIRTY YEARS AND COUNTING The decision to establish the Gold Coast Architecture Awards in 1984 responded

The Gold Coast Architecture Awards were self–styled from Southport to

to a timely confluence of motivations and circumstances affecting the Gold

Coolangatta as the Architectural Oscars and they conducted a battle on two

Coast city–region and its architects. The previous decade had seen tremendous

fronts: to demonstrate the value of the work of architects on the Gold Coast

growth in the permanent and temporary populations of the southeast corner

to this adolescent city; and to prove the worth of the Gold Coast to a national

of Queensland and its coastal cities in particular, provoking a substantial high–

architectural culture that had weighed it in the balances and found it curious

rise building boom centred on Main Beach and Surfers Paradise. The number of

but wanting. Gold Coast architects were making a city and in a culture of

architects active on the Gold Coast more than doubled in this time. The professional

experimentation in which anything was possible.

landscape transformed from one in which architects were in sustained competition

In this objective, the Gold Coast had to contend with some baggage. A

with designer–builders to realise single family dwellings and low–rise tourism

generation earlier, coinciding with the City of Gold Coast receiving its charter,

accommodation to one dominated by the design and construction of high rises,

the RAIA journal Architecture in Australia had in 1959 published a monographic

which even when realised in the manner of a shoot–from–the–hip approach to

issue on the Coast that became one of the first instances in which Australian

property development necessitated the architect’s expertise. The Gold Coast’s

architecture had turned in a serious way to this city–region—which had grown

architects nonetheless needed to position themselves publicly in a moment when

from next to nothing to way too much, as it were, from isolated instances of

the effects of their practice were themselves becoming more decisively public: not

speculative subdivisional development and an industry based on sugar and timber

simply for designing bespoke houses and monumental moments in a city that had

to become the Australian capital of recreation. The journal took the temperature

clearly taken off—and would, it rightly seemed, continue to do so—but also for the

of Australian architecture’s touchiness to the Gold Coast’s troubling idiosyncrasies:

shear volume of projects that was shaping the morphology of the city and marking

“When sensitive individuals,” the editorial reads, “begin to speak of lovely

out the lines of its future development.

coastlines still unspoilt by man and begin to fear that development may equal

In designing apartment towers, resorts, shopping malls, casinos and theme

despoliation, one indeed must wonder about the condition of our civilisation. The

parks, architects were redrawing the city’s skyline, which consequently changed

present regional picture of the Gold Coast seems to underline all those anxieties

year to year. And while setting out to prove something to the city’s population

and fears.” It goes on: “Without hesitation and with much splendid foresight [the

and those who saw scope for investment opportunities along its golden beaches,

Constituted Authority] should tackle and solve the burning problems of roadways,

the Gold Coast Division (as it was first called) of the (formerly Royal) Australian

townscapes, localities, waterways and parks: the gold of the Coast otherwise

Institute of Architects (RAIA) also took on the task of reversing the image

will turn to dross in less than a generation’s time.” This turned out to be no

maintained elsewhere in Australia of the Gold Coast as a kind of cultural dead spot.

isolated expression of reticence. For many years the relation between individual

architectural achievements and the stakes held therein of the entire city were at

a fresh start into a touchstone for a determined effort to lift the local game so

the forefront of Australia’s reception of Gold Coast architecture.

as to prove Gruzman and his cobelligerents wrong. Indeed, invited to comment

Peter Kollar made his own assessment known in this same issue of Architecture

on the occasion of the tenth and twentieth Gold Coast Architecture Awards,

in Australia, being that the “grave mistakes that abound on the Gold Coast from

Gruzman conceded that much had already been done to attend to those of the

a regional planning point of view must be clear to anybody looking upon the

city’s failings that had prompted his suggestion of 1984, even if there remained

spectacle from unbiased eyes.” But these are only mistakes if one assumes that

some distance to go in improving the city’s urban design as it continued to grow

the maturity of a new city can be planned meticulously from its foundations,

and grow. If it was not without company, it was still a patronising view. Malcolm

and if one allows that the kind of unexpected growth as sustained by the Gold

Cummings held this mirror up to the city’s critics in an interview in 2013: “It’s

Coast in the decades leading up to Queensland’s centennial year of 1959 (and

interesting how architects would come up to the Gold Coast and criticise the

continuing beyond) could be absorbed effortlessly into forward thinking of

buildings. There are a lot of buildings in Sydney you could say could be bulldozed

an exceptional prescience. In 1960 Robin Boyd called the Gold Coast a “poor

into the sea.”

man’s Miami,” pointing to its abundance of tastelessness and the concomitant

The Gold Coast Division of the RAIA had been established to bring together the

relaxation of the culture the produced it—the curious mix of Australian society

small number of architects working on the Gold Coast in “a structured way,” to

and American style that he thought to demonstrate, in its extremity, those

quote founding member Bill Heather. It also offered a chance to push back against

tendencies to which Australia would in time become subject. Culturally speaking,

the negative perceptions of the city and its architecture that had been fostered

the Gold Coast was Boyd’s canary in the mine of post–war Australian culture, and

throughout Australia. In a speech to the twentieth anniversary dinner of the Gold

for this reason the scorn and derision it sustained were inevitably tempered with

Coast Architecture Awards in 2003, Heather recalled that when he arrived to

an anxiety over where and how its symptoms might normalise elsewhere in the

set up an office of Melbourne firm Buchan, Laird & Bawden in 1972, there were

skin–deep ugliness he saw covering the cities of his country.

a mere dozen architects on the Coast, “thinly spread between Coolangatta to

Twenty–five years later, on the eve of the inaugural Gold Coast Architecture

“There are some great stories, though none of them are about architecture.” —Malcolm Cummings

Southport.” He recites a list: Col Merrin and Owen Ryan in Coolangatta, Robert

Awards, Sydneysider Neville Gruzman, an advocate for improved public space

Cummings (emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Queensland),

and amenity in his own city, suggested that the Gold Coast would best be served

Russ Gibbons at Mermaid Beach, Noel Edser and Bevan Whittington (Design

by a convoy of architects as concerned as he driving north in bulldozers and

Collaborative) on Chevron Island, George Dunlop and David Raby

nudging Surfers Paradise into the sea. The Gold Coast press and the Division’s

(working together with Heather at Buchan, Laird & Bawden in Surfers Paradise),

members gave this suggestion the attention it demanded, translating a call for

Malcolm Cummings (also then at Surfers Paradise), Andris Stenders, Ron Burling

and John Mobbs (all at the Southport office of Clarke Gazzard), as well as Les

pace of this development, especially in light of a decision by the Queensland

Nyerges, an architect with the Gold Coast City Council.

Government to waive death duties that saw an extraordinarily high and rather

As a member of the Institute’s National Membership Committee, Heather was

sudden investment in rental and vacation property from the southern states.

in regular contact with Chapter President David Phillips, who encouraged the small

“[Each] new project,” recalled Heather, “seemed to result in more local offices

group then comprising the Gold Coast Area Committee to consider the example

being set up by metropolitan or interstate firms, and once they were here, and

that had been set by the geographically vast North Queensland Division and to

their projects completed, these architects inevitably went into practice for

establish a Gold Coast Division—even using the North Queensland articles of

themselves.” Such firms as Burling Brown and the Davis Heather Group (later

association as the basis for the Gold Coast’s documents, which were adapted, as

Heather Thiedeke) were “producing interesting high rise apartments,” and

Heather recalled “to suit our needs.” While it would expand with time, the Pimpana

Conrad Gargett and Bill Job & Associates maintained “strong local offices.” Noted

River was taken as the initial northern border, with the state line defining the

Heather: “The profession was in good shape, and architectural design was making

Division’s southern boundary and the western border taking in Tamborine Mountain.

a difference to the look of the city.”

Looking back on the atmosphere of this time, John Mobbs had this to say in 2013: “It wasn’t as serious and heavy as it was in the cities, and I think there

in this way: “We’re a leisure city … and the people who migrated here were a

was a bit of jealousy because they weren’t having the same fun that we were

different type of person …. There was always an attitude here that if you wanted

having up here. Clients were more ready to accept more innovative solutions to

to try something, do it. In architecture we’ve got some horrible examples and

projects. Also, a lot happened here in a very short time.” Competition for work

we’ve got some fantastic examples, but if you’re not going to experiment you’re

was fierce, but the Huntington Club offered a venue for the Area Committee to

not going to get anywhere.” A “portfolio of experiments” (as Philip Follent has

meet on a regular basis, a practice carried forward as the Gold Coast Division was

put it), the Gold Coast at once offered a challenge to good taste and a model

established. As Cummings had it: “The Huntington Club provided a marvellously

for the architect’s optimism. If this was true of Gold Coast architecture more

talented international chef, though we couldn’t figure how he came to be stuck at

broadly—and especially in the residential tower—then it was particularly so in the

the Huntington. And a wonderful cellar. It really was a marvellous cellar! We had

work the profession itself put forward for the Gold Coast Architecture Awards.

some very good nights. There are some great stories, though none of them are

The program was born out of the simple if strategic desire to demonstrate the

about architecture. There was never much discussion about architecture.”

best work of the Gold Coast’s architecture profession, but it would come to

Cummings was the first chair of the Gold Coast Division, serving from 1974

a form of originality and variety it held to be its own—a rare instance from the

Barry Barnes, Bill Heather (1979–82), who was in turn followed by Peter Clarke

1980s of architects and developers sharing the same page—and its relationships

(1982–84), Don Williamson (1984–86), Alan Griffith (1986–88), Alan Hayes

with Queensland, Australia and the cities, regions and countries against which it

(1988–90), Deborah Carlile (1990–92) and Mark Trotter (1992–94). During

could legitimately define itself, which across its history would span from Miami to

Trotter’s tenancy as chair a reorganisation of the Queensland Chapter of the RAIA

Honolulu to Dubai.

In a talk to the 1978 Queensland RAIA Chapter Convention “Insite/Outsight,”

went on to be chaired by Bill Giles (1994–98), Greg Forgan–Smith (1998–

Bill Heather emphasised the distinctiveness of Gold Coast architecture within

2002), Brett Saville (2002–2006), Finn Jones (2006–12), Amy Degenhart

the state’s professional and cultural landscape. Speaking, he said, as “a provincial

(2012–14) and, currently, Greg Ewart.

observer from that area you regard as a kind of ‘architectural purgatory’,” he

The Division’s numbers ballooned from the middle of the 1970s as a sustained

Photographs by Studio Sept, courtesy Buchan Group

define the character of the Division (ten years old at their outset), its defence of

in a committee including Bill Heather and John Mobbs. He was succeeded by

reconfigured the Division into the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Region, which

Harbour Town, Buchan Group, Biggera Waters, completed 1999

With a degree of hindsight, Greg Forgan–Smith summed up the situation

thought Brisbane architecture could use “a dose of the sunshine and sensuality

development boom and a significant rise in population saw 160 new towers of

associated with the Coast.” Reflecting on the relationship of the new Gold

ten floors or more built across a twelve–year period (as a slightly unbalanced

Coast Division to the Queensland Chapter (“we are small cheese to you city

point of comparison, the number of buildings of twelve storeys and above would

slickers”), he observed: “We are more prone to ask ‘what do we get out of the

reach 216 by 2004). Economic conditions were favourable for the scale and

Institute’ and be less satisfied with the usual reply of ‘whatever you put into it.’

Nonetheless, we are making progress towards that essential axiom at the heart of the matter—the Institute is you fellow architects—not a building or a thing or

Architecture Awards rewarded the projects that took the city with them. The role of publicist Ken Newton and journalist Brian Mossop in promoting

an institution, but members and their relationship to each other.” He continued:

the awards cannot be overstated. Nor can their part in the achievement of the

“There is good reason why Brisbane is the branch office capital of Australia and

ambitions of the city’s architects. With Newton’s guidance, especially, the Gold

why its architects suffer from a kind of ‘architectural colonialism’: even if some of

Coast Division affected a meaningful engagement with the public, and the

the empires are staffed by natives recruited in the colony, sluggish as they may

Gold Coast Bulletin (where Mossop was on staff) maintained its long–standing

be. The two main problems confronting the Institute here today are inertia and

interest in issues around architecture, development and the city—for many

complacency. Inertia because there is a great resistance to change and lack of

years being represented on the state–appointed jury by its editor or other senior

momentum in the way things are done. Complacency because there is a lack of

staff, and often Mossop himself. Newton and Mossop saw the need to shape

outward vision about what could be done. We are in the right place at the right

the way the public understood and valued architecture, and sought to shift

time, but our sights are set too low and no one cares. We are at the threshold of

the public perception of the architect’s contribution to the Gold Coast for the

the most challenging period of this State’s growth.”

better. The Division produced a guide to engaging an architect’s services as a

Heather asserted that Queensland as a whole and Brisbane in particular had

direct marketing effort, but its public presence was most directly felt in the clear

let pass the opportunity to realise a moment akin to that faced by Chicago in

and impassioned communiqués issued by Newton’s media office on behalf of

the 1880s, but that the Gold Coast was not, for better or worse, prepared to

the Gold Coast Division of the RAIA. Their many years of service to Gold Coast

do so. “Impatience and ambition should be the order of the day—a restructuring

architecture decisively shaped the public appreciation of architectural and urban

of our activities should attempt to tap the vitality of the small cell rather than

issues in the city and its region—and their contribution is fittingly captured in

let the inertia of the large organism choke the system.” Inviting his audience to

the naming of the People’s Choice Award in their honour. The Awards took what

“substitute personal action for collective inertia,” he offered the Gold Coast as an

the architects were doing and built up its popular image among the Gold Coast

example to the state. If Queensland architecture were only prepared to loosen

public while affording the local profession a chance to take a very public stance

ties, shed vests and trade lethargy for an optimism ready to absorb mistakes as it

on the kind of architectural work that deserved the recognition and praise that

moved insistently forward, “we on the Gold Coast will offer you encouragement

the public, thanks to Newton and Mossop, were now prepared to give it. This

periodically and example where necessary.”

clearly raised the stakes for the Gold Coast architecture fraternity, since with

The Gold Coast was hardly invisible to the rest of the State and, indeed, Gold Coast projects had from time to time done well in the Queensland Architecture Awards. Hayes and Scott’s Miller House in Southport—with its gold–coloured

opportunities for innovation and experimentation came, too, the possibility of a highly visible endorsement or a silent reprimand from an architect’s peers. A definition of “good architecture” is notoriously difficult to pin down—and for

front door—had been named Queensland House of the Year in 1965, and the

good reason. For the Gold Coast Architecture Awards the benchmarks were in

early 1970s saw The Anchorage apartment block (Clarke, Gazzard at Budds

each year set by a jury comprising architects from within and beyond the region

Beach) receive an award at state level. Before the Queensland Chapter took

and members of both the building industry and an engaged public. For the first

up the model of the Gold Coast Architecture Awards for a state–wide regional

decade, spanning from the inception of the awards to their incorporation into a

awards programme, projects submitted to both the Gold Coast and Queensland

State awards programme feeding the Queensland Architecture Awards, decisions

awards in the same year had no certainty that strong performance on the Gold

were taken by a jury of three, ordinarily comprising two members of the Gold

Coast would lead to State recognition—or that failure to secure awards at

Coast Division and a third juror drawn from outside the region. In these first years

divisional level would undermine success in Brisbane.

the Gold Coast Division appointed each jury and the decisions it took did not

Simply speaking, the Gold Coast Architecture Awards were judged on criteria that shifted from year to year, responding to the evolving opportunities and problems faced by Gold Coast architects as they went about their work. And until their regularisation within astate–wide regional awards cycle, the Gold Coast

affect a project’s capacity to be entered into the state–level competition (which fed, naturally enough, into the National Awards).

Broadwater Parklands, WhiteArchitecture and AECOM, Southport, completed 2009 Photograph by Scott Burrows, courtesy Rothe Lowman (formerly Rothe Lowman White)

The inaugural awards saw Balwant Saini (a professor at the University of Queensland’s Department of Architecture) and

Within a decade of their establishment the Gold Coast awards would set the standard for the Australian Institute of

Rita Adviev (an architecturally trained, Melbourne–based building industry consultant) take the decisions. Ian Douglas

Architects’ Queensland Chapter. In 1992 the Queensland Chapter adopted the Gold Coast’s model for the state awards

(Melbourne) and Dudley Wilde (Immediate Past President of the Queensland Chapter of the RAIA) helped judge the 1985

program and rolled it out across all the Queensland regions. This was hailed as a great coup for Gold Coast, which had

awards; 1986 saw Neville Quarry (Sydney) and David Nutter (Queensland Institute of Technology) join Don Williamson in

demonstrated the value of rewarding work at a regional level, but it became quickly apparent that there was little room

the jury; Michael Keniger (UQ) and Daryl Jackson (Sydney) in 1987; Sunshine Coast architect Geoffrey Pie and Western

left in these new arrangements for regional distinctions. The enthusiastic group that had seen the Gold Coast Architecture

Australian Louise St John Kennedy in 1988; Lionel Glendinning (Sydney) and Brisbane–based Robin Spencer in 1989;

Awards established and worked to secure their local importance was obliged to give way to policies, procedures and

Bernard Joyce (Joyce Nankivell of Melbourne) and Sunshine Coaster Lindsay Clare in 1990; and Ken Down (another

judgment criteria intended to make the awards process manageable and consistent across the entire state, leaving little

Sunshine Coaster) joining Jeffrey Howlett (WA) for the 1991 awards. Entries were publicly exhibited, and by the 1990s the

room (as many had cause to recall) for variety, originality, spontaneity or the kind of specificity demanded by the Gold

public was invited to weigh in through a popular vote to parallel the decisions of jurors.

Coast. Jury appointments, for one, were now made by the Queensland Chapter, with the State Awards Director initially

The jury was responsible for visiting each submission and holding a discussion in which projects were held up for

taking responsibility for the juries assessing the Gold Coast (which, importantly, involved the regular involvement of a lay

examination against criteria that were, in part, treated as natural, but which year by year revealed the preoccupations

juror—often representing the Bulletin, as noted above), and increasingly playing an active part in assessing that same work,

of the jury. What makes a work of architecture good? Why does one project deserve an award over the others? Or the

with progression to the Queensland and National Architecture Awards clearly in mind.

judges’ commendation? The answers were many and varied: detailing, response to context, response to brief, budgetary

These changes occurred as the Gold Coast Division was re–structured into a region more directly accountable to the

responsibility, economic impact, attention to the environment, expression of the landscape, expression of lifestyle,

Queensland Chapter—that also quickly accommodated the Northern Rivers region in New South Wales within what had

expression of the city, and on it went. Is good Gold Coast architecture especially good if it would also be considered good

been increasingly recognised as a coherent cross–border architectural culture. Fulton Trotter Gilmour Moss had maintained

elsewhere (where elsewhere, more often than not, meant Brisbane)? Taken year by year the relationship between the

an office in Tweed Heads and were acutely aware of the strong logic in ignoring the state border in favour of a regional

values given away in the jury summations and premiated projects is not difficult to map (the individual year–by–year

architectural culture—the establishment of a Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Region hence logically built on an initiative

summaries that follow convey the record in this regard), but the overall picture is of a series of juries understanding the role

led by Mark Trotter during his tenure as chair of the Gold Coast Division. The Gold Coast itself was undergoing change at

of the awards as being to move the city forward by rendering public the best examples of architectural practice. The awards

the same time, substantially increasing its municipal geography and population in the 1995 amalgamation with Albert River

did not track fashion (although they did this, too) so much as they plotted new ideas—ostensibly focussing on the future

Shire—necessitating a fresh approach to city planning and management that had direct implications for the role of architects

rather than the present, and on the capacity of the profession in its entirety as revealed in the work submitted for review.

both in private practice and in relation to the significantly enlarged and conspicuously less laissez–faire City Council.

Metricon Stadium, Populous, Carrara, 2009-2011 Photograph by Scott Burrows, courtesy Populous

“Impatience and ambition should be the order of the day.” —Bill Heather

Gold Coast Rapid Transit Corridor Study: GCRT 2013, HASSELL, 2010-2011 Image courtesy HASSELL

All of this affected the momentum of work and debate on the Gold Coast and introduced new accountabilities in both

Yet the Gold Coast had become aware of its own heritage, and even influenced, he noted, by the character it sought to distil

procedure and the values shaping architectural quality. The energy, speed and the qualities Heather had espoused in

from it. Recalling the concurrent Canberra centenary and the loose comparison it offered with the evening’s celebrations, he

1978 could no longer set the tone in what had become an inexorable tendency towards greater regulation, both in local

observed that “while Canberra began as a conservative home for bureaucrats, it now wants to be fun”; and “while Surfers

architects’ relationship with their Institute and in the city as an environment for architectural experimentation.

began as a fun place, it now wants to be taken seriously.” The challenge, we well surmise, it to take Gold Coast architecture

The city grew enormously in these middle years and so did the numbers of architects practising on the Gold Coast. Those still actively engaged and advocating for Gold Coast architects and architecture found themselves regularly feeling

seriously on its own terms, and in this the job of documenting its history and that history’s key actors and events is paramount. With DBI’s Soul marking one kind of end to a phase of high–rise building emerging from the grim depths of the Global

hamstrung in their ability to shape the direction of the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Region—to retain the character of

Financial Crisis—and with it, a kind of terminus—the Gold Coast remains at the cusp of realising a series of projects

the group that had established the Institute’s presence on the Gold Coast in the early years. As the number and profile of

of decisive importance for the city. Preparations for the 2018 Commonwealth Games are enlivening the city’s sports

architects and practices was growing and changing, so too was the city. The regional focus shifted away from the direct

infrastructure and further development of the Broadwater Parklands will boost public amenity. The 2013 competition for a

public engagement fostered by Newton and Mossop to an engagement with the Gold Coast City Council and Tweed Shire

new Cultural Precinct at Evandale (Bundall) brought international attention and a large suite of proposals for the treatment

Council—with their various stakeholders and an increasingly dominant planning profession. The regional group, of their own

of that crucial site—on which Ashton Raggatt McDougall will realise a complex accommodating a broad programme of

accord, took an active role in encouraging the City of Gold Coast Council to establish an urban design advisory board for the

arts, cultural and other forms of public function. The realisation of the Jewel in the Crown development (Oppenheim and

city, which when established opened the way for the appointment of a City Architect and the establishment of a Council–

DBI for RDG) will open up new possibilities for multiple building high–rise projects in the zone between southern Surfers

driven awards cycle to reward the best instances of urban design.

Paradise and Broadbeach. Sunland Group’s proposal for a Zaha Hadid-designed tower complex at Mariner’s Cover on The

As the guest of honour at the Gold Coast (and Northern Rivers) thirtieth annual regional Architecture Awards (2013),

Spit suggests further exciting possibilities in the city’s new architecture. The rapid transit corridor from Broadbeach to

His Excellency Michael Bryce—an architect and Gold Coast native—chastised the “literati” and their scorn of ‘the decorative

Parklands has reinforced these possibilities since the light rail units first opened their doors in the middle of 2014, just as

nature of the Gold Coast’s early ‘motel’ architecture ... eminently suited [as it was] to the strong sunlight and pastel

the urban consolidation on the Parklands Health and Knowledge Precinct (Griffith University and Gold Coast University

surfaces—a playfulness that in its kitsch somehow was truthful to its role as a resort town.”

Hospital), around Varsity Lakes (including Bond University and its new building for the Soheil Abedian School of Architecture

by CRAB), at Helensvale (including a new library by Lahz Nimmo and Complete

Abri Home for the Aged, Conrad Gargett, Southport, 1980-1983

Urban) and elsewhere suggest moments from which the Gold Coast will continue to assert itself by means of its architecture—and continuing to offer local

realised in the greater Gold Coast region over the course of the last thirty-five

Photograph by Richard Stringer, courtesy Conrad Gargett

practitioners and firms from outside the city, state and nation a fertile venue for

years to have received awards, commendations and citations in the Gold Coast

experimentation.

Architecture Awards. With more than two hundred projects recognised in these

In the most straightforward terms, this book documents those projects

In the Jeff Licence film Drawn Here, Barry Lee suggested that “the fact that

Awards, we have done our best to reconstruct an historical record, drawing on

the Gold Coast has been seen as something of a backwater has less to do with

documents that have been meticulously maintained by Ken Newton alongside

the quality of the architecture than with the quality of the discourse.” This book

records of the RAIA, holdings of the Local Studies Library at Southport, reportage

is intended as one step of several to remedy that imbalance. This volume does

in the Gold Coast Bulletin (a long-term mainstay of the region’s architecture

not set out to offer a critical history of Gold Coast architecture; that is reserved

awards), and the records of architectural practices, photographers and clients—

for other books for which the research and writing are underway. It does not set

all of which were generously offered in support of this attempt to document a

out to problematise regional distinctions and identity, to test the terms under

key moment in the architectural and cultural history of the Gold Coast.

which quality has been assessed, or to fit the postmodern and contemporary

It may be, as many have said, that change is the Gold Coast’s only constant.

architecture of the Gold Coast into regional, national or international narratives.

Some buildings, and especially interiors and public space works, have enjoyed a

GC30+ instead presents the work on its own terms, with judgments framed

brief life span before the wrecking balls of progress swung into view.

(where possible) against the composition and preoccupations of juries, and with

And for having seen practices merge and dissolve, or for being long satisfied

a conscientious attempt to avoid relitigating decisions that, with the benefit

with jobs well done, not all the architects whose work is represented here have

of hindsight, one might start to question. This is a first stage in the broader

maintained records of that work once held by their peers and colleagues to

reassessment of Gold Coast architecture: gathering and sorting out materials,

be worthy of note. Despite our efforts, then, not every project to receive a

including the way that the architecture profession came to present itself to

commendation, citation or award is represented here. Preparation of this book

the Gold Coast public, how it positioned itself within and against the currents

has been a task of piecing together an image from all manner of sources and

of Queensland’s professional architectural culture, and how it established and

admitting when some parts of the puzzle have escaped our notice or been

maintained—increasingly against the odds—a measure for architecture on the

hidden too well. At least for now.

Gold Coast that responded to the conditions of architectural practice and to the

nature of the city-region in which that work was undertaken.

ANDREW LEACH & FINN JONES

A NOTE ON SOURCES

Many of the observations synthesised above reflect a discussion held during a lunch meeting of the past and present chairs of the Gold Coast Division and Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Region of the (Royal) Australian Institute of Architects (Surfers Paradise Hilton, Friday November 16, 2012)—a reprise of the Friday lunches dating to the early days of the Gold Coast’s architecture fraternity. Present were Amy Degenhart (then serving as chair) along with Deborah Carlile, Malcolm Cummings, Greg Forgan-Smith, Alan Griffith, Alan Hayes, Bill Heather, Finn Jones, Nathan Quartermaine, Brett Saville and Mark Trotter, as well as Sarah Batchelor, Andrew Leach, Brian Mossop, Ken Newton, and Jeff Licence, who documented the discussion for the short film Drawn Here (Tiger Monkey, online at youtube.com). Balancing the recollections tabled in this meeting, the Gold Coast Architecture Awards Archive—compiled and maintained over many years by Ken Newton and now (temporarily) held at Griffith University includes a large clippings archive from regional newspapers with ties to the Gold Coast and a substantial number of press releases. In more recent years covered by Gold Coast participation in Queensland’s regional awards cycle, coverage, jury comments and project descriptions are readily available online through the AIA Awards Gallery. This essay makes direct reference to the following published works: Paul Burton, “Adolescent Urbanism: The Growing Pains of the Gold Coast,” Geodate 25, no. 2 (May 2012): 8-11; “The Gold Coast,” special issue, Architecture in Australia 48, no. 1 (January-March 1959); Robin Boyd, The Australian Ugliness (Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1960); 20/20 Vision (Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Region, RAIA, 2003); Bill Heather, “Bordering on Sunshine and Sensuality,” talk to “Insite/Outsight,” Queensland Chapter Convention, RAIA, Brisbane, 1978 (manuscript, GCAAA); Gordon Holden, “What, if anything, can be made of the Gold Coast Urban Design Awards?” Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand 30, “Open,” edited by Alexandra Brown & Andrew Leach (Gold Coast: SAHANZ, 2013), www.griffith.edu.au/conference/ sahanz-2013

Top: Surfing Australia High Performance Centre, Phorm Architecture + Design and PentArchi Architecture, Casuarina, 2010-2012; bottom left: Parish Centre, Beaudesert, Tony Battams Architect, completed 2000; bottom right: Robertson Residence, Michael Witty Architects, Cabarita Beach, completed 1995 Photographs by Adnic Photographic Services, courtesy Phorm Architecture + Design; Andrew Leach; and courtesy Michael Witty, respectively

14 14

Opposite: Soul, Surfers Paradise, completed 2012; below, The Oracle, Broadbeach, completed 2011, DBI Design Images by Warren Coyle and Food Slicer (respectively), courtest DBI Design

1984

HIGH RISE AWARD Greenmount Guest House (opposite), Burling Brown Coolangatta, completed 1981 Drawing courtesy Burling Brown

The inaugural Gold Coast Architecture Awards received 34 submissions from practices on the Gold Coast and beyond.

Residence in West Tweed Heads (going on to receive a commendation in the Queensland architecture awards), as did Philip

The work submitted spanned across all building types from private houses to restaurant interiors to public buildings, and

Follent, whose house in the McPherson Ranges went on to win the Queensland House of the Year. Recognising institutional

offered what the Institute itself called “a cross-section of the Gold Coast lifestyle.” Projects had to have been realised (and

work, Eldon Bottcher and David Raby received a commendation for the Department of Social Security Building at Palm

substantially completed) in the five-year period leading up to a submission deadline of April 1984. As announced by the

Beach.

RAIA, submissions could “cover any architectural works including restored and recycled buildings, interior design, exhibition

“The nominations will go on public display in the Evandale City Council foyer for two weeks in the form of photographs

design, public utilities, and recreational design.” Observed Deborah Carlile, chair of the Gold Coast Division of the RAIA:

and drawings,” announced Carlile. “We will encourage the public to see the display as part of our campaign to have

“This region is unique in Australia with most of its development having taken place over the last quarter of a century. The

architectural input into this region recognised and appreciated.” This objective was pursued by means of a regional public

range of facilities and buildings required to meet its dynamic growth rate has provided enormous scope for design ideas.

programme in which the entries and winning projects were not only put on local display at Evandale (May 8-11), but in

The city takes an occasional knock from critics of so-called over development, but we hope that the architectural awards

the form of an exhibition of twenty models, “including the Gold Coast Conrad International Hotel and Jupiters Casino,”

will highlight the fact that a great deal of thought has been given to project design and that there are buildings of which the

headed north to Brisbane to be shown at the Community Arts Centre in Edward Street. This exhibition was supplemented

people can be justifiably proud.” The awards, she continued, served to “publically acknowledge and reward good architecture

by a lecture programme delivered at the University of Queensland by Gold Coast architects and scaffolded by the constant

in the Gold Coast region.”

presence during exhibition opening hours of Gold Coast Division members, who remained “on hand to explain their approach

Three jurors were assigned the task of awarding projects across a range of categories: Melbourne-based construction industry consultant and, at the time, president of the Urban Land Institute of Australia, Rita Avdiev; Balwant Saini, then

to Gold Coast Architecture.” Taken in light of the awards that would follow in the years after this inaugural event, the Gold Coast Architecture Awards

professor and head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Queensland; and Nicholas Walter, a partner in

of 1984 had set out to make a clear point: that the work being undertaken on the Gold Coast was worthy of recognition

the Gold Coast architectural firm of Buchan, Laird and Bawden and project architect for the Gold Coast Conrad Hotel and

and stood up against the best work in Queensland. Although responding to different circumstances and conditions of

Jupiters Casino—which, while entered in the awards, went unpremiated. The awards were announced at a gala function on

architectural practice, these projects were seen as welcoming a new moment of maturity for the Gold Coast.

May 11 and divided successful submissions into a number of categories—the later practice of naming an overall Building

Despite Neville Gruzman’s suggestion to bulldoze Surfers Paradise into the sea, the success of Gold Coast projects in the

of the Year would not follow for several years. Recognition was, in these inaugural awards, made on the basis of several

Queensland architecture awards, some weeks later, seemed to confirm this sense of the city-region’s architecture

category distinctions. The reconstructed Greenmount Beach Resort, by architects Burling Brown (pictured opposite at the

having come of age. / AL

design stage), received the award in the high rise category, while the low-rise awards went to the Abri Home for the Aged in Southport, by Conrad Gargett, and to St Kevin’s Catholic Primary School at Benowa, by the Davis Heather Group—with

Sources: RAIA media releases, April 19, May 4, 8, 1984 (GCAAA).

St Kevin’s, a fine example of postmodern humanism, going on to receive a Queensland Architecture Award for civic design. Malcolm Cummings secured the best house award for the Geraghty Residence at Nerang, while in the interior category the recently-established Gold Coast office of Media Five (under Desmond Brooks) was recognised for its work on Cavill’s Restaurant (not illustrated), part of the Tiki Village development at Surfers Paradise. Several “runners up” were named in each class, with the Greenmount Beach Resort joined by the Burleigh Heads high-rise The Esplanade, by Peter T. Clarke, and Tiki Village (taken as a whole), by Media Five. The Davis Heather Group also secured a commendation for the Taylor

1984

HIGH RISE AWARD

CITATION

Greenmount Guest House, Burling Brown, Coolangatta, completed 1981

The Esplanade, Peter T Clarke, Burleigh Heads, 1980-82

Drawing courtesy of Burling Brown and photographs by Andrew Leach

Photograph by Andrew Leach

1984

CITATION The Esplanade, Peter T Clarke, Burleigh Heads, 1980-1982 Photograph by Andrew Leach

1984

LOW RISE AWARD Abri Home for the Aged, Conrad Gargett, Southport, 1980-1983 Photograph by Richard Stringer, courtesy Conrad Gargett

1984

LOW RISE AWARD Abri Home for the Aged, Conrad Gargett, Southport, 1980-1983 Photograph by Richard Stringer, courtesy Conrad Gargett

1984

CITATION Tiki Village International Resort, Media Five, Surfers Paradise, completed 1982 Photographs and drawing courtesy DBI Design

1984

CITATION Tiki Village International Resort, Media Five, Surfers Paradise, completed 1982 Photograph courtesy DBI Design

1984

LOW RISE AWARD Saint Kevinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic Primary School, The Davis Heather Group, Benowa, 1977-1979 Photograph by Richard Stringer

1984

LOW RISE AWARD Saint Kevinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic Primary School, The Davis Heather Group, Benowa, 1977-1979 Photograph by Richard Stringer

1984

LOW RISE AWARD Saint Kevinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic Primary School, The Davis Heather Group, Benowa, 1977-1979 Photographs by Richard Stringer

1984

CITATION Department of Social Security (left), Eldon Bottcher and David Raby, Palm Beach, completed ca 1982 Photographs by Andrew Leach

HOUSE AWARD Geraghty Residence (top right), Malcolm Cummings, Nerang, completed 1982 Photograph courtesy Daily News (GCAAA clippings)

CITATION Heather Residence (above), The Davis Heather Group, Southport, completed 1983 Photograph by Richard Stringer

1984

CITATION

Taylorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Residence, The Davis Heather Group, West Tweed Heads, completed 1983

Greatorix Residence (opposite), Philip Follent, McPherson Ranges, completed 1983

Photographs by Richard Stringer

1984

1985

INTERIORS AWARD Millroys Jewellers (opposite), Scarborough Fair Shopping Centre, The Heather Thiedeke Group, Southport, completed 1984 Photograph by Richard Stringer

While the first Gold Coast Architecture Awards had been realised in a spirit of celebration, in their second year they took

In the open category the principal award went to the Cummings and Burns project for the Currumbin Engineering

on a distinct air of self-reflection. Among practitioners the level of interest was consistent with the 1984 awards, with 33

Administration Centre and Production Facility. Douglas described it as a “modest building,” admitting that “in the early

submissions being made from projects that had been completed in the previous five years. The jury once more comprised of

stages I [didn’t] think we thought this would rank highly.” Nonetheless, its adherence to the jury’s criteria for quality and

three building industry experts, chaired by Graeme Beedell—who brought to the task a decade’s experience of architectural

its consistently close attention to design and detail saw it rise above the pack. “It is interesting that a principal award

practice on the Gold Coast—and including Ian Douglas of the Victorian firm of Suendermann Douglas McFall and Dudley

should go to an engineering factory and office building rather than a prestige building. The Currumbin Engineering project

Wilde of the Brisbane practice of Goodsir Baker Wilde, who was also immediate past-president of the Queensland Chapter

is one of the best examples of good design I have seen in its attention to detail and unprepossessing interpretation.” In its

of the RAIA.

awards announcement the RAIA noted that “all the principal awards had gone to low budget buildings, without a big money

If Gruzman had a year earlier given Gold Coast architects a point to prove by recommending that the “horror” of Surfers Paradise be bulldozed into the Pacific, Douglas evidently set out to keep the region’s architects on their toes. A former partner of Roy Grounds and well versed in large-scale civic projects, he observed to the Gold Coast Bulletin that the

advantage, which highlighted good design and planning. Interstate judge Ian Douglas made special mention of the entries of Cummings and Burns saying they stood above the standards of competitors.” Cummings and Burns indeed also secured the award in the house category for its Paradise Homes display home at Robina,

architecture of Surfers Paradise, in particular, was a “fun and resort type architecture. This is a fun place and it produces fun

while the interior category was taken by the Heather Thiedeke Group for its rich design for Millroy’s Jewellers at Southport’s

architecture, not necessarily good architecture. There is little greatness or exhilaration about the architecture, although it

Scarborough Fair (now Australia Fair, pictured opposite), which otherwise escaped mention. The Heather Thiedeke Group

is difficult to produce brilliant buildings in this resort climate. However,” he conceded, “what is bad architecture to some is

further secured both commendations in the field of housing: for the Golden Grove Retirement Village at Southport and (as

good to others.”

the only high-rise building recognised in the 1985 awards) the 37-floor Atlantis tower, which had been completed in 1982

Photographs, plans and drawings representing the range of entries were once more put on display at the Gold Coast City Council’s civic centre at Evandale in the week leading up to the award announcements, which were made on May 10 at Cavill’s

on the MacIntosh Island development of Paradise Waters. The Gold Coast architecture awards still had a point to prove. After a year of celebration marked with clear successes

Restaurant—recipient of the previous year’s interiors award. Entries for 1985 included the Gold Coast Waterways Authority

further afield, in this year the Gold Coast’s architecture community was reminded that it would continue to be measured

building on The Spit, the Broadwater Tower of Bayview Harbour, Atlantis, Currumbin Palms, the Gateway Office building in

against rules that were not always sympathetic to the peculiar circumstances of the region’s architectural practice and

Surfers Paradise, the Scarborough Fair Shopping Centre (overlooking the Broadwater), and the National Australia Bank Building

production. /AL

in Surfers Paradise. These high profile projects were complemented by a number of smaller projects, buildings and houses. Despite the visibility of many of what the RAIA’s Gold Coast Division called “the Gold Coast’s most striking high rise buildings

Sources: Murray Simpson, “Search on Again for the Best Building Designs,” Gold Coast Bulletin, April 27, 1985; Tim Bailey,

and commercial properties,” the jurors insistently applied the criterion of “consistency of good design throughout the buildings,

“Modest Building Wins Main Award, High Rises Fail to Impress Judges,” Gold Coast Bulletin, May 11, 1985; “Architects

starting with the concept and going through to design details and function.” As reported in the Bulletin (“High Rises Fail to

Scoop Major Awards,” Daily Mail, May 11, 1985; RAIA media releases, April 24, May 8, 1985 (GCAAA).

Impress Judges”), “Graeme Beedell, who chaired the three-man judging panel, said high rise developments, by their very nature, were a difficult area in which to make architecture unique and special.” Only three projects met the standards set by the jury and alongside these winning entries two further commendations were made in a pool taken out entirely by Cummings and Burns and the Heather Thiedeke Group—extending their prior year’s success into the start of a string of awards and commendations at the regional level.

1985

COMMENDATION

HOUSE AWARD

Golden Grove Retirement Village (above and upper left), The Heather Thiedeke Group, Southport, completed 1983

Paradise Homes Display Home (left), Cummings and Burns, Robina, completed 1983 (held by juror Ian Douglas)

Photographs by Richard Stringer

Photograph courtesy Gold Coast Bulletin (GCAAA clippings)

1985

OPEN CATEGORY AWARD Currumbin Engineering Administration Centre and Factory Building (opposite), Cummings and Burns, Currumbin, 1983-84 Photographs by Andrew Leach

1985

COMMENDATION Atlantis, The Heather Thiedeke Group, Paradise Waters completed 1982 Photographs by Richard Stringer

1985

COMMENDATION Atlantis, The Heather Thiedeke Group, Paradise Waters completed 1982 Photographs by Richard Stringer

1986

CITATION Currumbin Sanctuary Play Park (opposite), Philip Follent, Currumbin, 1984-1985 Photograph by Richard Stringer, courtesy Philip Follent and Richard Stringer

Under the heading “Jurors in Judgment,” the RAIA made this comment on the eve of the 1986 Gold Coast Architecture

Peter Clarke also returned, together with Design Linkon, with a citation for the Kapalua Apartments, a “beach-front

Awards: “Gold Coast buildings are either loved or loathed, and over the years, the city has suffered more than its share of

medium-rise apartment block which responds sympathetically to sunlight, views in three directions and the local

critics. Local architects, however, are going all out to prove that the tourist resort does have heart and soul—and plenty of

micro-climate and provides to each apartment floor a quality of unostentatious luxury appropriate to beachside living.”

beautiful buildings to match its beautiful people.” The previous year’s awards, and Douglas’s assessment in particular, had

Residences by John Mobbs and Associates and Peter Jansen and Associates also drew the jury’s attention. Mobbs’ Nugent

presented an early setback in the quest to secure for Gold Coast architects due recognition of their work. The profession

Residence was commended as an “excellent example of a sensible and unpretentious residence planned as two separate

came out swinging, however, for the third annual Gold Coast Architecture Awards in what the Institute described as firing

but linked parent and young-adult family areas,” while the renovations and alterations made by Jansen for the Jones family

“another salvo in their campaign to be recognised as a major force in the moulding of the Gold Coast of the future.”

comprised “a very considerable transformation of a previous house, extended into expansive interior spaces and external

The 1986 awards secured honours for nine projects, more than had been awarded in the previous two iterations of

decks, with a sense of relaxed comfort and careful attention to decorative and structural timber detailing.” The Domain

the “Architectural Oscars”. The jury once again comprised three distinguished representatives of Australian architectural

Retirement Village, by Media Five, was rewarded for successfully balancing “the requirements of privacy and community

culture, being Neville Quarry—then Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Building at the New South Wales Institute of

by keeping to a domestic scale for the independent units, between which lushly landscaped pathways lead to the generous

Technology—as well as David Nutter from the Queensland Institute of Technology (as it then was) and Don Williamson,

club facilities and indoor and outdoor activities for its residents.” Philip Follent’s playground at Currumbin Sanctuary (pictured

who beside serving as Deputy Chair (and its immediate past Chair) of the Gold Coast Division of the RAIA brought to the

opposite) was noted for its “colour, fun, vitality and good humour . . ., the essence of all that is best in the Gold Coast spirit.”

jury what was at that time more than three decades of local practice experience through his management of the Gold Coast office of Conrad Gargett. None of the nine projects to secure jury citations received awards in either individual or open categories, as had been the

Consolidating the increased profile the awards had secured for the region’s architects, Division Chair Peter Clarke launched a brochure at the awards reception to further this task. Called Architects Designing the Future, it argued for the central role played by the architect in improving the quality of the urban environment. Of the overall quality of the projects

case in the previous two years, instead receiving recognition on equal terms. Both Cummings and Burns and the Heather

to receive citations in the 1986 Gold Coast Architecture Awards, the jury had this to say: “A robust regional style seems

Thiedeke Group were once again present in the line-up. The Cummings and Burns laboratory project for the Department of

to be emerging, expressed in architecture in as many different ways as there are lifestyles—some florid, some restrained,

Commercial and Industrial Development (DCID) in Labrador was noted as “an excellent example of an economical industrial

always alert and often adventurous. The new generation of development is of sufficient quality now that it should silence

building, achieved by a clever selection of structure and metal cladding systems, used consistently and logically, but also

those former critics and cultural cringers who used to enjoy knocking the Gold Coast. This region can now strike back with

[providing] porches which throw an interesting pattern of light and shade—touches of human pleasure amongst the

evidence of architecture.” /AL

scientific discipline.” The residence Riverland, by the Heather Thiedeke Group, presented “a formal and over-scaled entrance approach leading to gracious and informal interiors which progress in a low-key sequence to the charming, soft light of an

Sources: RAIA media releases, April 24, May 8, 16, 1986 (GCAAA).

atrium sitting room and to a large screened terrace—spaces fit for all seasons and moods.” Beyond the work of these Gold Coast awards regulars, David Raby once again received recognition for Eliza’s Restaurant and Cabaret (“all the elements of a smart and stylish venue, with its mirrors, brilliant skylights and flashing neon, showing a rare combination of vibrant wit and sophistication, all held together with a unifying colour scheme of black and red”—unillustrated here) and once more with Eldon Bottcher for the two-storey office building at Appel 66 (“a simple functional solution brightened by a delightful top lit entrance lobby and stairwell, approached off the street through a carefully landscaped forecourt”).

1986

CITATION Currumbin Sanctuary Play Park (above and opposite), Philip Follent, Currumbin, 1984-1985 Photograph by Richard Stringer, drawings by Philip Follent, courtesy Philip Follent and Richard Stringer

1986

CITATION

Appel 66 (above), David Raby and Eldon Bottcher, Surfers Paradise, completed 1985

The Domain (above and centre), Media Five, Southport, completed 1985

Photographs by Andrew Leach

Photographs courtesy DBI Design

1986

CITATION Jones House, Peter Jansen and Associates, Carrara, completed 1986 Photographs courtesy Peter Jansen

1986

CITATION

Riverland Residence, The Heather Thiedeke Group, Carrara, completed 1985

Nugent Residence (opposite), John Mobbs and Associates, Main Beach, completed 1985

Photographs by Richard Stringer

Photographs by Katherine Rickard (lower right) and Peter Johnson (courtesy of Bauer Media)

1986

CITATION Kapalua Apartments, Peter T Clarke and Design Linkon, Main Beach, completed 1985 Photograph by Katherine Rickard

1986

CITATION Kapalua Apartments (far left, and below), Peter T Clarke and Design Linkon, Main Beach, completed ca 1985 Photographs by Katherine Rickard

CITATION Department of Commerce and Industry Development Laboratory (left), Cummings and Burns, Labrador, completed 1985 Photograph courtesy Albert and Logan News (GCAAA clippings)

1987

CITATION St Vincent’s Parish Centre (opposite), The Heather Thiedeke Group, Surfers Paradise, completed 1986 Photograph by Richard Stringer

The Media Five project for the Gold Coast International Hotel (now QT) was one of six entries to the 1987 Gold Coast

A common thread was an overall high standard of detailing and architectural organisation, but some of the designs

Architecture Awards to receive a citation for its quality. The jury, led by Don Williamson of Brisbane firm Conrad Gargett,

chosen for overall excellence, did show the experimental flair the jurors had sought.”

commended the hotel interiors “for their delivery of architectural space, idea and cool comfort, without having to resort to

Among these, a house designed for his family by Peter Jansen, one-time student of Bruce Goff, received due recognition,

cliché.” The question of cliché was indeed central to the third of the Gold Coast’s “Architectural Oscars,” hosted in that very

with the jury describing it as “a personal emblem which appears as a distinctive, highly accomplished and refreshingly

hotel, as a jury that included “celebrity guest” RAIA gold medallist Daryl Jackson and University of Queensland academic

original, though mannered, piece of domestic architecture. It is expressive of Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic use of natural

Michael Keniger confronted the work the Gold Coast yet needed to do in its quest for urban maturity.

materials and spatial combination in which a dramatic series of interlocking interiors flows through a long plan to overlook

With three rounds of awards so far made in recognition of Gold Coast architecture, the divisional cycle had already

the river.” (The house has since been lost to fire.) It offered a “complete contrast” to a “very private” residence at Crystal

done much to enhance public appreciation of architectural quality in the region and to undo the image—maintained

Waters, Tweed Heads, which secured a citation for Mobbs, Thompson and Payne. Noted the jury: “the house took full

throughout the state and beyond—of the Gold Coast as a designer’s backwater. As local members of the RAIA conceded,

advantage of the climate with a well-ordered transition from inside to outside enabling all major spaces to enjoy both view

“In one of Australia’s fastest growing cities which less than three decades ago was little more than a collection of holiday

and breeze. [It] shows a particularly high standard of craftsmanship and attention to detail which is a credit to the builder,

homes and cow pastures, it has been hard to find an architectural individuality, so rapid has been the change.” The jurors’

client and architect.”

positioned the Gold Coast as a work in progress as it headed toward 1990. As Jackson noted in qualification of his basic

Citations went to David Raby’s refurbishment of The Patch at the Queensland Hotel, Coolangatta (not illustrated here)

recommendation that the city cut back on t-shirt shops and improve urban spaces: “This place has a magic quality, a sense

and the waterfront villas at Sanctuary Cove realised by the Hulbert Group with Cummings and Burns. The Davis Thiedeke-

of fantasy not obvious in other cities. But the best part about the Gold Coast, like most of Australia, is that it is still to be

led project for St Vincent’s Church at Surfers Paradise (pictured opposite) stood out for making “an enormous contribution

finished architecturally.”

to modern-day architecture in an era of flamboyancy . . .. [It was] a piece of genius work built on very simple lines to suit a

Jackson asserted that “the city was no longer simply a place to come for a holiday.” Keniger reinforced this view: “People are coming to the Gold Coast as much for the built environment as the natural environment of sand and surf. They want quality at

low budget.” As the jurors noted in their official statement, they were “interested in architecture that had an expressive imagery and

street level so the Gold Coast must not be allowed to become tatty as parts of Miami and Jersey City in America have done.

conveyed a central idea or plot beyond solving the functional or technical problems. In other words,” they continue, “we

There is a new level of sophistication in Australian holidaymakers now. They enjoy the modern hotels and apartment buildings but

would hope that architects will further enrich the nature of the city here, and would continue their search. This could include

despise the broken pavements, the lack of tree planting and public amenities they find outside . . .. How to enrich the diet …

further experimentation and the integration of high technology, for above all else, the Gold Coast must be future orientated

that’s the challenge!”

rather than merely reflective of an historic past.” /AL

For a jury preoccupied as much as with distinguished work being done in the region as with “designs that could emphasize the regional difference of the Gold Coast in its special setting as an Australian city of significance on the edge of the ocean,” the

Sources: RAIA media releases April 28, May 5, 7, 1987 (GCAAA).

choices were telling. Williamson observed that “there was still a long way to go . . .. [We] hope architects will enrich the nature of the city by continuing their search for that ideal.” (In this vein, Williamson took the opportunity to express his avid support for a proposed monorail project that would “have the greatest impact on the city since the late Sir Bruce Small dug his first canal.”) The 27 entries ranged from “interior alterations, to separate houses on individual blocks, to combinations of houses either in highrise apartments or in group housing on a canal. There was also a church, a civic theatre, two large international hotels and gold club.

1987

CITATION St Vincentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parish Centre, The Heather Thiedeke Group, Surfers Paradise, completed 1986 Photographs by Richard Stringer

1987

CITATION Private Residence, Mobbs, Thompson and Payne, Tweed Heads, completed 1986 Photographs courtesy John Mobbs

1987

CITATION Gold Coast International Hotel (this page and opposite), Media Five, Surfers Paradise, completed 1985 Photographs courtesy DBI Design

52 52

1987

CITATION Waterfront Villas, The Hulbert Group and Cummings and Burns, Sanctuary Cove, completed 1986 Photograph courtesy BDA Architecture

1987

CITATION Jansen Residence (this page and opposite), Peter Jansen and Associates, Carrara completed 1986 Photographs and drawing courtesy of Peter Jansen

1987

1988

58 58

1988

CITATION Albert Shire Administration Building (opposite), Stenders and Partners, Nerang, 1986-1987 Photograph courtesy the Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library

“Architects on the Gold Coast have drawn the line,” declared jury chairman Alan Hayes. “The city is no longer just a branch

While Pie knew the Gold Coast well, the awards brought Kennedy to the city for the first time. Her first impressions were

office for big companies and professional groups. Instead of being out on a limb in the design industry Coast architects are

that “the perception most people have of the Gold Coast’s buildings is wrong. The general image is that it is over-developed

exporting their expertise around Australia and overseas.” Hayes estimated the nett value of projects being designed by Gold

and the density in Surfers Paradise too high . . .. [But] there is enormous space used to good effect and the incredible

Coast architects in the Solomon Islands, Perth, Adelaide and Darwin to be in the neighbourhood of $2.6 billion. “I feel that

influence of the water is put to good use. I am impressed with the use of space in many Gold Coast buildings—commercial

the architects led the way in turning the branch office image around on the Gold Coast and now we are seeing national and

and residential—including the Albert Shire Council headquarters (pictured opposite) and the Twin Towns Sporting Club,

even multi-nationals set up head offices here . . .. It’s the Californian sunbelt syndrome all over. The city is becoming more

to name two examples.” Gold Coast Division media statement from the RAIA reported that Kennedy “has slammed ‘slow

and more sophisticated on a broader base than just tourism and property development but it is in these areas that the

moving and narrow-minded bureaucracy’ for constraining architects, admitting there is too much that is ugly and ordinary

greatest impact has occurred in the changing image. [It] was only a few years ago that Coast architects were seen as having

in Australian building design. Described recently as a romantic who likes to demolish myths about architecture she prefers to

to survive on their local products.”

‘build for reality’.”

The Gold Coast Architecture Awards—still locally called the Architectural Oscars—had served to draw widespread attention

“We want to create a greater awareness about trends in the design of buildings appearing on the Gold Coast and make

to the work that the city’s architects had produced in the previous decade, fuelling “the Gold Coast’s reputation for being

awards for the best of them,” noted Alan Hayes. “Having noted guest architects such as Geoffrey Pie and Louise St John

exciting and innovative, [so that by 1988] its better architects are being called upon to export their skills and design influences

Kennedy will make this year’s decisions all the more interesting.”

in far away places.” Hayes suggested that “the times, like the designs, are changing and it’s all for the better . . .. He said the key

Pie’s comments on the creep of international influences on the Gold Coast’s architecture surely responded to the pool of

attraction for outside developers are the architects with profound expertise in resort design although skills are also being called

award-winning projects. The sole architecture award made in 1988 was to the Media Five project for the Sheraton Mirage,

upon for retirement villages, shopping centres, office buildings and other major commercial projects.”

continuing a run of awards and commendations for the Gold Coast office of the Hawai’i-headquartered multinational firm

While Hayes thought that the Gold Coast was casting off “its image of a second cousin to the big cities,” Brisbane-based juror Geoffrey Pie warned local architects not to “kill the goose that laid the golden egg,” speaking at the awards dinner in front of Gold Coast Mayor Alderman Lex Bell and Albert Shire President Bill Laver. “There is,” he continued, “an immense tussle

and its principal, Desmond Brooks and recognising the importance of the Raptis development project—the twin of which, across the road, would also receive recognition in the Gold Coast Architecture Awards in the following year. Three citations rewarded domestic projects by the Heather Thiedeke Group (a private residence), the Hulbert Group (for

between foreign design influences, especially American, and the traditional Queensland spirit in the city . . .. It is the Queensland

the Patio Home at the Hulbert Group-led Sanctuary Cove development) and David Raby, for his own house on Burleigh Hill.

spirit that brings people here and we must protect that spirit as much as possible.”

The new Administration Building for Albert Shire also received a citation for Stenders and Partners. /AL

Hayes saw the value in hearing Pie’s reflections alongside those of Perth-based architect Louise St John Kennedy in judging the 1988 awards. “Their comments about the changing skyline will be of interest not only to all sections of the building

Sources: RAIA media releases, May 9, 13, 19, 1988 (GCAAA).

industry but the public at large. Residents and visitors to the Gold Coast are more critical about the changing face of the city and the part played by its architects in helping to bring this about.” The awards allowed the profession and public alike to recognise that there “is some truly praiseworthy architecture coming to the fore on the Gold Coast, a city that has been lampooned in the past for its high rise concrete ugliness. [They] are an opportunity to recognise changing trends in the industry and to recognise excellence in design.”

1988

CITATION Albert Shire Administration Building, Stenders and Partners, Nerang, 1986-1987 Photograph courtesy Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library (below) and Mode Design (right)

1988

CITATION Albert Shire Administration Building, Stenders and Partners, Nerang, 1986-1987 Photograph courtesy Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library

1988

OPEN CATEGORY AWARD Sheraton Mirage, Media Five, Main Beach, completed 1987 Photographs courtesy DBI Design

1988

CITATIONS The Patio Home Villa (above), The Hulbert Group, Sanctuary Cove, completed 1987 Drawing courtesy BDA Architecture

Raby House (upper right), David Raby Architect, Burleigh Hill, completed 1987 Photograph by Andrew Leach

Heather Residence (lower right), The Heather Thiedeke Group, Southport, completed 1987 Photograph by Richard Stringer

1989

COMMENDATION Sports Marine (opposite), Media Five, Main Beach, completed 1988 Photograph courtesy DBI Design

Ahead of the weekend in which entries for the 1989 Gold Coast Architecture Awards went on public display at Evandale, jury

Winning the inaugural Gold Coast Building of the Year award, Philip Follent’s Red House at Mudgeeraba was praised for

chair Ron Burling signalled his intention to use the occasion of the awards to offer some broad reflections on the state and

its exploration of the Queensland vernacular. Noted the jury: “Using traditional forms and many traditional details, this house

prospects of the Gold Coast. “Many Gold Coast buildings that were developed to satisfy the needs of the 1970s and 1980s,”

makes a powerful connection with many traditional values, appropriate to the special regional context that is the Gold Coast

he suggested in an RAIA media release, “will be demolished to make way for the needs of the 1990s . . .. [It] will be necessary

. . .. There are many unique elements, some arbitrary, most adding a wonderful joy and expressiveness to the interiors, and

to redevelop much of the ‘not-so-old’ development on the Gold Coast. It will have to be done to cater for future permanent

adding to the special qualities of this house. The surprising colour, when understood, provides direct reference to many of

and tourist population.” Both the city’s fixed and its transient population would, he asserted, continue to rise—just as the Gold

the houses associated with the development of the early Queensland house.”

Coast’s population had increased more than ten-fold from the time of his arrival in 1957 to 1989 (and by a further three-

Merit awards were made to Cummings and Burns for the Marine Village at Sanctuary Cove and to Peter Clarke for

fold since)—and neither the architectural stock of the city nor its infrastructure was yet ready for what would come. “These

the Chandler Residence in Bundall. The jury presented the latter project as “a restrained, elegant solution which draws on

problems need to be seriously addressed and planned for today.”

very traditional forms and materials . . .. It draws on home and hearth, nicely complemented by refined and appropriate

The conclusions of the jury, which also included Sydneysider Lionel Glendinning and Brisbane architect Robin Spencer,

detail.” And it recognised in the Marine Village “a very successful urban environment, with a series of successful spaces and

likewise reflected the need for forward thinking and consolidation. As announced at the awards dinner at the Pan Pacific

buildings providing a variety of experiences . . . a variety without chaos.” It was described as a “model” for developments of

Hotel in Broadbeach on May 25, 1989, they “perceived a maturity and strength emerging in the nominations this year. This

this type, which “begin as a vision, and [are] compressed into a short space of time. Both the Heather Thiedeke Group and

maturity is drawing on our Queensland heritage and on the special regional responses such as climate, lifestyle and tropical

Media Five received commendations for the Rapp House (Southport) and Sports Mirage (Main Beach) respectively. The jury

vegetation.” The combination of “a stronger conceptual framework,” more confident use of materials and more rigorous

commended the uncluttered complexity and honest directness of the Rapp House, while rewarding the “clear, well organised

detailing (a preoccupation of the 1989 jury, which observed “a lack of total commitment to detailing”) would, they argued,

plan [and] sensible choice of materials” in the Sports Mirage complex, which it further commended as a “fitting annex to the

properly equip the region’s architects for the challenges ahead. Principal among these would be the connection of “the

spectacular quality of the Marina Mirage.”

highest level of achievement” in architecture to the “broader planning issues which are becoming critical for the Gold Coast.”

Observed Burling in reflecting on the awards: “Since the Gold Coast awoke from its sleepy seaside town existence, its

The greatest challenge would be to undo a tendency toward a “cluttered, disorganised set of lifeless spaces” that was

whole future has evolved around being different, attracting attention and setting new trends . . .. Of course, there are those

arguably architecture’s common engagement with the public realm.

examples of jarring taste that give rise to the claim of ‘brash and brassy’. But the conservative view tends to exaggerate the

In Burling’s reflections on the Gold Coast as a whole he recalled how he had watched—and indeed helped—the Gold

number of these buildings.” The Gold Coast regional awards—still in 1989 Australia’s only regional awards cycle—served to

Coast’s rapid growth as it tracked and in part overcame the problems experienced by “the waterways of Florida, the hotel

reward the best work being realised in the wider Gold Coast region, thereby offering the profession much needed profile to

lay-outs of Las Vegas and the high-rises of Miami and Hawaii.” As the awards demonstrate, the brashness with which the

secure an impact on a city driven by development and to accomplish with authority the tasks Burling had astutely declared

Coast was long associated had already failed to account for the best of its architecture. Architects had learned the lesson

to be yet ahead. /AL

that building rapidly does not allow projects to receive “the necessary amount of artistic consideration” and that these quickly fail the test of “perennial debate.” This observation applied a certain amount of pressure on this year’s successful

Sources: RAIA media releases, May 15, 18, 26, 1989 (GCAAA).

entrants to perform well in the long view.

1989

COMMENDATION Sports Marine (this page and opposite), Media Five, Main Beach, completed 1988 Photographs courtesy DBI Design

1989

MERIT AWARD Chandler Residence (above), Peter T Clarke, Benowa, 1987-1988 Photographs courtesy Peter T Clarke

MERIT AWARD Marine Village, Cummings and Burns, Sanctuary Cove, completed 1988 Photographs courtesy BDA Architecture

1989

COMMENDATION Rapp House, The Heather Thiedeke Group, Southport, completed 1988 Photograph by Richard Stringer

1989

BUILDING OF THE YEAR The Red House, Philip Follent, Mudgeeraba, completed 1988 Photograph courtesy Philip Follent Architects

1989

BUILDING OF THE YEAR The Red House, Philip Follent, Mudgeeraba, completed 1988 Photograph courtesy Philip Follent Architects

1990

COMMENDATION Waterside Office Park (opposite), Hamilton Hayes Henderson, Bundall, completed 1989 Photograph by Katherine Rickard

In the second year in which the Gold Coast Architecture Awards named a Building of the Year, Philip Follent was once

In the house of Heather Thiedeke partner Bill Heather at Southport the jury “found that the architecture, interiors and

again called to the stage in recognition of work undertaken with Denis Holland to extend the Elephant Rock Café at Pacific

landscaping all worked well together to produce an unpretentious and comfortable living environment.” As the jurors’ report

Parade in Currumbin. The jury described the project “as a whimsical modest extension to an existing café” that managed to

stated: “The quality of space, detail and the balance of light in this residence were excellent. The architect’s empathy with

“recapture some of the essential feelings of beach life—feelings that are simple and very basic. Many new developments

the locality and his close association with the interior designer and landscape has produced a complete resolution of the

have lost this simplicity,” they continued. “Reconsideration of the values associated with traditional beach front architecture

sequence of interior spaces and their relationship with the climate, natural light, site and landscape.”

provides clues to the re-emergence of an identity in Gold Coast architecture.” Follent himself positioned the project as a

An honourable mention went to a private residence at Palm Beach designed by Stewart Payne of Mobbs, Thompson and

moment of resistance to the “closed” architecture of the more built-up zones of the coastal strip: “We wanted the building

Payne. A large-scale beach-side house occupying a block spanning from the Gold Coast Highway to the water’s edge that

to take advantage of the sunlight and the breezes. There is no need for the closed environment of Surfers Paradise to keep

was featured that year in the magazine Luxury Home Design, it carried the hallmarks of the late-modern elegance and

marching down the coast.”

careful composition (“a satisfying response to the family’s needs,” as the jury had it) that had secured awards for Mobbs,

The Awards received 24 entries in this year, spanning “a wide range of the Gold Coast’s public, private and commercial

Thompson and Payne on two earlier occasions. Another went to a medium-scale commercial project, the Waterside Office

buildings,” as an Institute press statement had it. The decision to name the Building of the Year alongside two

Park in Bundall designed by Hamilton Hayes Henderson, which offered “a fine resolution of [the] client’s brief, producing

commendations and two honourable mentions was taken by a jury chaired by Bill Jackson of the Hulbert Group—whose

efficient, column-free and flexible office space.”

work included award-winning projects at Sanctuary Cove and the landmark Grand Mariner—and two guests: Lindsay Clare

That the Gold Coast Architecture Awards responded to a different set of conditions and imperatives than the Queensland

of Mooloolabah on the Sunshine Coast and veteran Bernard Joyce of the Melbourne practice of Joyce Nankivell.

Architecture Awards was confirmed by the success of two Heather Thiedeke Group projects in the State competition of

They named their criteria as “context, function and technology”: “We recognise that while there are variables such as

that same year (including the Heather Residence alongside the Benowa offices of Herron Todd White) as well as the project

economic and social conditions between regions, we have concentrated on the constants such as climate, and the natural

by Gold Coast RAIA Division chair Deborah Carlile with Paul Mjatelski for the Burleigh Beach Club. Carlile nonetheless again

as well the built environment. We searched for the rationale of buildings—how they work, circulation and access—their

took the opportunity of the seventh Gold Coast Architecture Awards to reiterate their value to the region’s architects.

relationship to landscaping and climate and the resolution of the architect’s intentions. We also looked at construction

“There are State and even national awards but no other town or area organises its own competition.” Come 1992 this

methods—the use of materials, the finishes and how they contributed to the feeling of the building.”

would change as Queensland took up the lessons of the Gold Coast’s regional awards success and instigated a state-wide

Two projects to receive commendations were the Madison Point high-rise apartments on Main Beach Parade, designed

regional architecture awards system feeding state and national competitions. /AL

by Peter Clarke and Rom Sikora for Design Linkon, and the Heather Residence at Egerton Street, Southport, designed by the Heather Thiedeke Group. The jury commended Madison Point for responding to site conditions within the context of

Sources: Simple Look Wins Top Coast Award,” Sunday Mail, May 27, 1990; “The Week” and “The Future of the Gold Coast

Surfers Paradise, noting that the building “was angled across the site to respond to the climate and provide protection from

is in Good Hands,” Gold Coast Bulletin, July 13, 1990; “Coast Firm Wins Architecture Awards,” Gold Coast Bulletin, July 16,

the wind and rain. The recessing of the windows, and the projection of the balconies, reinforce its reading as a residential

1990; RAIA media releases, May 10, 18, 1990 (GCAAA).

building in a sub-tropical location,” reads the jurors’ statement, recalling some of the gestures used on Clarke’s Esplanade at Burleigh Heads, which had secured him a commendation in the inaugural awards.

1990

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Elephant Rock Cafe, Philip Follent and Denis Holland, Currumbin Beach, 1989 Photographs by Richard Stringer, courtesy Philip Follent

1990

COMMENDATION Madison Point (leftmost tower), Peter T Clark and Design Linkon, Narrowneck, 1986-1989 Photograph by Katherine Rickard

1990

COMMENDATION Heather Residence, The Heather Thiedeke Group, Main Beach, completed 1989 Photographs by Richard Stringer,

1990

COMMENDATION Palm Beach Residence, Mobbs, Thomson and Payne, Palm Beach, completed 1989 Photograph by Andrew Leach

1991

78 78

1991

HONORABLE MENTION Mackley Residence (opposite), Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss Architects, Robina, completed 1990 Photograph courtesy Fulton Trotter

In a statement released by the Gold Coast division of the RAIA, 1991 Gold Coast Architecture Awards jury chair Evan

Drawing on a pool of 33 entries placed on display in the Gold Coast City Council chambers at Evandale, Winkle joined

Winkle of Media Five credited a “new sophistication” in Gold Coast architecture “with increasing the number of foreign

esteemed Perth architect Jeffrey Howlett—who together with Donald Bailey designed Perth’s Council House, 1971-73—

tourists visiting the coastal strip.” He suggested that “the quality of architecture over recent years has put the Gold Coast

and (then) Buderim-based architect Ken Down in assessing projects “ranging from private homes to high-rise apartment

on equal footing with its major resort competitors—Hawaii and South-East Asia. The increase in foreign investment

buildings, interior office décor to a streetscape design, a performing arts complex to a bowls club.” At an RAIA dinner held

has allowed a gradual emergence of sophistication in Gold Coast architecture . . .. The continual search for excellence in

at the Royal Pines Resort on May 30 the jury noted that “the winners . . . reflect the architectural adage ‘good clients get

architecture, promoted by these annual awards, has allowed the Gold Coast to be seen as a serious competitor with other

good jobs’. Many entries were the obvious result of a happy relationship between client and architect. This has resulted in

popular destinations.”

excellent resolution of problems . . .. The entries overall were of high quality and sophistication . . . an excellent selection for

He went on to observe: “Over recent years, Gold Coast architecture has progressed from home unit developments to the international hotel market, on to integrated resorts and the planning of new regional communities. By rewarding design

this record year—and a clear signal that there should be no shortage of enthusiasm or entries in all future award programs.” In addition to the major award, two commendations went to a home and tribal arts gallery in Florida Gardens designed by

excellence, the awards have helped foster a strong sense of professionalism and innovation among Gold Coast architects.

Amy Degenhart of the Design Forum (now degenhartSHEDD) and once more recognised the work of the Heather Thiedeke

They have also led to an increased demand for quality, architecturally-designed residential homes. People see the visual

Group, this year for the Main Beach high-rise residence The Inlet. These were followed by a string of honourable mentions,

appeal of the architecturally-designed international hotels and integrated resorts and want the same quality and finish, as

which singled out the notable work of Cummings and Burns for the Pennington Residence in Gretty Lane, Lower Beechmont

well as the individual style, for their own home.”

and for urban design work in the Alison Street Precinct at Surfers Paradise (not pictured here); the Heather Thiedeke Group

The Building of the Year Award, however, went to a project far removed from the design values distilled from the Gold

for a Southport residence in Egerton Street; David Raby for the Southport Children’s Educational Centre in Southport’s Yacht

Coast’s sustained attention to tourism infrastructure and resort architecture. Philip Follent took the award for the third year

Street; Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss Architects for the Mackley Residence at Piper Point in Robina; and Media Five for the

running, and again in collaboration with Denis Holland, for a project in Tomewin, which the jury described as “a remarkable house

Oriental Restaurant at the Prince Hotel in the Benowa Royal Pines complex.

. . . designed specifically for the client’s lifestyle . . .. [It was] the result of a harmonious relationship between the architect, the

The jury asserted that this year’s awards “proved conclusively” that the Gold Coast has reached a new level of maturity,

interior designer, the client, the craftsman builder and his team. This perfect rapport produced an interesting house which

“especially in the growing use of architects to resolve residential problems.” Jury comments on the Mackley Residence were

successfully achieves the owner’s desires. The detailing, use of materials, integration of exterior and interior finishes and brilliant

typical of the values tabled in this year: “A skilfully planned house, with a clever progression of spaces comprised of a series

local craftsmanship has achieved a spectacular result. The home’s building forms have become pieces of arts.”

of pavilions. The detailing was excellent. This result was achieved for a realistic price.” In the city, too, the need to advance

In fact, the building trades received a special mention for the “exceptionally high standard” of the construction and

the Gold Coast’s image as a tourist destination was tempered with the ongoing need for high quality urban environments.

finishing of the work reviewed for the awards—a far cry from the jury complaints of just a couple of years earlier. “The

As comments on the Alison Street Precinct recall, “[this] is all about streetscape and the resolution of pedestrian and

detailed work and joinery made the designs live. The exceptionally high standard of the work is a credit to the local

vehicular priorities.” These projects describe the poles of architectural practice at this moment, concerning the city on one

tradespeople—who, in many cases, we prefer to call craftsmen and women.”

hand and the job of figuring a place for architecture therein, and on the other focussing on the architect’s craft. /AL

Sources: RAIA media releases, May 10, 21, 30, 31, 1991 (GCAAA).

1991

HONORABLE MENTION Mackley Residence (right), Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss Architects, Robina, completed 1990 Photographs courtesy Fulton Trotter

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Tomewin House (below and below right), Philip Follent and Denis Holland, Tomewin, completed 1990 Photograph and drawing courtesy Philip Follent Architects

1991

COMMENDATION Residence A (below), The Heather Thiedeke Group, Southport, completed 1990 Photograph by Richard Stringer

COMMENDATION Pennington Residence (right and lower right), Cummings and Burns, Lower Beechmont, completed 1990 Photographs by Andrew Leach

1991

HONORABLE MENTION

COMMENDATION

Southport Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Educational Centre, David Raby Architect, Southport, completed 1990

The Inlet (opposite), The Heather Thiedeke Group, Main Beach, completed 1990

Photographs by Andrew Leach

Photographs by Richard Stringer,

1991

1992

COMMENDATION Rivage Royale (opposite), Burling Brown, Southport, completed 1991 Photograph courtesy Burling Brown

Nearing the end of their first decade, the Gold Coast Architecture Awards were taken up as the model for a state-wide

Six other buildings or projects received regional commendations from the judges: the Robina Design Service (Giles

regional awards cycle, which now situated the Gold Coast as one of ten Queensland regions. Regional success would qualify

Degenhart Partnership, now degenhartSHEDD), Kooralbyn Resort Hotel (Greenway), The Inlet (Heather Thiedeke Group,

projects for consideration at the State Awards. Judging of the awards would no longer be determined at a solely regional

repeating the projects 1991 success), The Tribal Arts Home and Gallery (Giles Degenhart Partnership, again a second time),

level, but would be subject to a Queensland Chapter-appointed jury of five that would visit each regional entry (another

Rivage Royale (Burling Brown), and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Canoeing Facility (Cummings and Burns).

change from a more selective inspection programme that had been used to this point). Gold Coast division chairman Alan Hayes declared it “a great step forward for architecture in Queensland.” The results of the 1992 Gold Coast “Architecture Oscars” were announced at the Gold Coast Arts Centre on April 9,

The jury described the Robina Design Service as an “innovation in the provision of architectural services to a community which would not otherwise be available. This service has improved the street appeal and neighbourhood amenity and as a consequence the developer’s product.” The same firm’s work on a private house and tribal arts gallery in Florida Gardens

conveying the decisions of a jury chaired by Brisbane architect Geoffrey Pie along with Philip Follent, Cairns architect Bruce

was commended for its “remarkable interior, which displays Melanesian artefacts in a very liveable environment . . . [and]

Clark, QUT academic James Woolley and interstate judge Bruce Bowden of Sydney, known for the Australian Pavilion at

extends in a dramatic way to the banks of the Nerang River.”

Expo 88 and the Darling Harbour development. The jury had worked through 23 submissions, which remained at a “high level” despite, as Gold Coast Architecture

The Inlet was singled out for being “designed with distinction,” its “dynamic profile” emphasising “quality, durability and security” for a community of permanent residents. The same values were appreciated in the Rivage Royale, which provided

Awards Committee chair Gordon Beath had it, “the downturn in the economy. Architecture is one of the first professions

“stunning views from apartments which either extend over two levels or with single floor units having extensive vistas

to feel the impact of economic recession,” he continued, “so we are extremely pleased to receive such a strong response to

from of their curved layout. The clarity of the lower circulation spaces maintain high security within an open environment.”

this year’s awards. The predictions offered in the previous year by Evan Winkle materialised in nominations by two tourist

The Kooralbyn Resort, near Beaudesert (not illustrated) was commended for its use of “rammed-earth construction in

resorts, O’Reilly’s in Lamington National Park and the Kooralbyn Resort Hotel near Beaudesert (which went on to receive a

a technologically sophisticated marriage of different materials to contain a beautiful landscaped environment. [It was a]

commendation). As Beath noted: “Their entry in the awards is an interesting addition to the traditional coastal resorts and

project which provides a high standard of accommodation while still relating to its surrounding countryside.” Cummings

shows that architecture of an international standard is moving into the country areas.”

and Burns received recognition for the “well proportioned building forms [ of the AIS facility. . . and] high standard of design

This tendency notwithstanding, the Building of the Year went to an industrial business park in Southport, by Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss. Judges described it as “an appealing project which successfully over-rides the roller-door syndrome usually associated with industrial buildings,” successfully introducing warehousing into a largely residential neighbourhood.

resolution and detailing within the context of a constrained budget. It is an honest structure for its purpose of housing kayaks and canoes and is a well-proportioned and elegant ‘shed,’ with a landscape bordering the waterway.” In its general comments, the jury expressed its surprise at the number and high standard of entries “in such tough times.”

As jury chair Geoffrey Pie observed: “It addresses the problem of defining the role of the workplace in an industrial complex

Despite the difficult conditions of practice, the awards continued to serve their role of stimulating “debate on architectural

through a definite sense of address and inclusion of appropriate landscaping. Its appeal to tenants is achieved through

issues relevant to an ever-changing role of the profession. These awards show that opportunities exist in every project to

careful modulation of the building to establish an identity as both a ‘whole’ and an expression of its separate office and

lift them above the mediocre. These awards recognize excellence in architecture and not just buildings.” /AL

storage spaces.” Sources: RAIA media releases, May 30, 1991, April 6, 9, 1992 (GCAAA).

1992

COMMENDATION Rivage Royale, Burling Brown, Southport, completed 1991 Photographs courtesy Burling Brown

1992

COMMENDATION Rivage Royale, Burling Brown, Southport, completed 1991 Photographs by Andrew Leach

1992

COMMENDATION Residential Estate Design Services, Design Forum, Robina Courtesy degenhartSHEDD

COMMENDATION Tribal Arts Home and Gallery (opposite), Giles Degenhart Partnership, Florida Gardens, completed 1991 Photographs by Eric Victor, courtesy Belle Magazine and degenhartSHEDD

1992

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Southport Business Park, Fulton Gilmour Trotter, Southport, completed 1991 Photographs by Andrew Leach (upper panel) and courtesy Fulton Trotter (left)

1992

COMMENDATION Australian Institute of Sport Canoeing Facility, Cummings and Burns, South Stradbroke Island, completed 1988 Photographs courtesy Ausport Image Library, Australian Sports Commission

1993

92 92

1993

COMMENDATION Surfers Paradise Bus Station (opposite), Cummings and Burns, Surfers Paradise, completed 1992 Photograph by Andrew Leach

The tenth Gold Coast Architecture Awards afforded an opportunity to return to the debate that had marked their inauguration a decade earlier. As the RAIA observed in a media release, the awards “began amid controversy in 1984 with the suggestion that the entire tourist strip be ‘bulldozed into the sea’,” but that “his advice was ignored.” The statement

Entries for the Gold Coast Architecture Awards in 1993 were exhibited in the Gold Coast City Council’s Evandale Administration building, and on April 30 the jury—chaired by local architect John Mobbs—announced its choices. “The conversion of a chocolate factory into a conference centre and a school theatre have been selected as joint Buildings

continues: “Sydney architect Neville Gruzman directed most of his criticism at the high rise boom along the ocean-front,

of the Year [. . .]. Multi-award winner Philip Follent of Currumbin was the architect for the conversion of the chocolate

suggesting that once they were bulldozed into the sea, ‘we can start again.’ Rather than succumb to this judgment as

factory for the National Trust property, the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary at Currumbin. He shared the Building of the Year title

levelled by a key member of the national establishment, “it firmed the resolve of local architects to press on with their

with Southport architects Burling Brown for their theatre at The Southport School (TSS). Regional commendations were

campaign to show what they could do for the built environment.” On the tenth occasion of these regional awards, the Gold

also made to four other projects, the Billabong factory and showroom (Cummings and Burns), Southport Special School

Coast chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects could enjoy the success of their initiative to organize Australia’s

(Philip Follent Architects in association with the Department of Administrative Services), the Surfers Paradise Bus Station

first architecture awards cycle at the regional level.

(Cummings and Burns), and the Speirs Residence (Darryl Parker, not illustrated).

The RAIA media statement continues: “Through the years, about 300 of the Gold Coast region’s best buildings—from

Of Follent’s project the jury observed that while the “original building was no beauty . . . Follent has worked within

tiny hinterland houses to massive resort complexes—have faced panels of jurors drawn from all over Australia. Chairman of

structural, time and financial constraints to create a very pleasant and workable facility. The Currumbin Sanctuary is a strong

the 1993 Awards Committee, Brett Saville, said the awards had done their work well, leading to a far greater understanding

planning concept which gains great interest and energy from some characteristic detailing, which enlivens and enriches

of the impact of good architecture on the built environment than existed in 1984 when the region was flexing its

the project.” The Billabong project likewise stood out among commended entries (“eat your heart out Los Angeles”) as the

development muscle. ‘In the first wave of Gold Coast development, regrettably few architects were consulted. This is what

“quintessential postmodern building—it is totally site specific to the culture, climate and humour of the Gold Coast.” It is

probably led to Mr Gruzman’s comment on the eve of the first awards being made,’ said Mr Saville. As it turned out, the

“real surf city architecture.”

winner of the first award for high-rise buildings was the then very new Greenmount Resort at Cooolangatta, not exactly a high-rise by today’s standards. “According to the jurors, led by prominent Melbourne architect and then president of the Urban Land Institute of

“The jury was very impressed with the quality and the energy of the entries,” the RAIA comments continued. “We saw buildings which had been completed on very tight budgets and others which had been generously funded, and decided that big is not necessarily beautiful. What does become clear during recessionary times is that the profession

Australia, Rita Avdiev, contemporary Gold Coast design was anything but the horror suggested by Mr Gruzman. Chairman

is determined to create good buildings in spite of the many difficulties, and that maybe we all think a little better when

of the Gold Coast Division of the Architect’s Institute, Mark Trotter, said the annual awards had underpinned a determined

confronted with adversity. While being impressed with the quality of the architecture we saw, we were also impressed with

move by local architects to convince the development community that they would get better and more successful buildings

the quality of the attitude of the clients who commissioned the buildings. Their commitment to achieving good buildings

if they engaged professionals. ‘Because of its incredible growth, the Gold Coast region needed an involvement by architects

was obviously important to the process.” /AL

who have a real responsibility to the environment in which buildings are place. The annual awards have highlighted the difference between projects which work for people and which will be the cornerstones of next century’s history, and those

Source: RAIA media releases, April 5, 30, 1993 (GCAAA).

which will be a blot on the landscape until re-development catches up with them,’ said Mr Trotter.”

1993

COMMENDATION Surfers Paradise Bus Station (this page and opposite), Cummings and Burns, Surfers Paradise, completed 1992 Photographs by Andrew Leach

1993

COMMENDATION Southport Special School, Philip Follent, Southport, 1991-1992 Photographs by Andrew Leach (below left) and courtesy Philip Follent Architects

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Currumbin Sanctuary Conference Centre (opposite), Philip Follent Currumbin, 1991-1992 Photographs courtesy Philip Follent Architects

1993

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Annand Theatre, The Southport School, Burling Brown, Southport, completed 1992 Photographs by Andrew Leach

COMMENDATION Billabong Factory and Showroom (opposite), Cummings and Burns, West Burleigh, completed 1992 Photographs by Andrew Leach

1994

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1994

COMMENDATION Tange Residence (opposite), Patane Group, Paradise Waters, completed 1993 Drawing by Ken Foley, courtesy the Patane Group

Reads a press release, dated 19 May 1993: “A cluster of luxury residential buildings shared the limelight at the 1994 Gold

the rural vernacular, it uses the landscape to generate “design discipline and opportunity which has been exploited to the

Coast Awards in Architecture announced last night with an orthodontist’s surgery. And in a surprise announcement, the

advantage of the living spaces and the amenities of the house.” This quality of “understated elegance” was shared by the

jurors [chaired by Eldon Bottcher and including Philip Cox of Sydney, Graham Bligh and Henry Peel of Brisbane and Lindsay

Inarc project for Medland Orthodontics, which the jury commended for its “responsiveness to children who are in a state of

Clare of the Sunshine Coast] nominated the Gold Coast City Council for a commendation for their work in revitalizing public

anxiety at the dentists.”

spaces in Surfers Paradise.”

In a play of opposites, the jury called Michael Witty’s Hill Residence “a house in the Gold Coast genre. It reflects a

Electing not to name a Building of the Year, the jurors instead made six regional commendations, for a multiresidential

full-blown enjoyment of canalside living in the Gold Coast manner and lifestyle. There are a variety of outdoor living

project at the RACV Royal Pines (Residential Village Number Two, by Cummings and Burns), a rural residence at Cobaki

spaces which move easily to the inside of the house which is spacious, stimulating and vigorous.” Patane’s Tange House

(Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss), the Hill Residence (Michael Witty Architects), the Tange Residence at Paradise Waters

(on which Paul Noritaka Tange consulted) is similarly “opulent but restrained and very refined in its detailing. It is strongly

(Patane Group, for the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange and his family), Medland Orthodontics (Inarc Design Group) and the

client responsive. The austerity of the house is reflective of the Japanese lifestyle, which is commendable. It is built on a

Surfers Paradise Boardwalk and its public space connections (Gold Coast City Council and its consultants, Cummings and

consciousness of architectural forms, influenced by Tange himself.”

Burns). As jury chair, Bottcher “said that a jury nomination of a local authority was rare, but in this case, it was felt that the

While these projects afforded the jury moments of confirmation and reassurance alike, the Gold Coast City Council works

local authority should be encouraged to continue to engage professional architects to revitalize public open spaces within

along the Surfers Paradise boardwalk remained particularly noteworthy. “The jurors strolled through the Cavill Avenue Mall

the city. This is an effort which should be emulated by other councils. The city council obviously recognize the value of the

and onto the boardwalk on Surfers Paradise Beach and appreciated the effort being made by the Gold Coast City Council

pedestrian experience and its effect on the economy of a central business district.”

and its various consultants to improve the pedestrian experience. [. . .] The City Council deserves praise and encouragement

In his summary of deliberations, Bottcher described the Gold Coast as “raw, lusty, vigorous, energetic and raunchy”— qualities to be embraced rather than overcome. “A city which has developed so rapidly cannot possibly mature too early. It will go through a number of transition stages. While it might lack grace and subtlety, its ‘difference’ is something to

for engaging professional architects to help revitalize the downtown of Surfers and provide experiences which will be appreciated by locals and visitors alike.” Yet while the awards continued to set a regional bar for quality, Bottcher elsewhere pointed to internal conflicts within

celebrate. It’s going to be an interesting exercise to follow the progress of the region as it matures through the years.

the local architectural community—conflicts that could hamper the region’s architectural community’s efforts to raise the

The Gold Coast is developing a very distinctive flavor which, at the end of the day, will be vital to its future as an

standard of Gold Coast architecture. He said that “local architects who were competing on a fee basis for jobs which he

international tourist destination—we can’t all be refined cities and neither should we attempt to emulate them. If you lost

acknowledged were all too scarce were doing long term harm to the profession. Architects must compete on excellence

the lusty environment you would lose what Surfers Paradise is all about. It’s the right thing but done in a very raw way.

of service and quality design . . .. Competition based solely on price ultimately fails. These annual awards are awards to

It is part of our transition to maturity.”

excellence—not awards to fee cutting.” /AL

The Cummings and Burns project for the Royal Pines resort was commended as “a fine piece of urban design related to low density resort residential development. It integrates public and private open space very well and it differentiates

Source: RAIA media releases, May 16, 19, 1994 (GCAAA).

between vehicular access points and pedestrian networks cleverly [. . .]. The building palate is restrained which adds a certain dignity to the complex and integrates into the landscape successfully.” The Cobaki residence by Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss likewise demonstrates that “good architecture can be achieved without vulgarity”: a homestead realized in

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1994

COMMENDATION Tange Residence (this page and opposite), Patane Group, Paradise Waters, completed 1993 Photographs by Andrew Leach (left) and (above) courtesy the Patane Group, drawing by Ken Foley, courtesy the Patane Group

102

1994

103

1994

104

COMMENDATION

Medland Orthodontics (above), Inarc Design, Carrara, completed 1993

Surfers Paradise Boardwalk (below), Gold Coast City Council and Cummings and Burns, Surfers Paradise, completed 1993

Photographs by Ross Spencer, courtesy Inarc Design

Photographs courtesy BDA Architecture

1994

COMMENDATION

Rural Residence (above), Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss Architects, Kobaki, completed 1993

Hill Residence (below), Michael Witty Architects, Paradise Waters, 1989-1991

Photographs courtesy Fulton Trotter

Drawings courtesy Michael Witty Architects

105

1994

COMMENDATION Royal Pines Residential Village No. 2, Cummings and Burns, Benowa, completed 1993 Photograph by Andrew Leach

106

1994

COMMENDATION Royal Pines Residential Village No. 2, Cummings and Burns, Benowa, completed 1993 Photographs by Andrew Leach

107

1995

108

1995

COMMENDATION Cabarita Beach House (opposite), Les Jones, Cabarita Beach, completed 1994 Drawing courtesy Push

The 1995 Gold Coast Architecture Awards responded to the ongoing challenges of architectural practice in the aftermath

be emerging a better understanding about what are the important environmental features and lifestyle expectations of

of the 1980s as well as to changes in the governance of the Gold Coast city-region itself—with the Gold Coast local

this region.” The amalgamation had again returned to central stage the question of the Gold Coast’s intrinsic character and

government authority merging with its western and northern neighbour, the Albert River Shire, in that year. Although

of the architecture, therefore, most properly rewarded for its attention to the specific needs and conditions of the newly

the Gold Coast divisional awards had celebrated the region’s environmental diversity since their foundation in 1984, the

redefined Gold Coast.

expansion and instant diversification of the Gold Coast, which now formally extended from the beach to the hinterland, was reflected in the observations made by the 1995 jury. As reported in the Weekend Bulletin, Gold Coast Divisional RAIA Chair Bill Giles noted: “‘It’s not just the high profile

The Building of the Year reflected these values. The Diamond Beach resort “was a project on a difficult site . . . fully enclosed by existing urban development. The architects resolved the site problems by focusing the buildings inward, creating its own environment, without being disrespectful to its neighbours. It’s a complex of more than 160 units which

buildings such as high rises or international hotels which steal the limelight. Over the eleven years of awards on the Gold

manages to maintain a human scale through clever use of vertical staging, colour, fenestration and variations in roof

Coast, architects have managed to show how sometimes the simplest of projects can be enhanced for public use through

lines and set-backs . . .. The architects have created a wonderful sense of community through innovative siting, good

innovative approaches to design and the unique Gold Coast environment.’ [. . . The] architectural industry has been ‘knocked

use of landscaping and handling of vehicles. This project attacks the problems inherent in three-storey architecture and

around’ by the building recessions. [Many] Gold Coast architects are working offshore, spear-heading new resort housing

effectively uses everyday materials to reduce its scale. Importantly, it presents an excellent street presentation for such

projects that are springing up throughout South-East Asia.”

a large complex.”

The 1995 awards privileged instances of the Gold Coast’s “strong environmental conscience.” Giles observed that the

As Forgan-Smith and colleagues went on to note: “In the judging of these architectural awards, the jurors looked for the

nineteen entries submitted “were of an excellent standard encompassing our return to elegant simplicity. The entries include

individual architect’s answers to a number of issues, which included user/client satisfaction, the relationship of the building

resorts, terraces and residences along the coastal strip and in the Hinterland and there is even a family retreat on South

to the site and its environment, cost effectiveness, innovation and contribution to architectural development, environmental

Stradbroke Island and a beach house in Cabarita.”

performance and conservation of energy. More importantly, we were interested in how the building expresses itself within

That beach house by Paul Curran (Les Jones), which received a jury commendation, “presents a seaside holiday home which embraces Australian beach holiday culture. The breezeway corridor of decking boards not only allows cool air ventilation, but also collects sand off feet and shoes.” The jury called it “the very essence of what a beach house should

the context of this vibrant Gold Coast environment. We are also sensitive to the fact that these awards are not intended to simply place architecture or architects on a pedestal.” This year further saw the introduction of a People’s Choice Award to increase both public involvement and public

be. It was fun and informal, a nostalgic reflection of the traditional bathing hut on the beach . . . whimsical, rational and

appreciation of architecture. “[Its] intention is to reward architectural innovation certainly, but having awards is part of a

sensible.” Philip Follent’s Tank House, another commended entry, is a “joyful and exuberant [house that] explodes into

process of public awareness of the value of architectural input in the built environment. We hold awards because we want

the landscape. It grew out of the need to satisfy specific functions—every part is art and yet has a functional reason to

to promote excellence which essentially leads to improved services to the clients and the community.” /AL

exist. The architect found the resolutions with artistic flair and innovation, using diverse materials, detailing and finishes to achieve an excellent result.”

Sources: Weekend Bulletin, April 1-2, 1995; RAIA media releases, May 5, 12, 1995 (GCAAA).

As jury chair Greg Forgan-Smith—who convened a committee including Graham Bligh and Elizabeth Watson Brown from Brisbane, National RAIA president Louise Cox and Gold Coast architect Brian Kidd—observed in presenting the year’s awards and commendations, “the better entries exhibited a sensitivity to their environment and landscape. There also seems to

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1995

COMMENDATION Cabarita Beach House, Les Jones, Cabarita Beach, completed 1994 Drawing and photographs courtesy Push

110

1995

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Diamond Beach Resort, Darryl Parker and Cummings and Burns, Broadbeach, completed 1994 Photographs by Wouter Van Acker

111

1995

COMMENDATION Tank House (this page and opposite), Philip Follent, Mugeeraba, 1993-1994 Photographs and drawings courtesy Philip Follent Architects

112

1995

113

1996

114 114

1996

COMMENDATION O’Shea House (opposite), Liam Proberts Architects, Currumbin, completed 1995 Photographs by Remco, courtesy bureau proberts

With the economy still underperforming into the middle of the decade, architectural practices on the Gold Coast continued

regional response to the contemporary challenges of domestic architecture, in this case offering a finely-crafted reprise of

to struggle with the realities of building. “It was,” noted the jury in its overview, nonetheless “gratifying to see so many

the Queenslander type with its timbered single skin, raised floor and enclosed undercroft and exposed bracing—a tribute to

entries for this tough economic climate.” In considering the 23 submissions to the 1996 Gold Coast Architecture Awards, a

the late-nineteenth-century vernacular played out too in the simplified and centralised plan. The O’Shea House pursued a

jury chaired by local architect Brett Saville sought to level the field and to focus on the skill brought by the architect to each

formal response to its brief, playfully composing masses in a site-responsive solution in which the semi-exteriorised circular

project according to the limitations and opportunities afforded by each brief and budget. The jury once again comprised a

staircase and invocation of yet another vernacular by way of the beach house.

chapter-appointed group of five, with Elizabeth Watson Brown returning from the previous year’s awards alongside Gold

While two of the commended projects were stand-alone houses on generous sites, Uhlmann’s townhouses at Mermaid

Coast architect Mark Trotter, Brisbane-based Peter Roy and Bill Corker, of Melbourne firm Denton Corker Marshall. They

Beach pointed to the challenge of building within an increasingly built-out urban fabric. In concluding their remarks on the

“had to compare pineapples with bananas” in reaching a decision, and in so doing “to factor in elements that could easily

awards for this year, the jury observed that “one of the issues of particular importance to this region seems to be associated

seduce . . . [like] a magnificent site. The jury therefore focussed on clever solutions to the particular set of problems with

with medium density housing and the particular problems of smaller sites while achieving high densities and retaining

which the architects were faced.”

architectural quality and integrity.” These thoughts might well have pertained to the Building of the Year as well as to the

In comparing “pineapples with bananas,” the jury “had to weigh up the implications of small and not so small budgets, and differing briefs from clients.” Indeed, the client-architect relationship drew considerable attention, with Saville commending those clients who attended the awards reception for their availability and interest not only in their own commissions, but

challenges faced by Darryl Parker at Diamond Sands, but the comments occasioned reference to two further projects that, while receiving neither awards nor commendations, served to illustrate this challenge. On one hand, the Village Centre at Main Beach, by Stewart Payne of Mobbs, Thompson and Payne, which “offers an

more generally in the work of architects. He went on to note: “It is important to thank you also for commissioning architects

interesting solution to a street-front retail edge and car parking problem.” On the other, a house at Kingscliffe by Philip

for your projects. It is your support for good design which enables architects to achieve awards like these and bring public

Follent, “an imaginative make-over of a fifties fibro shack.” Payne’s project opened out on to the question of how best to

attention to good architecture and good solutions.” All the commended buildings, he observed, “seemed to be the result of a

cater for the continued expansion of the city’s Pacific edge—accommodating quality urban environments in an economic

happy collaboration between architect and client.”

environment continually shaped by the bottom-line determinants of density and occupancy—whereas Follent invoked in an

While the Building of the Year had in recent years been awarded to recognise larger scale projects for institutions and

exemplary way the role that vernacular and regionalist precedents had come to assume in the development of Gold Coast

multi-residential developments, in this year it went to Paul Uhlmann for a townhouse duplex at Mermaid Beach—a pair

architecture. As the projects commended in 1996 suggest, though, the distinction between a Gold Coast architecture and

of elegant and intelligently composed townhouses realised in mode of a postmodern Queensland regionalism, then on

a Queensland regionalism centred on Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast would be a matter for further debate—both as a

the ascendency. Especially in the language of the curved and rotated roofs the project recalled earlier work by Cummings

question of style and as a matter of the historical and critical values informing the way that the Gold Coast Architecture

and Burns, but went some way to pulling in the timber battening then increasingly prevalent as a mark of the South-East

Awards would continue to attend to the Gold Coast in particular. /AL

Queensland material response to climate being fostered further north. Two more houses received regional commendations: one at Cabarita Beach by Michael Witty Architects and the other

Source: RAIA 1996 Gold Coast Awards in Architecture Overview (GCAAA).

in the Currumbin Valley, the O’Shea House by Liam Proberts Architects. Both finely crafted and site-driven projects, they stood in some contrast to the rather more Coastal architecture of the Diamond Sands Resort at Mermaid Beach and the McIvor Coghlam Tenancy on Chevron Island. As with the Uhlmann project, the Cabarita Beach house likewise invoked a

115

1996

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Mermaid Beach Duplex Townhouses (left), Paul Uhlmann Architects, Mermaid Beach, completed 1995 Photograph courtesy Paul Uhlman Architects

COMMENDATION Diamond Sands (right), Darryl Parker Architects, Mermaid Beach, completed 1995 Photographs courtesy Diamond Sands Resort

116

1996

COMMENDATION Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Shea House, Liam Proberts Architects, Currumbin, completed 1995 Photographs by Remco, courtesy bureau proberts

117

1996

COMMENDATION Robertson Residence (this page and opposite), Michael Witty Architects, Cabarita Beach, completed 1995 Photographs and drawings courtesy Michael Witty Architects

COMMENDATION McIvor Coghlam Tenancy, Inarc Chevron Island, completed 1995 Photographs by Ross Spencer, courtesy Inarc

118

1996

119

1997

120

1997 One of a pair of new rammed-earth structures by Greenway International for

designs, the jury singled out houses by Ideo Architecture (Paul Uhlmann and

BUILDING OF THE YEAR

Queensland Breweries took the Building of the Year award in 1997, being The

Gina McLellan) at Tallebudgera Creek and Robertson Witty at Sanctuary Cove,

Yatala Brewhouse, Queensland Breweries (now Carleton United Breweries), Greenway International, Yatala, completed 1996

Brewhouse at Yatala (now part of Carlton & United Breweries). A jury chaired by

alongside the Robina Uniting Church (Phillips Smith Conwell) and Stage 1 of the

Mark Trotter (of Fulton Trotter) described the building as a “simple and refined

Information Services Centre (library) at Griffith University’s burgeoning Gold

structure, which reflects the industrial nature of the brewery process it seeks to

Coast campus (Peddle Thorp). The jury complimented Ideo’s Train House for

Photograph by Andrew Leach

interpret. Use of undisguised materials produces a certain sophistication.” This

its “good value, [which] satisfied the client’s lifestyle and budget through the

capacity for sophistication was on Trotter’s mind as he weighed tasks of judging

articulation of the spaces, structure and construction elements. In addition,

the Gold Coast Architecture Awards against the long-term needs of the city-

informal treatment of some of the elements complement the building’s structural

region. In his summation of the 1997 Awards, he observed: “In a hundred years

rigour.” “A classically proportioned residence,” the Forey House received

time the Gold Coast will be defined by the buildings we build today.”

recognition for its “formal, well-articulated public and private spaces, with

He went on to observe that it is a matter of “developing a strong urban environment while also celebrating the area’s regional difference. As the city

focussed views to the canals and to its own courtyards.” To these two instances of a well-resolved and robust house domestic projects

approaches its natural limits it is time to re-focus our collective minds toward

the jury noted the success of the Robina Uniting Church in its comprising of “a

the reinforcement of our urban centres as major city nodes. It is only through

relaxed group of buildings on a significant Gold Coast site. It is the successful

vision and leadership from our civic, commercial and professional leaders working

marriage of an identifiable ci vic building and the need for intimate domestic

together that the best solutions will be found. The architectural profession

internal scale.” Contrasting this landmark public work with a more interior work,

is perfectly placed to facilitate this vision in partnership with the Gold Coast

the Griffith Information Services Centre (now thoroughly built out through

community.” While the Greenway project at Yatala might not seem to have made

subsequent works and not illustrated here) presented a “strong composition,

a direct contribution to the “urban fabric” of the city, Trotter argues that “[every]

incorporating the horizontal planes of a building with large open floor spaces with

piece of the urban environment, no matter how small or large contributes to the

a contrasting entry device which draws the building together. A strong entry

mosaic of the Gold Coast. ”

statement, with a good use of light and colour.”

A jury comprising Gold Coast architect Darryl Parker, Brisbane-based State

In its comments on the 1997 awards, the jury noted that Australians are

Awards Director Peter Roy, his Deputy Director Robert Riddel (also Brisbane),

increasingly “focussing on their built environment as being just as important as

and Melbourne architect Kerstin Thomson made six commendations from 18

the natural environment. As this trend emerges, so too shall our city architecture

submissions alongside the Building of the Year Award and alongside, too, the

need to respond. In creating the current urban structure, our architects are

People’s Choice of the Gold Coast Arts Centre Foyer Bar and Café (Inarc). Awards

defining the Gold Coast’s identity. The buildings in this awards programme add to

went across a broad spectrum of building scales, ranging from a retail interior for

this tapestry and are all worthy contributors to the Gold Coast’s metamorphosis

Limpopo at the Robina Shopping Centre (Stephen Tuck Interior Architecture, not

towards [being] one of Australia’s major cities.” Tapestry was certainly a pertinent

pictured) to the Tweed Mall Shopping Redevelopment at Tweed Heads (Buchan

metaphor, since as the jury citations noted the year’s entries “represented a

Group). In a unit and system comparison, Tuck’s retail work emerged as a “finely

refreshing diversity of building types and approaches. It was a good geographic

balanced interior, beautifully detailed and a simple strong and clear resolution

spread, and covered the whole spectrum of building type, budgets and attitudes

of a modest size project. Reinforced by clever use of colour and materials and

to design. The regional commendations have distinguished themselves and

graphics.” The Buchan Group’s Tweed Heads project was, on the other hand,

contributed to the bigger agenda of promotion of good urban design.” /AL

commended for its “successful handling of the interiors of this building, which is a finely detailed understated building. A very simple and effective response to a

Source: RAIA 1996 Gold Coast Awards in Architecture Overview (GCAAA).

complex staging brief. Airy interiors with abundant natural light with celebrates the character of the region—a virtual air-conditioned street.” Within the continuum of scales marked out by these two commended

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1997

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Yatala Brewhouse, Queensland Breweries (now Carleton United Breweries), Greenway International, Yatala, completed 1996 Photographs by Andrew Leach

122

1997

COMMENDATION Forey Residence, Robertson Witty Architects, Sanctuary Cove, 1995-1996 Photographs and drawings courtesy of Michael Witty Architects

123

1997

COMMENDATION Tweed Mall, Buchan Group, Tweed Heads, completed 1996 Photographs courtesy Buchan Group

124

1997

COMMENDATION Robina Uniting Church, Phillips Smith Conwell, Robina, completed 1991-95 Photographs courtesy Phillips Smith Conwell

125

1997

COMMENDATION Train House, Paul Uhlmann and Gina McLellan, Tallebudgera, completed 1996 Photographs courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

126

1997

PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Gold Coast Arts Centre Foyer Bar, Inarc, Evandale, completed 1996 Photographs by Ross Spencer, courtesy Inarc

127

1998

128

1998

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Robina Town Centre (opposite), Cameron Chisholm Nicol, Robina, 1990-1996 Drawing courtesy Cameron Chisholm Nicol

While recent years’ commendations in the Gold Coast Architecture Awards had tended to go to institutional and domestic

Now firmly embedded in the RAIA’s state awards cycle, the Gold Coast Architecture Awards were determined by a jury

projects, the renewed presence of high-rise projects in submissions for the 1998 awards suggested that the Gold Coast

chaired by Gold Coast architect Darryl Parker alongside local colleague Ross Spencer of Inarc, as well as by the State

had turned an economic corner. As the awards chair Gina McLellan had it ahead of the jury’s announcements, “high rise

Awards Director Robert Riddel (returning from the 1997 jury) and his deputy, fellow Brisbane architect John Mainwaring.

buildings are back with a vengeance . . .. Reflecting the economic downturn, the awards have been dominated by private

Representing a publication long engaged in the growth and maturing of the Gold Coast as a city, Gold Coast Bulletin editor

homes and small commercial complexes, but this Friday night . . . four high profile towers will be competing with homes,

Bob Gordon served as a lay juror.

churches and a railway station among the 25 entries.” Those high-rise buildings marked the start of a new period of

Their concerns were consistent with those of the awards chair in rewarding architectural quality—always an open

growth along the city’s Pacific edge and especially the boom of high-rise construction from the southern end of Surfers

question—and drawing particular attention to those architectural projects that served to advance the city as a whole.

Paradise through to Broadbeach. They included the incomparably kitsch ten-storeyed Phoenician Resort in Broadbeach

Robina had succeeded in opening a new line in the city’s development, but one further project to receive the jury’s

by Melbourne-based Dale Cohen Architects (completed 1997), the 41-floor Crown Towers Resort by Desmond Brooks

commendation was a publication rather than a building—the first such instance in the history of the Gold Coast Architecture

International (DBI, formerly the Gold Coast office of Media Five, completed 1998), the 22-floor Watermark Hotel (Woods

Awards. The Gold Coast Urban Heritage & Character Study, completed for the Gold Coast City Council by Allom Lovell

Bagot, completed 1996), and Beaches Residential Apartments at Surfers Paradise (29 floors, by HPA Architects).

Marquis-Kyle and others sought to “capture for the first time the very essence of the Gold Coast’s urban heritage and

They might have been a good sign for architecture’s prospects on the Gold Coast, but the jury thought they posed another kind of question. “The jury is giving these [towers] special mentions [for their] brave blend of entertainment and development . . .. They are . . . expressions of the essence of this city. It could be said that they are at for forefront of

perhaps [to] provide the architects of the future some inspiration and guidelines for incorporating these elements into the future skyline.” The jury made a further five commendations to work by Ideo Architecture for a private residence (“very much a Gold

marketing, social planning and representation of what this place is all about. In trying to understand the floating fish on the

Coast house which has been distilled to its purest form by an owner-architect . . . interpreting [the] 1960s Chevron

walls, the plastic pelicans and the giant shark jaws and the whale patrolling the bottom of the swimming pool [recalling the

Island tradition”); to Philip Follent for a house at Tallai (where the “single cell structure takes advantage of the land

work of DBI], the jury admitted that these ‘stage sets’ are architecture—but are they good architecture?”

contours and every room has a view, something the owners asked for, but did not expect the architect to achieve”);

Judging by the disposition of the awards, the answer was clearly in the negative. These were not the only projects vying

to Greenway International for the Queensland Breweries administration building (tasked to “translate the emerging

for a commendation—other public buildings include three projects at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus, “the Robina

flat management corporate culture into a functional office environment . . . a rarely seen egalitarian design”); to James

Trinity Anglican Mission, the Nerang Railway Station, St Andrew’s Lutheran Worship Centre at West Burleigh and a Salvation

Cubitt Architects for Griffith University’s Visual Arts Building “[a] refreshing series of spaces which are both academic

Army centre at Lismore.” The Building of the Year, however, went to the Robina Town Centre. As jury chair Darryl Parker

and practical. Industrial techniques have been skilfully employed, and with little extravagant touches”); and to Jeff

observed in his announcement: “The $200 million centre, designed by architects Cameron Chisholm and Nicol, was praised

Davidson for his Worship and Community Centre for the Salvation Army (which “reflects the simple and direct approach

by the judges as a new approach to shopping centres on a scale never before seen in Australia and possible the world.”

synonymous with the name”). /AL

The jury recognised its contribution to the planned growth of Robina as an urban centre earmarked by the Queensland government for strategic investment. Still a largely undeveloped area in 1998, Parker commented that Robina’s success

Sources: RAIA media releases, February 25, 27, 1998 (GCAAA).

would largely “depend on the planned development around it.” The complex combined “the retail component of the district in a carefully orchestrated mix of different social destinations arranged in an intimate high street and town configuration.”

129

1998

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Robina Town Centre, Cameron Chisholm Nicol, Robina, 1990-1996 Drawing courtesy Cameron Chisholm Nichol

130

1998

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Robina Town Centre, Cameron Chisholm Nicol, Robina, 1990-1996 Drawing courtesy Cameron Chisholm Nichol

131

1998

COMMENDATION Visual Arts Building, Griffith University, James Cubitt Architects, Parklands/Southport, completed 1997 Photographs by Andrew Leach

132

1998

PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE McKenna Residence (right), Cameron Chisholm Nicol, 1996-1997 Photographs and drawings courtesy Cameron Chisholm Nicol

COMMENDATION Tallai House (above and left), Philip Follent Architects, Tallai, 1995-96 Photographs courtesy Philip Follent

133

1998

COMMENDATION Administration Facility (right), Queensland Breweries (now Carlton & United Breweries), Greenway International, Yatala, completed 1997 Photographs by Andrew Leach

COMMENDATION Gold Coast Urban Heritage & Character Study (left), Allom Lovell Marquis-Kyle, Henshell Hanson Associates, Context, HJM, Staddon Consulting and Gold Coast City Council 1998 Courtesy City of Gold Coast

134

1998

COMMENDATION Ideo Residence (above and right), Ideo Architecture, Broadbeach, completed 1997 Photographs courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

COMMENDATION New Worship and Community Centre (left), Jeff Davidson, Lismore, completed 1997 Photographs by Georgina Kreutzer

135

1999

136

1999

COMMENDATION Island Terraces (opposite), Couran Cove Resort, Daryl Jackson Architects, South Stradbroke Island, completed 1998 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Jackson Architecture

The outcomes of the 1999 Gold Coast Architecture Awards suggest that the turn to the city evidenced in the previous

The Building of the Year Award was made to the Daryl Jackson Architects-designed Couran Cove development, “a

year might have been something of an anomaly. In his capacity as the regional awards chair, Denis Holland argued: “[we]

maritime village resort located within the Broadwater with direct access to the sand dune landscape of South Stradbroke

must remind ourselves that in this industry the greatest risk is letting the ‘mediocre’ stand as the visible representation of

Island.” The jury regarded the challenges of scale and composition as being “masterfully handled resulting in . . . a resort

our most recent work. All the buildings on display tonight have qualities which set them apart. They are good buildings. I’m

with an exceptional emphasis on environmental responsibility.” Mainwaring and his colleagues saw in this design a moment

using the plain-English word ‘good’ intentionally, because we as architects don’t fund easy agreement when using words

of respite from the Coast’s unrelenting growth: “This is the Gold Coast’s alter ego or its conscience. The Gold Coast is an

such as stylish, evocative, inspiring, even functional.” He suggested that the work lies in finding the balance between “the

enjoyable place, but its activity is going to be happily contained by a protective rung of environmentally sound development

engagingly evocative” and “the trowelled-on pastiche,” “the stage sets” and “the substance,” and a building that is strong,

such as Couran Cove with its intricate environmental sustainability and energy efficiency.”

but the “architecture” of which “gets blown off in each cyclone.” But, as he continued, “the real danger occurs when

Holland’s comments notwithstanding, those residential projects to enjoy the jury’s favour consistently did so on the

‘looking backward’ becomes the major focus . . . Surgeon’s don’t do a ‘baroque style caesarean section’ and we don’t have

basis of strong design combined with a clear sense of historicity. Uhlmann’s Banksia Residence therefore stood out as

‘Mediterranean’ jumbo jets with Tuscan doors.”

“a simple long house in the tradition of the old northern NSW fibro cottage” and his Hill House as “relatively modest

That this might have been aimed at those high-rise projects to have been singled out (if not commended) in the previous

addition to a classic 1970s house designed by John Mobbs . . .. The carefully designed new elements have a significant

year is further suggested by the profile of projects to receive the jury’s commendations. The lion’s share of the jury’s

impact individually but work together to transform the original dwelling.” The Island Terraces project by Darryl Parker (not

recognition went to residential and multi-residential projects, with a school campus, university building and commercial

illustrated here) was noted for the way it “reconciles the relaxed Gold Coast lifestyle with a more urban setting . . .. Units are

fit-out offering a brief respite from a list dominated by domestic work. Commendations and the Building of the Year Award

staggered along the curved plan producing a lively and informal rhythm to the development [in] a well mannered addition

were announced by the State Awards Director John Mainwaring. He chaired a Chapter-appointed jury comprising the

to the streetscape [that] captures the spirit of ’60s Chevron origins.” Mt St Patricks College & Primary School was also

Deputy Awards Director, Project Services architect Don Watson, Gold Coast representative Eldon Bottcher and, again,

commended for its “admirable retention of the former convent building, being effectively re-used for school administration.

Gold Coast Bulletin editor Bob Gordon as a lay juror.

It retains a . . . valuable landmark in the Murwillumbah streetscape. When one views this school from a distance it resembles

The shift to a cross-border region of Gold Coast and Northern Rivers was in clear evidence with the deputy mayors of Gold Coast and Tweed Shire both attending the reception held on Friday, May 28, 1999. Commendations were likewise distributed throughout the region, with notable northern New South Wales works including a school at Murwillumbah (Mt

a hillside village . . .. A myriad of both vertical and horizontal circulation spaces give the school a dynamic spirit and a strong sense of synergy between students and teachers.” With the shift to a more definitively regional scope, the Gold Coast Architecture Awards had to account not just for

St Patricks Colege & Primary School, by Fulton Trotter Moss) and houses by Paul Uhlmann at both Fingal Head (Banksia

architecture’s relation to the city and its urban identity, but to the architectural culture of a vast region extending from a

Residence) and Lennox Head (a townhouses project). The dense urban centres of Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach escaped

central high density urban core to rural edges. With the reinstatement of infrastructure connecting the Gold Coast and

attention in 1999, with another Uhlmann project at Currumbin (Hill House), Inarc’s Eye Centre at Southport, and the

northern New South Wales to Brisbane by road and rail, the next decade would see substantial growth from Southport to

General Sciences Building at Griffith University weighting commended works to the city’s lower density edges. A residential

Broadbeach, but also in the region’s hinterland and edges. /AL

development by Darryl Parker on Chevron Island (Island Terraces) was most centrally located of all commended projects. Sources: RAIA Gold Coast Architecture Awards Overview, May 28, 1999 (GCAAA).

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BUILDING OF THE YEAR Couran Cove Resort, Daryl Jackson Architects, South Stradbroke Island, completed 1998 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Jackson Architecture

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COMMENDATION Island Terraces, Couran Cove Resort, Daryl Jackson Architects, South Stradbroke Island, completed 1998 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Jackson Architecture

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The Eye Centre and Laser Vision Centre, Inarc Design, Southport, completed 1998

Billabong International Headquarters, Hamilton Hayes Henderson, Burleigh Heads, completed 1998

Photographs by Ross Spencer, courtesy Inarc Design

Photographs courtesy Hamilton Hayes Henderson

1999

COMMENDATION Sorrento Lannai, Philip Follent Architects, Lannai, completed 1998 Photographs courtesy Philip Follent

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COMMENDATION Lennox Head Townhouses, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Lennox Head, completed 1998 Photographs courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

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COMMENDATION Banksia Residence (right), Paul Uhlmann Architects, Fingal Head, completed 1998 Photographs courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

COMMENDATION Hill House (above and left), Paul Uhlmann Architects, Currumbin Waters, completed 1998 Photographs courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

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COMMENDATION General Sciences Building, Griffith University, Woods Bagot, Parklands/Southport, completed 1998 Photographs by Andrew Leach

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COMMENDATION Mt St Patricks College & Primary School, Fulton Trotter Moss, Murwillumbah, completed 1998 Photographs courtesy Fulton Trotter

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COMMENDATION Ecoasis (opposite), Philip Follent Architects, Uki, 1998-2000 Photographs courtesy Philip Follent

“To say that architects design buildings is perhaps a simplification,” observed Brian Toyota on behalf of the 2000 jury of the

help to create a strong sense of identity for the greater community within which they are located. These projects are proof

Gold Coast Architecture Awards. “There is a school of thought that defines architecture as a process of solving problems . . .

that the use of an architect in any building project can produce quality and thought that serves a client beyond the provision

in talking about projects, we refer to projects as ‘solutions’ . . .. The diversity of buildings in this year’s awards brings home

of a mere building.”

the undeniable truth that architecture is, among other things, a service industry. Architects do not exist in ivory towers,

Continuing on the tendency maintained across the 1990s to privilege more modestly scaled buildings, the six projects

producing designs on mere whims. All of the 22 entries in this year’s awards are very competent solutions to complex

to join Harbour Town on the podium were spread from Uki (30 kilometres south-west of Tweed Heads) to Beaudesert

design problems.”

(70 kilometres inland) and back to Southport. The jury commended an addition to the Tweed Heads Library and Council

The Building of the Year Award was in 2000 named for the Vienna-born architect Karl Langer (1903-69), whose

Offices by Fulton Trotter Moss for its respect for “the geometric grid and context of the ’70s [Tweed Heads Shire Council]

planning of the canal estates of Miami Keys, Rio Vista and Paradise Waters in the 1950s and 60s was a fundamental

building,” developing a contemporary building using “materials and textures” that spoke to the older fabric rather than simply

contribution to the history of the Gold Coast’s architecture and urban development. It is appropriate that in this year the

“replicat[ing] the existing building form.” Another addition, by Paul Uhlmann (to the Cox Residence), offered a “delightful and

award recognised a project that was not only strong in its own right, but that also pulled the Gold Coast in a new direction,

refreshing approach to a weatherboard Southport cottage. The architect got the most out of the volume of the original

opening up a fresh line in the city’s urban development. The large-scaled open-air mall complex of Harbour Town, by

house. It is a prime example of how design ideas, not expensive materials or oversized spaces, can be used to create a

Buchan Group, was commended by the jury for its “refreshing approach to a conventional suburban shopping centre [which]

unique and liveable home.”

avoided the covered mall concept in favour of internal streets and shops which actually work even though they face the

Another house to secure the jury’s attention was the Burns Residence, by BDA Architecture: “a spectacular beachfront

outside carparks . . .. The centre exudes a colourful and animated atmosphere appropriate to the Gold Coast. While the

site,” this project “resolved environmental and lifestyle issues very well,” it noted. “The house reflects the Queensland

commercial constraints of the centre demand an isolated island of development in the midst of a sea of car parking, this

beachfront vernacular in a series of monuments.” From beach to the bush, Philip Follent tabled an innovative multi-

development goes a long way towards humanising the conventional ‘big box’ shopping centre by creating a people-friendly

residential project of a rather different stripe. The Ecoasis was called “a spectacular answer to a very difficult, steep, west-

pedestrian environment within.”

facing site. It is in reality a bush accommodation experience with a five-star design.” The two buildings completed to date

The Chapter-appointed jury was chaired by Toyota (then design director at Crone McKerrell Lynch in Southport but

were a first stage of a longer process “to revegetate a former farm property to create an eco-tourism retreat.” One further

formerly with Hulbert Group), and included State Awards Director and Deputy Director Don Watson and Mark Roehrs (then

vernacular response was identified in Tony Battams’s Parish Centre, a “regional response in the Beaudesert vernacular . . .. In

an associate director with Daryl Jackson), alongside regional representatives John Mobbs (who was described by MC Ken

its simple detailing, it responds well to the pastoral needs of a country parish.”

Newton at the awards ceremony as having been “sent up from Sydney to finish the Anchorage [at Budds Beach] and just stayed”) and Brian Mossop of the Gold Coast Bulletin, a long-time supporter of the Gold Coast Architecture Awards. The

As for this year’s People’s Choice award, the jury noted that “people voted with their livers” in naming O’Malley’s Irish Pub in Cavill Mall, by John Dimitriou Architects (now part of dm2). /AL

evening celebrations, held on Saturday 20 May, were attended by Gary Baildon and Lyn Beck, mayors of the Gold Coast and Tweed Shire.

Source: RAIA Awards Overview, May 20, 2000 (GCAAA).

Noted Toyota: “In recognising the seven projects chosen for commendations this year, the jury looked for those that went beyond the conventional solutions, with innovative ideas and well executed designs. We also commended projects that respond to [the] physical, social and cultural context of their particular location . . . designs that promote ‘regionalism’ and

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COMMENDATION Ecoasis (this page and opposite), Philip Follent Architects, Uki, 1998-2000 Photographs and drawings courtesy Philip Follent

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COMMENDATION Tweed Heads Library and Council Offices, Fulton Trotter Moss, Tweed Heads, completed 1999 Photographs (left) by Richard Stringer, courtesy Fulton Trotter and (above and right) Andrew Leach

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2000

COMMENDATION Parish Centre, Tony Battams Architect, Beaudesert, completed 2002 Photographs by Andrew Leach

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COMMENDATION

Burns Residence (below and lower left), BDA Architecture, Mermaid Beach, completed 1999

Cox House Additions (below), Paul Uhlmann Architects, Southport, completed 1999

Photographs courtesy BDA Architecture

Photographs courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

2000

COMMENDATION

PEOPLE’S CHOICE

AAMI, Cottee Parker, Bundall, 1988-1999

O’Malley’s Irish Pub, Dimitriou Architects, Surfers Paradise, 1998-1999

Photographs courtesy Cottee Parker

Photographs courtesy dm2 architecture

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BUILDING OF THE YEAR Harbour Town (this page and opposite), Buchan Group, Biggera Waters, completed 1999 Photographs by Studio Sept, photographs and drawing courtesy Buchan Group

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COMMENDATION Kingscliff Library and Meals on Wheels (opposite), Fulton Trotter Architects, Kingscliff, completed 2001 Photograph by Fulton Trotter Architects, courtesy Fulton Trotter Architects

The outcome of the 2001 Gold Coast Architecture Awards demonstrated a decidedly ecological turn of mind in this year,

beach bungalow has maintained its sense of understated beach presence.” A strong sense of integration also marked Paul

with the passage of legislation in the Queensland parliament giving cause to reflect on the contribution of Gold Coast

Uhlmann’s Kinneally Residence: “This house really reflects the Byron Bay culture with a great expanse of large windows to

architecture to the sustainability movement. That there was some sense of these concerns being new (or recovered after

the Byron views. Its detail suggests an Asian feel complemented with living areas opening out on to wide decks to take

a long hiatus) is not surprising, but nonetheless worth noting. As the jury summary had it in introducing the awards and

advantage of climate and views. . . . . A really excellent use of a steep and difficult site.”

commendations on the evening of May 19 at Burleigh Heads, the winners of the 2001 Awards “reflect some interesting

The Yamba Community Centre (Thomson Adsett) and Kingscliffe Library (Fulton Trotter and Partners) both stood out

trends, one of which reveals, for perhaps the first time in modern history, that there was great merit and climatic efficiency

for their “clever and common-sense design,” which at Yamba had “resulted in good natural ventilation and non-reliance on

in the old Queenslander house.”

heating thanks to passive solar energy use.” Compositionally it comprises a “skilfully proportioned series of spaces under

The jury’s decisions were, in this year, very much orientated towards the demonstration of this “trend,” with the Building

light roofs. It has a confident street presence with the lightness of construction and building colours adding to its appeal.”

of the Year being named as the Mt Tamborine Café and Gallery by Gall and Medek. “This building should stand as an

The Fulton Trotter project likewise “makes good use of a natural and beautiful setting. The architects have produced a

inspirational example of environmental sensitivity, clever use of materials and finishes and the ability of good architectural

competent, well loved building for a multi-use community centre . . . with different zones and uses, all working well and

design to produce refreshing results which admirably suit the character of their local communities.” The jury went on to

independently . . . [it is] colourful and deceptively simple.” The Inarc project for the Matthew Scott-Young Surgery reinforces

note the “great village character” of the Mt Tamborine community, and the architects’ success in finding “a very appropriate

these values, in what the jury described as an “interesting interior fitout [that] just goes to show that doctors waiting rooms

design without falling into the trap of the typical cottage look.” Council requirements and self-imposed constraints conspired

don’t need to look like doctors’ waiting rooms.”

to result in “a crafted building without being cutesy. Its resolution has required thorough research and great care in materials, finishes and systems choices. A refreshingly contemporary and witty interpretation of the village shop.”

The awards of this year set out to make a clear point, that “[too] many of today’s home are inefficient, unpleasant to live in, chock full of power consuming alternatives and are destroying what is left of our street character. What were provided

Evan Winkle of DBI once again led the jury for the 2001 Gold Coast Architecture Awards, which also included Mark

as fashion statements by builders whose only interest was making a profit and moving on, have become high-energy

Dunstan (of the Gold Coast office of Woods Bagot), State Awards Director Mark Roehrs, Philip Follent (Deputy Director)

mausoleums totally lacking in character and charm . . .. We face hectares and hectares of Mediterranean and Georgian

and Ken Vernon of the Gold Coast Bulletin. “These awards,” he observed, “are not just about the judging of a collection of

inspired mansions—and little homes too—which mostly defy even the basics of environmental design.” In a moment of

buildings in isolation. They are more to do with an understanding of the meaning and contextual responsibilities of design

“massive redevelopment” the Gold Coast had done little to resist the trend to build big. “A clever architect would go the

excellence . . .. To win jobs today, the architect must produce environmental credentials and pleasingly, this is evident in the

other way, making the footprint of the building smaller, making better use of airflow and environmental considerations

range of 19 projects submitted for these awards.” The tendency of the moment? “We are shifting inexorably towards a

and capturing the qualities of external spaces as pare of the interior experience. The fact that good design can deliver

greener architecture.”

continually refreshing results is best demonstrated in tonight’s architectural awards.” /AL

The jury made five commendations alongside the Mt Tamborine project: two community buildings, a medical premises and two houses by Donovan Hill and Paul Uhlmann. The citation for Donovan Hill’s house at Mermaid Beach described

Sources: RAIA Gold Coast Architecture Awards Overview, May 19, 2001 (GCAAA).

the building as “a classic example of less being more. It shows how an architecturally designed house can be built for the environment and still maximise the building site. This architect resisted the temptation to push the boundaries to the allowable limits of the building envelope, preferring a clever alternative of the smaller footprint. What started as a 60s

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BUILDING OF THE YEAR Cafe and Gallery at Mt Tamborine (left and lower left), Gall and Medek, Mt Tamborine, completed 2001 Photographs by Gall and Medek, courtesy Medek Architecture

COMMENDATION Matthew Scott-Young Surgery (above), Inarc Design, Southport, 2000-2001 Photograph by Ross Spencer, courtesy Inarc Design

158

2001

COMMENDATION Yamba Community Centre, Thomson Adsett, Yamba, 1998-2000 Photographs by Thomson Adsett, courtesy Thomson Adsett

159

2001

COMMENDATION Mermaid Beach House, Donovan Hill, Mermaid Beach, 2000 Photographs by Jon Linkins, photographs and drawing courtesy BVN Donovan Hill

160

2001

COMMENDATION Kinneally Residence (opposite), Paul Uhlmann Architects, Byron Bay, completed 2001 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

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COMMENDATION Science 1 & Biomolecular Research Facility (opposite), Griffith University, Wilson Architects, Parklands/Southport, completed 2001 Photograph courtesy Wilson Architects

“The days are almost gone when the Gold Coast could be accused of having little of cultural substance,” announced an RAIA

of Gold Coast architects, but it had received fresh impetus with the establishment of an Urban Design Advisory Group in

press statement naming those projects to have secured gongs and commendations in the 2002 Gold Coast (and Northern

1996 and an Urban Design Awards two years later, these initiative spear-headed by, among others, Philip Follent as the City

Rivers) Architecture Awards—announcements made at the Pink Elephant Lounge at Surfers Paradise on the evening of

Architect. The Sunland project Aria would mark an historic turning point in the emergence of a more insistently urban highrise

Friday May 24, 2002. This setting offered a curious moment of contrast as a jury chaired by David Brown (of the Sunland

architecture, but such projects as Liberty Panorama suggested, as noted in the jury comments above, that all was not lost to

Group) named a house at Clothiers Creek by Elizabeth Watson Brown as the Gold Coast-Northern Rivers House of the

the needs of development.

Year—a departure from the practice of naming a building of the year. “This is a modern pavilion house,” it observed, “which responds not only to the client’s love of south-east Asian culture, but successfully creates an open, liveable home.” The decision to name a House of the Year alongside four further commendations was taken by a jury comprising, under

Beyond the greater attention to the city tracked by the 2002 awards and the jury commentary, the increased presence of nationally profiled practices engaging in Gold Coast projects alongside such regional mainstays as Burling Brown likewise called attention to a new phase in the city’s architectural culture. While this would later feed a call for Gold Coast architects

Brown, Peddle Thorp architect Peter Gardiner, Gold Coast local Piotr Branczyk and Doug Parrington of the Gold Coast

for Gold Coast commissions, it nonetheless fed a greater discussion between local imperatives and a wider architectural

Bulletin alongside State Awards Director Philip Follent (by now a veteran of the region’s architecture awards) and Deputy

culture in which they had come to participate.

Director Jennifer Taylor, then at the Queensland University of Technology. Brown noted that this was the last of eight

“These trends show the consolidation of the city’s industries and its growing confidence to invest in the long term

regions that had been visited in the State Awards cycle. Joining Watson Brown’s Clothiers Creek house on the podium were

wellbeing of the city. This, fortunately, in Tweed Heads and the Gold Coast is beginning to be mirrored in the efforts of

a typologically diverse range of works from a pool of sixteen submissions: the Main Beach apartment development Liberty

both councils to improve the civic realm, not only via streetscaping but through better designed and durable pieces of

Panorama by HPA Architects (associated with Mirvac Design), the Centenary Centre for The Southport School by Burling

architecture. Tweed Heads initiated an exceptionally handsome and award winning library to strengthen its civic centre

Brown, science research and teaching buildings at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus by Wilson Architects (Science 1

precinct. Most recently the Southern Cross University joined the prestigious group of buildings to signal the precinct’s long

and the Biomolecular Research Facility, now part of the Institute for Glycomics), and Varsity Lakes College by Daryl Jackson

terms public importance. Not through competition nor by coincidence, but its hope through the beginnings of maturity

Architects (part of the major State-driven development of the Robina-Varsity Lakes area).

of a large city, the Gold Coast is investing in projects and buildings of substance—the Southport and Nerang libraries,

Aware that the Gold Coast Architecture Awards had almost cleared their second decade, the jury took the opportunity

renovations to its administration buildings, the Civic Focus Building and the Arts Centre extensions—all of these in their

to reflect on the distance travelled by the city-region in raising the standard and profile of its architecture. “Since these

respective locations across a long, thin city are signals to resident and visitors and importantly to investors, that the city is

awards are now in their nineteenth year in the regional context, it is very appropriate that the jury comment on the state of

about the long term. Such projects ultimately engender civic pride and they will also become the cultural anchors for a city

the built environment in an area which is probably more often criticised for its brashness than for its cultural attributes. It is

long accused of having little of cultural substance.” /AL

rewarding to see the beginnings of maturity of one of Queensland’s fastest growing regions with developer driven projects using innovative design to improve their market edge; creating sate schools within a development that children want to go

Sources: RAIA media release May 24, 2002 & Gold Coast Architecture Awards Overview Notes (GCAAA).

to, elegant apartment buildings that can be admired by even the most committed ground dwellers.” Indeed, the Liberty Panorama building presaged a new urbanistically responsive approach to the realisation of tall residential buildings, and in particular in the balance found in its resolution of the ground floor address and composition of the form overall. Simultaneous attention to the architectural object and the city was not by any means a new concern

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COMMENDATION Varsity Lakes College Preparatory School, Jackson Architecture, Varsity Lakes, completed 2001 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Jackson Architecture

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COMMENDATION Centenary Centre, The Southport School, Burling Brown, Southport, completed 2001 Photographs by Andrew Leach

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COMMENDATION Liberty Panorama, HPA Architects, Main Beach, completed 2002 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Mirvac

PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Austar National Call Centre, Hamilton Hayes Henderson, Robina, 1999-2001 Photographs courtesy Hamilton Hayes Henderson

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HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Clothiers Creek House, Elizabeth Watson Brown Architects, Clothiers Creek, completed 2001 Photographs by Jon Linkins, courtesy Elizabeth Watson Brown, Architectus Brisbane and Jon Linkins

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COMMENDATION Casuarina Beach House (opposite), Lahz Nimmo, Casuarina Beach, completed 2002 Photographs by Brett Boardmann, courtesy Lahz Nimmo

If the 2002 Gold Coast Architecture Awards had signalled a decisive shift in the city-region’s architectural culture, its

response to a very difficult and constrained site and budget . . . the creation of four individual houses which maximise the

effects were clearly evident in the projects submitted and rewarded in 2003. Entries nearly doubled in this year, from

views from the site and which are in tune with the Tugun character.”

sixteen to thirty, and the jury took the bold step not only of a concomitant doubling of commendations, but of declaring

Commendations went to a range of projects extending from Casuarina Beach (across the border) to Labrador a selection

winners in the categories of both Building of the Year (Aria, by the Sunland Group) and a House of the Year (for a

that tended to hug the coast and waterways more noticeably than awards made in the previous decade. The jury described

townhouse project in Tugun by Paul Uhlmann Architects). That this widespread success marked the twentieth anniversary

the Casuarina Beach house on lot C109 by Lahz Nimmo an “extremely sophisticated” project “which has become the icon

of the Gold Coast Architecture Awards was entirely appropriate, as the jury noted in its overview: “This region is now on

of the Casuarina Beach story.” Further north, on another section of the rapidly developing coastal edge, Paul Uhlmann

the launching pad to a whole new way of experiencing a unique lifestyle, dominated by a more sophisticated baby boomer

also received a commendation for a house at Mermaid Beach, a “modest project making the most of its beachfront site,

consumer and an unmistakable yearning for he old beach character and way of life.”

providing the best possible example of the Gold Coast outdoor lifestyle.” Inarc received recognition for its Muir Street

The commendations made in this year, though, tended to reflect sophistication rather than nostalgia. A mixture of high-

Residences in Labrador, “providing lots of space and a terrific lifestyle with a minimum of means.” Yet another house, by

density and medium-density residential projects, stand-alone houses and commercial interventions described the scope of

Hamilton Hayes Henderson on the Isle of Capri, turned “a tough, noisy urban site” into “an oasis of subtropical living once

those projects to receive recognition. “In these [twentieth] anniversary awards, the jury saw projects with budgets which

inside the front door.” Joining Aria in the high-rise category, Archidiom project (for the Raptis Group) Platinum on the Beach

ranged from the obscene to the ridiculous . . . Good architecture is not so much determined by how sophisticated the

was commended as a “building of strong sculptural form.”

materials and finishes, but by the sophisticated way very simple materials are used. This required intelligent thinking about the problem.” Decisions in this year were taken by a Queensland Chapter-appointed jury of five. Directed by Karlo Zechovic with the

Among those other building types represented among the commendations, the renovation of the commercial building Ashmore Central received particularly high praise: “Sitting on one of the most unfriendly intersections on the Gold Coast and working with a building of extreme ordinariness, the architects did a magical make-over with an extremely low budget.”

assistance of Deputy Gold Coast Awards Chairman Darryl Parker, the Gold Coast jury comprised of the State-appointed

Buchan Group was also recognised for the “remarkable transformation” it had enacted at the Robina Town Centre of turning

Awards Director and Deputy Jennifer Taylor and Shane Thompson, with Brian Mossop once again representing the Gold

“an outdoor shopping mall into a new contemporary urban interior.” A project by Burling Brown in the mode of adaptive

Coast Bulletin. At the special anniversary reception, held at the Gold Coast Arts Centre on May 30, 2003, Rita Avdiev of

re-use and restoration also stood out at 45 Nerang Street, Southport: “An historic gem of Southport’s history has been

Melbourne—one of the inaugural jurors of the Gold Coast Architecture Awards in 1984—returned to present the awards

rediscovered in this restoration of the 1920s ambulance station along with a new and contemporary engineer’s studio.”

and commendations alongside Gold Coast City Councillor Sue Robbins. The Sunland Group project Aria (with Buchan Group in association) was named (“first among equals”) as Building of the Year, a “new type of Gold Coast tower which celebrates urban coastal living.” The jury commended how it “has questioned

In its overview remarks, the jury recalled that “architecture is a growing and changing thing that responds to society’s values and standards. It is a snapshot of where we are right now.” A snapshot indeed, but a snapshot in a crucial moment of the architectural and urban history of the Gold Coast. /AL

the way apartment buildings have been done in the past in terms of construction and detailing and is an excellent example of confidence in modernist architecture in high rise apartment towers.” Its integration with the street-level urban fabric of

Sources: RAIA media release May 24, 2002, and Gold Coast Architecture Awards Overview Notes (GCAAA).

the burgeoning Broadbeach restaurant and retail culture was particularly noteworthy. A complex of “[four] new generation surf retreats on beautiful Tugun Hill” earned Paul Uhlmann Architects the second House of the Year Award: “A marvellous

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COMMENDATION Casuarina Beach House, Lahz Nimmo, Casuarina Beach, completed 2002 Photographs by Brett Boardmann, courtesy Lahz Nimmo

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COMMENDATION Tugun Towerhouses (left and centre), Paul Uhlmann Architects, Tugun, completed 2002 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

COMMENDATION Muir Street Residences, (right) Inarc Design Group, Labrador, completed 2002 Photographs by Ross Spencer, courtesy Inarc Design Group

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COMMENDATION Ashmore Central, Archibett, Ashmore, completed 2002 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Scott Burrows and Archibett

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COMMENDATION Platinum on the Beach, Archidiom, Surfers Paradise, completed 2002 Photographs by Andrew Leach

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COMMENDATION Private Residence, Hamilton Hayes Henderson, Isle of Capri, completed 2002 Photographs courtesy Hamilton Hayes Henderson

COMMENDATION 45 Nerang Street, Burling Brown, Southport, completed 2002 Photographs by Richard Stringer, courtesy Burling Brown

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performance glass

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e tbg@brisbane.buchan.com.au t +61 7 3859 9222 f +61 7 3859 9234 www.buchan.com.au A member of The Buchan Group

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Malone Buchan Laird & Bawden Pty Ltd A.B.N. 56 069 344 614 architecture|masterplanning|interiors|graphics

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Bazaar Street, Robina Town Centre, Buchan Group, Robina, completed 2003 Photographs by Quinton Marais, courtesy Buchan Group Malone Buchan Laird & Bawden Pty Ltd A.B.N. 56 069 344 614 architecture|masterplanning|interiors|graphics

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BUILDING OF THE YEAR Aria, Sunland Group with Buchan Group in association, Broadbeach, 2001-2003 Photographs courtesy Sunland Group (left) and by Andrew Leach (right)

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COMMENDATION Mermaid Beach House, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Tugun, completed 2002 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

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COMMENDATION Gold Coast House (opposite), Innovarchi, Mudgeeraba, completed 2003 Photograph by Stephen Oxenbury, courtesy Innovarchi

This was “undoubtedly the year of the house in this region,” declared the jury of the 2004 Gold Coast and Northern Rivers

it immediately as “one of the best houses at Casuarina Beach.” Praising its “retro feel” the jury noted its engagement with

awards of the RAIA. “There were exceptionally strong entries for houses of great variety. On the other hand, it did strike the

both client needs (“superbly designed for beach holidays, with two families in mind”) and the local architectural vernacular

jury as odd that there were no apartments entered, in a city which is Australia’s apartment city.” While the skyline promised

(“a contemporary interpretation of the fibro beach shack”).

a flood of apartment buildings in the years to come, the “houses entered this year led the jury [chaired by Brisbane architect

With its showroom and view tower, the Ephraim Island Sales Office was distinguished as a “beautifully detailed building

Shane Thompson] to the conclusion that we are seeing the birth of a new generation of housing, the Gold Coast Urban

in which the owner and their architects chose to present a full treatment of the Ephraim Island lifestyle, rather than just

House.” He added: “This urban canal lifestyle could be very unique to the Gold Coast, with tight urban sites providing new

producing a prototype or a miniature, as so many site offices do.” A single non-residential project by the Buchan Group—the

challenges for the architect.”

Arbour Lane Refurbishment in the Robina Town Centre—also received a commendation for presenting “a sense of street”

“A prime example of this was the Lido Residence in Surfers Paradise which the jury thought was an excellent demonstration of how those little original houses on the early canal estates, which no longer are of a size or design appropriate to contemporary living, can be transformed into an urban canal house. This city now faces the reality that those

that “makes sense of its location in a reasonably fractured environment. [. . .] Keeping the memory of the old facades was a good move, because these will become historical in time.” The Building of the Year (and People’s Choice Award) went to the Nerang Library, designed by Daryl Jackson Architects.

old suburbs sitting at the back of Surfers, like Chevron and Isle of Capri, are the New Farms, Red Hills and Paddingtons of

It was noted as “another well designed addition to the City Council’s community infrastructure development program. It

the Gold Coast. These are now inner city suburbs.”

seems typical of a new wave of community infrastructure development happening throughout Queensland. Libraries are

“The bones of the earlier house were barely perceptible,” the jury noted, and the “bright, airy and open house make-over

now very sophisticated places, with internet rooms, reading spaces and refreshment facilities. They are important in creating

made excellent use of a small urban block on a canal to produce a new style of home [. . . that] addressed many of the

a sense of community and belonging and local authorities are to be commended for putting greater design effort into these

issues which face urban dwellers, privacy among them.”

buildings.”

Bayden Goddard Design’s Lido house sat along domestic projects by HPA Architects (Ephraim Island Sales Office), Philip

As the citation observes by way of a back-handed compliment, “although it could be called a generic product with

Follent (The T House), Innovarchi (Gold Coast House), John Mainwaring and Associates (Kelly Residence) and Lahz Nimmo

little response to its location it certainly suits its purpose and is easy to use, with a good layout which is competent and

(Lot C109), inflating a category that was taken out by BoArc for their Kirra Beach House. The jury described this project

consistent.” And further, while “this was very typical of the work by this practice, nonetheless it was very responsive to its

as “a totally enjoyable engaging place to be.” These entries “show what can be done in small, forgotten pockets which have

site.” Both “popular and very workable building, both for visitors and the staff”—“easy to read” (!) as the jury appropriately

created opportunities for eccentric solutions.”

had it—the Nerang Library further drew the jury’s attention for the incorporation of artwork undertaken by “a council

The commendations, too, secured the jury’s high praise. It described Innovarchi’s project, for instance, as “a remarkable

staffer.” /AL

house [. . .]. The idea of a glass house was a high risk strategy, but the architects managed to produce a domestic achievement of a standard one would expect of a commercial building.” Notwithstanding its “unusual brief,” Follent’s T

Sources: RAIA media statement, June 19, 2004; and Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Awards in Architecture, Regional

House had “some endearing qualities” despite its evident challenges, with a particularly noteworthy front elevation. The Kelly

Commendations, RAIA Statement, June 19, June 2004 (GCAAA).

Residence “exhibits a sensitivity to the environment in an intelligent way, reconciling climatic and privacy issues. While most other beach houses present themselves in crisply ironed mambo beach shirts, screaming out ‘I’m a beach house,’ this one captures the unpretentiousness of a beach house in a sort of lazy and casual way.” And the house by Lahz Nimmo positioned

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10 3

7 8

section 1:20

cross-section 1:20

COMMENDATION Gold Coast House, Innovarchi, Mudgeeraba, completed 2003 Photographs by Stephen Oxenbury (upper left) and Jon Linkins (above and roght), photographs and drawings courtesy Innovarchi

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2004

COMMENDATION Lot C109, Lahz Nimmo, Casuarina Beach, completed 2003 Photographs by Brett Boardman, courtesy Lahz Nimmo

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2004

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COMMENDATION

Lido Residence (above and centre), Bayden Goddard Design, Isle of Capri, completed 2003

The T House (right), Philip Follent Architects, Paradise Waters, completed 2003

Photographs by BGD Architects, courtesy BGD Architects

Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Philip Follent

2004

COMMENDATION Arbour Lane Refurbishment, Robina Town Centre, Buchan Group, Robina, 2003 Photographs by the Buchan Group, courtesy the Buchan Group

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2004

COMMENDATION Kelly Residence, John Mainwaring & Associates, Casuarina Beach, completed 2003 Photographs by John Mainwaring, courtesy JMA Architects

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2004

HOUSE OF THE YEAR Kirra Beach House, BoARC, Kirra Beach, 2001-2003 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy BoARC Architects

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2004

COMMENDATION Ephraim Island Sales Office, HPA Architects, Paradise Point, completed 2003 Photographs courtesy Mirvac

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BUILDING OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Nerang Library, Daryl Jackson Architects, Nerang, completed 2003 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Jackson Architecture

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2005

COMMENDATION SOHO and SOHO on Lake (opposite), Design Forum, Varsity Lakes, completed 2004 Photographs by Tom Anthony, courtesy degenhartSHEDD

If 2004 had been Year of the House, then the 2005 Gold Coast Architecture Awards picked up its mantle, with eight out

of this house on the edge of a spectacular and enviable view.” To Varsity Lakes, the Design Forum project SOHO + SOHO

of eleven commendations being made to houses and medium density housing projects of one kind or another. The House

“combines work and home environment within a tightly constrained urban site . . .. With an eclectic mix of work and living

of the Year Award was made to a Fingal Head residence by Hamilton Hayes Henderson, which the jury (in a communiqué

spaces which can be subdivided into two office spaces at street level with two living units above.” The jury’s conclusion?

to members sent by regional chair Brett Saville) described as a “sophisticated beach bohemia.” Occupying a site in a narrow

“SOHO + SOHO was good + good and fun + fun.” One final domestic project secured rare recognition for public housing,

street, “the design creates a virtual oasis that opens up to the lawn area and a track to the beach beyond. The extensive use

with BDA Architecture’s Resitech at Tweed Heads resulting from “a commitment by the NSW Department of Housing to

of stackable glass doors evaporates the division between indoors and out within a house that uses minimalist materials and

provide dignified public housing for the elderly and people with disabilities close to community services and able to reflect

simple planning.”

their changing needs.” A colourful island in an otherwise low-density neighbourhood, the project offered a “carefully

Two more beach properties received commendations in Casuarina Beach (Mainwaring Precinct, by John Mainwaring & Associates) and Mermaid Beach (in Hedges Avenue—the so-called Millionaire’s Row—by BGD Architects). The Mainwaring

considered response to the need to provide high density public housing that is well integrated into the community.” Providing another form of public amenity, the Coomera Waters Recreation Club (Cox Rayner)—incorporating a swimming

Precinct was congratulated for using a “collection of beach inspired buildings” to form “the central hub for the growing

pool, gymnasium, tennis courts and space, both indoor and outdoor, for entertainment—was commended for its cost

community . . .. The relationship between the residences and the ‘corner store’ facilities engender,” said the jury, “a casual

effectiveness, site responsiveness and careful detailing. Observed the jury: “It provides flexible use of space whilst providing

attitude with a comfortable mix between people, bikes, cars and community events.” Hedges Avenue, in contrast, was

a link between the natural site features and the well integrated facilities. Barcelona Pavilion meets Gold Coast Hinterland.”

for a single family, whose “residence sits proud in the dunes overlooking the beach. The planning creates the feeling of

Bligh Voller Neild secured two commendations for rather complex briefs—one presenting the public face of the Gold

expansive and airy interior spaces on a small confined site.” One element of the house in particular drew the jury’s attention:

Coast City Council (the GCCC Chambers Building at Bundall) and the other accommodating the necessarily private demands

“The house’s simple, linear planning includes a male walk-in robe off the master bedroom that is larger than the lady of the

of the Australian Defence Force Intelligence Training Centre. Of the latter the jury observed that the “building is situated on

house’s, needless to say that the male members of the jury were suitably impressed.”

an ecologically sensitive site and is a well resolved response to a brief involving complex security issues.” It commended the

From the beach to the rivers and canals, submissions by Shane Denman Architects (Riverside Family Estate, Carrara)

widespread use of environmentally sustainable measures—a remark shared with the Chambers Building, which received the

and Paul Uhlmann (Mitchell Residence, Broadbeach) earned the jury’s attention. Riverside—a “collection of three houses

Karl Langer Building of the Year Award. “The new centre for the [GCCC] accommodates new council chambers, Mayor and

and communal facilities for an extended family on the banks of the Nerang River”—was composed of individual buildings,

Councillors’ offices, support facilities and a two storey atrium space in a sculptural and sub-tropically inspired centrally sited

each “with its own distinctive identity which are finely detailed and have a great appreciation for the difficulties of the site

building. The building’s lightweight appearance gives the sensation of floating above the surrounding landscaped areas.” /AL

and the client’s uncompromising brief.” The Mitchell Residence was likewise designed for a family, on a riverfront site “that optimises climatic orientation as well as the available views. The site is well planned making practical use of all available

Sources: Announcement to members [May 2005], Gold Coast & Northern Rivers Region (GCAAA).

space and the interior planning allows both integration and privacy . . ..” The jury commended the “very close relationship between the indoor and outdoor living spaces carrying the materials of the external envelope into the interior.” Further inland, at Tallai, a second project by Paul Uhlmann Architects, appropriately named “Panorama” captures “a view which has been maximised from a sequence of spaces that positively engage with the full panorama of the Gold Coast. Cleverly manipulated palette of materials and a repetition of stylised elements are threaded through the interiors

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2005

COMMENDATION SOHO and SOHO on Lake, Design Forum, Varsity Lakes, completed 2004 Photographs by Tom Anthony, courtesy degenhartSHEDD

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2005

COMMENDATION Mainwaring Precinct, John Mainwaring & Associates, Casuarina Beach, completed 2004 Photographs by John Mainwaring, courtesy JMA Architects

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2005

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Gold Coast City Council Chambers Building (this page and opposite), Bligh Voller Nield, Evandale, 2002-2005 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy David Sandison and BVN Donovan Hill

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2005

COMMENDATION Coomera Waters Recreation Club, Cox Rayner, Coomera Waters, 2003-2004 Photograph by Colin Hamilton Photography, courtesy Cox Rayner

193

2005

COMMENDATION Enid Street Resitech, BDA Architecture, Tweed Heads, completed 2004 Photographs by Andrew Leach

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2005

HOUSE OF THE YEAR 10 Dune Street, Hamilton Hayes Henderson, Fingal Head, 2002-2004 Photographs by Adam Weathered Photography, courtesy Hamilton Hayes Henderson

195

2005

COMMENDATION Mitchell Residence, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Broadbeach, completed 2004 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy David Sandison and Paul Uhlmann Architects

196

2005

COMMENDATION Panorama, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Tallai, completed 2004 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Scott Burrows and Paul Uhlmann Architects

197

2005

COMMENDATION Riverside Family Estate, Shane Denman Architects, Carrara, completed 2004 Photographs by Murray Waite, courtesy Shane Denman Architects

198

2005

COMMENDATION Defence Intelligence Training Centre, Bligh Voller Nield, Canungra, 2001-2003 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy David Sandison and BVN Donovan Hill

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2005

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2005

COMMENDATION Hegdes Avenue Residence, BGD Architects, Mermaid Beach, completed 2004 Photographs by BGD Architects, courtesy BGD Architects

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2006

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2006

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Air (opposite), Ian Moore Architects, Broadbeach, 2000-2006 Photograph by Rocket Matter, courtesy Ian Moore Architects

High-rise projects came back into focus in the 2006 Gold Coast Architecture Awards, with the Building of the Year Award

Four more houses received commendations in a list extending to twelve project commendations (including awards)

made to two tall residential projects: Q1 (and the Tower Podium in particular), by the Sunland Group in collaboration with

overall: Scott Carpenter for 5 Beech Lane, Casuarina (a light minimalist volume solidly anchored to its extensive site); Paul

the Sydney firm Innovarchi; and Air, the Broadbeach tower by Ian Moore Architects, also based in Sydney. The 80-storey

Uhlmann Architects for the Sunset Residence on the Nerang River at Surfers Paradise (a stylishly reworked 1960s residence

Q1 tower was the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere at the time of its completion, and as Australia’s tallest tower it

with the addition of a three-storey “parents’ retreat”) and the Poincana Residence at Mermaid Beach (a minimalistic white

also remains the world’s tallest residential tower outside of Dubai. The project accommodates more than 500 apartments, a

box opening out to two ends of a narrow urban site); and WIM Architects, also at Mermaid Beach (designed “to maximize

rooftop restaurant and observation deck (at level 77) along with the typical suite of apartment building amenities. With its

ocean views from all rooms in the house . . . [embracing] beach living whilst still presenting as a substantial (glitter strip)

clear prominence and distinctive scalloped cap and spire, Q1 immediately took on an iconic significance for the Gold Coast.

residence to the street.”) The M House at Casuarina Beach by Tangram Architects, eluded a commendation while gaining

It “clearly enhances,” wrote Andrew Wilson in review, “the urban space on the periphery of [a city] which has historically

the popular vote.

born the brunt of poor development.” Less than half the height of Q1, the signature yellow of Air rendered it, too, an immediately iconic moment in the

Alongside these houses, further commendations went to the Byron at Byron Resort & Spa, which as Haysom Architects put it “transformed a mosquito infested swamp land with a weed ridden rainforest at its centre into a lush holiday retreat.”

Broadbeach landscape. At 37 storeys and comprising 134 apartments, and fused with the Oasis Shopping Centre and its

Starting from more benign conditions, the Accor Premier Vacation Club timeshare facility at Robina, by Nettleton Tribe,

monorail turning circle, it sits at the heart of Broadbeach development. As Wilson describes in his review of the project: “Air

privileges access and efficiency in providing “occupants and visitors with a safe and comfortable space in a landscaped

is an elegant recent addition to the Gold Coast City skyline, which successfully negotiates a complex set of pre-existing site

environment at the head of a cul-de-sac.”

conditions. The T-figure schema of the residential tower is composed of a broad, thin, lozenge-shaped block of one- and

In a year dominated by houses, residential towers and tourist accommodation, an institutional project and a community

two-level apartments facing the ocean, and a square satellite tower uniformly containing one apartment per floor plate and

project (the Banora Point Multi-Purpose Centre) both recovered some ground for other building types. At Southport,

cantilevering to claim available air space over the shopping centre behind.” A clear success story in the history of architect-

Phillips Smith Conwell were commended for their work on the GH1 Medicine & Oral Health Building for Griffith University’s

developer collaborations, Wilson has this residential tower as “arguably the most sophisticated and innovative recent

new health campus—a project that would be obsolete within the decade. A fast-tracked project (18 months in total)

apartment development in south-east Queensland.”

mirrored the rapid expansion of the newly founded school, with a complex brief including teaching, research and laboratory

The MT House at Currumbin, by Shane Denman Architects, was named the Gold Coast House of the Year. A second

spaces alongside public clinics and student services. For several years, it served to reinforce the relationship between

residence integrated into a constrained site, its views extend to Palm Beach, the Burleigh Headland and Surfers Paradise.

Griffith University and the Gold Coast Hospital—a relationship since cemented under the Health and Knowledge Precinct

The finely constructed pavilion stacked a programme accessible on grade to all three levels of the new house, with the

Plan for Parklands. /AL

main living level, as the architect had it, “accessed by a bridge through the rainforest with ocean vista beyond.” Views are intelligently framed, boundaries between interior and exterior punctuated to great effect, and a low pitch to the main roof

Sources: Andrew Wilson, “Air” and “Q1 Podium,” both in Architecture Australia (July 2006) (www.architectureau.com);

protects views from the original house. While MT had taken the House of the Year Award, a commendation for the Denaby

Place Makers: Contemporary Queensland Architects, edited by Miranda Wallace & Sarah Stuchbury (Brisbane: QAG, 2008);

House cemented Denman’s success in this year. In many ways the inverse of the MT House, the Denaby residence occupies

Architects’ Statements (GCAAA).

a large, steep Currumbin Waters site with views to the south and north-east, including a panoramic view of the coastline. The two houses share several gestures, but against the MT House the weatherboard finish and stonework renders the Denaby House it a much heavier work.

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2006

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Air, Ian Moore Architects, Broadbeach, 2000-2006 Photographs by Rocket Matter, courtesy Ian Moore Architects

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2006

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Air, Ian Moore Architects, Broadbeach, 2000-2006 Photographs by Rocket Matter, courtesy Ian Moore Architects

205

2006

COMMENDATION GH1 Medicine and Oral Health, Griffith University, Phillips Smith Conwell, Southport, 2003-2005 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Scott Burrows and Phillips Smith Conwell

206

2006

COMMENDATION APVC Robina Town Centre, Nettleton Tribe, Robina, 2004-2005 Photographs by Brett Boardman, courtesy Nettleton Tribe

207

2006

COMMENDATION Poincana Residence, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Mermaid Beach, completed 2005 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects and Scott Burrows

208

2006

COMMENDATION Sunset Residence, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Surfers Paradise, completed 2005 Photographs by Clive Buxton, courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

209

2006

HOUSE OF THE YEAR MT House, Shane Denman Architects, Currumbin, completed 2005 Photographs by Shane Denman Architects, courtesy Shane Denman Architects

210

2006

HOUSE OF THE YEAR MT House, Shane Denman Architects, Currumbin, completed 2005 Photographs by Shane Denman Architects (upper left and lower right) and Rix Ryan Photography, courtesy Shane Denman Architects

211

2006

COMMENDATION Denaby House, Shane Denman Architects, Currumbin Waters, completed 2005 Photographs by Shane Denman Architects and Rix Ryan Photography (upper right), courtesy Shane Denman Architects

212

2006

COMMENDATION Denaby House, Shane Denman Architects, Currumbin Waters, completed 2005 Photographs by Shane Denman Architects, courtesy Shane Denman Architects

213

2006

COMMENDATION 5 Beech Lane, Scott Carpenter, Casuarina Beach, 2004-2005 Photographs by Brian Usher, courtesy Scott Carpenter

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2006

COMMENDATION Mermaid Beach Residence, WIM Architects, Mermaid beach completed 2005 Photographs by WIM Architects, courtesy WIM Architects

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2006

COMMENDATION and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE M House, Tangram Architects, Casuarina Beach, completed 2005 Photographs by Gunther Lamprecht, courtesy Tangram Architects

216

2006

COMMENDATION Banora Point Multi-Purpose Centre, Fulton Trotter, Banora Point, completed 2006 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Fulton Trotter

217

2006

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2006

COMMENDATION Byron at Byron (this page and opposite), Haysom Architects, Byron Bay, 2002-2005 Photographs by Marc Gerritson (this page and lower right, opposite page) and Andrew Trimmer (left and upper right, opposite page), courtesy Haysom Architects

219

2006

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Q1, Sunland Group, with Buchan Group (tower) and Innovarchi (podium), Surfers Paradise, 2001-2005 Images courtesy Innovarchi

220

2006

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Q1, Sunland Group, with Buchan Group (tower) and Innovarchi (podium), Surfers Paradise, 2001-2005 Photographs by Russell Shakespeare, courtesy Innovarchi

221

2006

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Q1, Sunland Group, with Buchan Group (tower) and Innovarchi (podium), Surfers Paradise, 2001-2005 Images courtesy Sunland Group

222

2006

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Q1, Sunland Group, with Buchan Group (tower) and Innovarchi (podium), Surfers Paradise, 2001-2005 Images courtesy Sunland Group

223

2007

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2007

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Tweed River Art Gallery (opposite), Bud Brannigan, Murwillumbah, 1998-2003 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Bud Brannigan

After a year celebrating high-rise experiments in the region’s urban core, the success of the Tweed River Art Gallery as

Going on to receive the Beatrice Hutton Award for Commercial Architecture in the Queensland Architecture Awards, the

Building of the Year signalled a shift in attention to northern New South Wales, with the Bud Brannigan-designed project

Ferry Road Market transformed a desolate low-density commercial development into “an upmarket fresh food market.”

becoming the first instance since the award’s instigation in 1989 in which the best building was found south of the

Allowing the display of visually compelling produce, the building’s public accessibility and subtle signage have allowed other

state border. At the forefront of commendations made in the 2007 Gold Coast and Northern Rivers regional awards of

architects and designers to complement the Cox Rayner design with individual tenancy fit-outs. Repurposing an existing

the RAIA (directed by Peter Skinner), the Gallery is set on a hilltop just south of the northern New South Wales town of

industrial shell, a new saw-tooth roof provides natural ventilation and a series of green walls serve as environmental

Murwillumbah, occupying a long, narrow site with sweeping views of Mount Warning and the Border Ranges. Designed to

controls. Suggested the architects: “Ferry Road Market is a bold venture by a client who sought to revitalize a run-down,

accommodate community programmes and both permanent and touring exhibitions, the gallery comprises two components

alienated industrial complex into a dynamic public realm, now evident by its popularity.”

in a linear arrangement with a sculpture forecourt and courtyard supplementing the gallery interior. These are together

Seated next to commended multi-residential developments by HPA Architects and Mirvac Design (Emphraim Island

conceived as a farm shed with views: a tightly programmed utilitarian structure drawing attention to the landscape over

Villas, Paradise Point) and Archidiom (Waters Edge, Biggera Waters), DBI Design signalled its return as serious contenders

which it presides.

in this year with two works in Broadbeach: The Oracle Sales Centre and The Wave, both working with landmark forms and

Alongside the Tweed River Art Gallery, ten commendations were made in this year’s awards, rewarding projects ranging

an expressive architectural language. As a building engaged in meaningful conversation with its landmark neighbours (Aria

from privately commissioned houses to major residential developments (and development sales premises), alongside Cox

and the Phoenician), The Wave uses overlapping sinusoidal curves to define form, “throw light,” express site qualities (“as an

Rayner’s reprise of Brisbane’s James Street Market in a Ferry Road setting, a commercial showroom for Harvey Norman

allegory of its coastal environment,” to cite the architects) and enliven its immediate urban environment. The nearby Oracle

(Cottee Parker) and the Southport Police Station, by Queensland Project Services. Houses by Tangram Architects (W

tower, which in 2012 would pick up another commendation for DBI, was represented in 2007 by its sales sampler, intended

House, Angers Paradise), Shane Denman Architects (128, with Greg Barnes Design Group in collaboration) and Arkhefield

to capture in miniature the core qualities intended for the entire complex: an “aesthetics of simplicity and elegance” for the

(Couran Cove House) received commendations, but Fairweather Proberts took the House of the Year Award for their Tugun

“ultimate living experience.” Aiming for sophistication and timelessness in a city not renowned for either, the Oracle display

Residence—a robust residence sited along the beach edge. This project the architects presented as “a living space . . . that

suite served as a spatial moment in a “path of sale.”

allows the beach environment to inhabit the house.” Designed on an elevated ground floor plan to provide privacy and

Looking forward to 2008 and the 25th Gold Coast Architecture Awards, it was difficult not to see the distance that

glimpsed ocean views, the house uses sculptured concrete, facetted and varied for “honest” expression, to engender “an

had been travelled by the city-region since the 1980s. The 2007 awards spoke to maturity and a hard-won role for

ambiguous form in the street that responds to its casual beach context.”

architecture in the city. The spark may have well and truly left the commentary on these works, but the importance of

Two public projects caught the jury’s attention. The first, by Queensland Project Services, was a new six million dollar station for the Queensland Police Service located by the Southport Mall realised within a “justice precinct” including the

the awards in raising architecture’s public profile and testing the profession with its own measures remained, even now, undiminished. /AL

adjacent Southport Courthouse, to which it forms a formal counterpoint. Replacing an obsolete building on the same site, the new Southport Police Station responded to complex programmatic and operational requirements over the three year

Sources: “Tugun Residence” (www.specifier.com.au/projects); project descriptions (www.architecture.com.au).

design and development period, accounting for public access, efficient movement of officers and staff, effective detention facilities and building-wide circulation able to be monitored by the duty officer at all times. In addition to standard policing requirements, the building also accommodates the South Coast’s crime reporting unit and support services for victims of domestic violence.

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2007

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Tweed River Art Gallery (opposite), Bud Brannigan, Murwillumbah, 1998-2003 Photographs by Peter Hyatt, courtesy Bud Brannigan

226

2007

COMMENDATION Oracle Sales Centre, DBI Design, Broadbeach, completed 2006 Photograph courtesy DBI Design

227

2007 COMMENDATION Wave, DBI Design, Broadbeach, completed 2006 Photographs courtesy DBI Design

228

2007

COMMENDATION Wave, DBI Design, Broadbeach, completed 2006 Photographs courtesy DBI Design

229

2007

230

COMMENDATION

128, Shane Denman Architects and Greg Barnes Design Group, Southport, completed 2006

Waters Edge, Archidiom, Biggera Waters, 2005-2006

Photograph by Shane Denman Architects, courtesy Shane Denman Architects

Photographs by Archidiom, courtesy Archidiom

2007

COMMENDATION Harvey Norman Commercial Showroom, Cottee Parker, Stapylton, 2007 Photographs courtesy Cottee Parker

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2007

COMMENDATION Ephraim Island Villas, HPA Architects, Ephraim Island, completed 2006 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy Mirvac

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2007

HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Tugun Residence, Fairweather Proberts, Tugun, completed 2006 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy bureau proberts

233

2007

COMMENDATION Southport Police Station, Project Services, Southport, completed 2006 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Project Services

234

2007

COMMENDATION Southport Police Station, Project Services, Southport, completed 2006 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Project Services

235

2007

COMMENDATION Couran Cove House, Arkhefield, South Stradbroke Island, completed 2006 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Arkhefield

236

2007

COMMENDATION W House, Tangram Architects, Anglers Paradise, completed 2006 Photographs by Piotr Branczyk, courtesy Tangram Architects

237

2007

COMMENDATION Ferry Road Market, Cox Rayner, Bundall, 2005-2007 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy Cox Rayner

238

2007

COMMENDATION Ferry Road Market, Cox Rayner, Bundall, 2005-2007 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy Cox Rayner

239

2008

240

2008

HOUSE OF THE YEAR Southport Residence (opposite), Sparc* Architects, Southport, 2004-2008 Photograph by Scott Burrows, courtesy Sparc* Architects

DBI Design confirmed its return to the Gold Coast Architecture Awards by winning the Karl Langer Building of the Year

A Chirn Park residence by the Brisbane firm Sparc* won the award for House of the Year, competing with commended

Award in the 25th awards in 2008 for the Broadbeach residential high-rise Ultra. Going on to win a State Commendation,

entries by Paul Uhlmann Architects (The Annex, Byron Bay), Base Architecture (She Oak, Casuarina Beach) and BGD

a jury convened by Queensland Awards Director Rosemary Kennedy (of the Queensland University of Technology) called

Architects (Amalfi Drive, Isle of Capri). The jury commended Sparc* for ensuring that “no opportunity is wasted to achieve

the 30-storey, $59 million tower “an apartment building which inspires optimism about the desire to reduce energy and

maximum performance spatially and functionally, indoors and out, including opportunities to cultivate an edible landscape.”

water use through considered design, and is pervaded by a sense that people are making this place ‘their own’.” Intelligently

The Weekend Bulletin property section called it a “David and Goliath contest for the major residential award in the Gold

designed for its seaside environs—set a block back from Kurrawa Beach, spanning George and Margaret avenues—the

Coast” in which David had been “triumphant yet again.” Observed the jury: “While it might not rate any more than a passing

Niecon project was read as a “high-value ‘vertical village’ set in a series of landscaped outdoor rooms at Broadbeach [that]

glance it is inside where the components of the house come together to provide just what the owner envisaged—practical,

represents a contemporary response to the beach culture mandate.”

functional and compact living with minimum maintenance and maximum efficiency.” In addition to these single family

After a spell in which building types other than houses overshadowed domestic work in the Gold Coast Architecture

houses, the jury also made a commendation to the Northbridge Residences at Varsity Lakes, a development of Sunland

Awards, residential projects again dominated the commendations this year with a combination of private houses and

Group in collaboration with Tangram Architects, which they held up as “an exemplary model for medium density living.”

a significant new generation of urbanistically responsive apartment towers continuing to gain recognition. This return

Bridging from residential to commercial, another Sunland project was likewise commended, in this instance for Circle

suggested that the potential observed by Shane Thompson in 2004 had indeed played out, with the economy still fuelling

on Cavill and Appel Park, realised in partnership with Peddle Thorpe and Place Design. The jury called “this significant

investment in the development of projects in the urban centres of Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise and Southport—an

intervention in the historic heart of Surfers Paradise” a “critical pedestrian conduit between the river and the beach . . ..

economic peak that would abruptly end later in that year—and providing architects scope to experiment in single family

It combines residential, retail and cultural uses, and creates a major public urban space with multi-layered and activated

dwellings. Alongside these projects, the RAIA continued to reward major contributions to the region’s infrastructure,

edges.” The City Pacific Lifestyle Mixed Use Development by BDA Architecture likewise activated a crucial moment along

including the Macintosh Island Bridge (Cox Rayner, enhancing pedestrian access and spectator support for the annual V8

the urbanised coast. The State citation notes: “On an extraordinary site facing east toward major Broadbeach buildings

Supercars event) and the first of two major expansion works on the Robina Hospital (Jackson Architecture, responding to

across Little Tallebudgera Creek, two office buildings (one new and the other an existing structure transformed) afford

sustained inland population growth around the suburbs of Robina and Varsity Lakes).

a high quality work environment as well as an exceptionally high level of access and connection to the superb outdoor

With one juror calling Jackson Architecture’s Robina Hospital Expansion (the first of two expansion phases realised

environment—surely great motivation to come to work each day.” /AL

in a five-year period) a “designer’s revenge,” the commendation recognised a major addition to what had previously been a small regional hospital to equip it as one of two major public medical facilities on the Gold Coast. The expansion

Sources: 2008 National Architecture Awards assessment sheets; 2008 RAIA Queensland State Architecture Awards

included a new Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and Renal Dialysis Department. The building, noted the

Citations (www.architecture.com.au); “Home with Spirit Leaves Jury Smiling,” Weekend Bulletin, April 19-20, 2008;

jury, “asserts its presence and identity as a significant adjunct to the existing hospital campus, where Triage accepts as

“Building on Solid Ground,” Gold Coast Bulletin April 22, 2008 (GCAAA).

many, if not more, patients than the main hospital foyer. In a large and complex building where operational requirements are paramount, colour, and sightlines to outside are used as devices for orientation and wayfinding.” As a civic project of another stripe entirely, the 110m-long Macintosh Island Bridge “provides a dramatically improved level of urban amenity for the community and is low maintenance in an extremely salty environment. This modern civic element exemplifies contextually responsive urban design.”

241

2008

HOUSE OF THE YEAR Southport Residence, Sparc* Architects, Southport, 2004-2008 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Sparc* Architects

242

2008

COMMENDATION Amalfi Residence, BGD Architects, Isle of Capri, completed 2007 Photographs by Remco, courtesy BGD Architects

243

2008

COMMENDATION Northbridge Residences, Sunland Group with Tangram Architects in association, Varsity Lakes, 2005-2006 Photographs by John Gollings, courtesy Sunland Group

244

2008

COMMENDATION Northbridge Residences, Sunland Group with Tangram Architects in association, Varsity Lakes, 2005-2006 Photographs by John Gollings, courtesy Sunland Group

245

2008

COMMENDATION Circle on Cavill and Appel Park, Sunland Group with Peddle Thorpe and Place Design in association, Surfers Paradise, 2003-2007 246

Photographs by John Gollings (above) and Shannon McGrath (left), courtesy Sunland Group

2008

COMMENDATION Circle on Cavill and Appel Park, Sunland Group with Peddle Thorpe and Place Design in association, Surfers Paradise, 2003-2007 Photograph by John Gollings, courtesy Sunland Group

247

2008

COMMENDATION City Pacific Lifestyle Mixed Use, BDA Architecture, Broadbeach, completed 2007 Photograph by David Sanderson, courtesy BDA Architecture

248

2008

COMMENDATION Macintosh Island Pedestrian Bridge, Cox Rayner, Surfers Paradise, 2007 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy Cox Rayner

249

2008

COMMENDATION Robina Hospital Expansion, Jackson Architecture, Robina, completed 2007 Photographs by Paul Lynch (left) and Greg Minns (right), courtesy Jackson Architecture

250

2008

COMMENDATION The Annex, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Byron Bay, completed 2007 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

251

2008

COMMENDATION She Oak, Base Architecture, Casuarina Beach, 2006-2007 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy Base Architecture

252

2008

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Ultra, DBI Design, Broadbeach, completed 2007 Photographs by George Favios (below, courtesy DBI Design) and Andrew Leach

253

2009

254

2009

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Skilled Park (opposite, now Cbus Super Stadium), Populous (formerly HOK Sport Architecture), Robina, completed 2008 Photograph by Scott Burrows, courtesy Populous and Scott Burrows

Submissions to the 2009 Gold Coast Architecture Awards numbered thirteen, from which a staggering twelve projects

the jury’s eye for its clever marketing of “the organic products on display.” Finely crafted and visually engaging, the “sensitivity

received regional commendations. The House of the Year Award went to BGD Architects for the Mermaid Beach house

of the design,” observed the jury, “created a subtle, but effective, retail environment.”

Albatross, while the Karl Langer Building of the Year Award (the final time Langer would be named in this way) went to Skilled

Spread throughout the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Region, a series of houses demonstrated the continued quality of

Park at Robina, by HOK Sport Architecture (shortly to be renamed Populous). Awards and commendations were made by a jury

work in this domain. Designed by the Brisbane firm Push, the low-cost beach house “Longhut” (Fingal Head) came “as close

convened by State Awards Director Justin O’Neill, at that time a director with Arkhefield.

to a camping experience as possible—an ambition pursued by arranging a series of “five pavilions . . . under a long, north

Three projects in the Robina-Varsity Lakes area testified to a continued investment in infrastructure that would be reinforced

facing roof,” with circulation by means of a public veranda and walkway. One of two commended BDA Architecture projects,

in the following year with further commendations and one more Building of the Year Award. In 2009, these went to the Varsity

the “tightly planned” Main Beach House occupied “a corner block overlooking the Southport seaway.” The effects of a highly

Station Village Master Plan—a key instance of the Institute rewarding documents alongside realised buildings—the Mirvac-

visible site had been ameliorated by using a “false topography” to provide “a high level of privacy” and to allow “the building to

designed Mirvac School of Sustainable Development at Bond University, and the Balnaves Foundation Multimedia Learning

be fully opened to the north.” BDA also won praise for its Ocean Pacific tower in Broadbeach: “a fast tracked, low cost, high

Centre by Wilson, also at Bond. The Varsity Station Village Master Plan was rewarded for its demonstration of a commitment

value outcome.” Clear planning, a sensible repetition of units and a command of environmental conditions are consolidated in a

to the long-term planning needs of the Gold Coast. It modelled, the jury asserted, “a rigorous process, development of a

building “clad in a cheap but effective super-graphic that animates the highway experience. This project is a good example of

strong set of ideas, and implementation into a thorough set of guidelines.” While “only a document,” it offered the city a path

how to achieve low cost and liveable accommodation east of the highway.”

forward that rested in no insubstantial way upon ideas of transport oriented development and growth led by an investment in infrastructure.

A set of three multi-residential projects were rewarded with commendations, including the Elysee Residences at Kirra Beach by AG Architects, noted for its flexibility and capacity for domesticity—qualities, the jury noted, more aligned to a

The pilot project for a national six-star Green Star rating, the jury recognised the Mirvac School as “research into how

suburban house than to “typical” high rise residential works. The four townhouses comprising the Elder Entrance by Pearce

ideas for making sustainable buildings can be communicated to the broader public.” Trialling passive systems and building

Architecture (now Arkitektika), further north at Burleigh Heads (on “the flatlands of the Gold Coast west of the highway”),

technologies to reduce the building’s carbon footprint, it stood out as “building is an important marker,” the jury noted, “against

was likewise commended for their versatility and economy on a small site—a response to the sometimes rapid demographic

which we can measure the next level of development in the creation of sustainable workplaces.” Still at Bond, the Balnaves

shifts to which the Gold Coast has historically been subject. At the southern end of Surfers Paradise, Ellivo Architects received

Foundation Multimedia Learning Centre was described as “a highly crafted refit of the existing gallery,” combining six different

a commendation for Jade, combining “high-end apartment living with two beachfront homes.” The jury praised the way

“learning nodes” in a single interior. Perhaps “the most used room on the Bond [University] campus . . . the environment cleverly

the project peppered “the ubiquitous eastern glass wall so evident in Gold Coast hi-rises” with pools “suspended within

supports new modes of study and learning.”

each apartment.” The highest honours in this category were reserved for Albatross, a “restrained house” occupying three

Skilled Park earned HOK the Karl Langer Award in recognition of its “important addition to the Gold Coast’s public

beachfront blocks “within one of Gold Coast’s dress circles . . .. Beachfront houses in this area often jostle for prominence with

infrastructure.” A landmark form in the still-developing landscape around Robina it repeated with exceptional success

a glitzy bravado. This house lets its site do the talking, providing a private and engaging environment for its occupants while

a relationship between client, architect and builder tested already on two previous occasions. Extension of the original

respectfully engaging with its beachfront setting.” /AL

design brief to include “a fully enclosed and covered stadium . . . is [observed the jury] testament to how an optimistic and collaborative team effort can deliver buildings of high public value.” A lone commercial fit out by Fairweather Proberts caught

Source: 2009 AIA Gold Coast/Northern Rivers Regional Architecture Awards Citations (www.architecture.com.au).

255

2009

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Skilled Park (now Cbus Super Stadium), Populous (formerly HOK Sport Architecture), Robina, completed 2008 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Populous and Scott Burrows

256

2009

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Skilled Park (now Cbus Super Stadium), Populous (formerly HOK Sport Architecture), Robina, completed 2008 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Populous and Scott Burrows

257

2009

COMMENDATION Main Beach House, BDA Architecture, Main Beach, completed 2008 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy BDA Architecture

258

2009

COMMENDATION Ocean Pacific (right of image), BDA Architecture, Broadbeach, completed 2008 (also showing Ultra, 2008 Building of the Year) Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy BDA Architecture

259

2009

COMMENDATION Balnaves Foundation Multimedia Centre, Bond University, Wilson Architects, Robina, completed 2008 Photograph by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy Wilson Architects

260

2009

COMMENDATION Balnaves Foundation Multimedia Centre (left), Bond University, Wilson Architects, Robina, completed 2008 Photograph by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy Wilson Architects

COMMENDATION Nourish Organic (right), Fairweather Proberts, Southport, completed 2008 Photographs by Jon Linkins, courtesy b没reau proberts

261

2009

COMMENDATION Elysee Residences, AG Architects, Kirra Beach, completed 2008 Photographs by Peter Mylonas, courtesy AG Architects

262

2009

COMMENDATION Jade, Ellivo, Surfers Paradise, completed 2008 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Ellivo

263

2009

COMMENDATION Elder Residence (left), Arkitektika (formerly Pearce Architecture), Burleigh Heads, completed 2008 Photographs by Open 2 View, courtesy Arkitektika

COMMENDATION Longhut (right), Push, Fingal Head, completed 2008 Photographs by Clare and Papi, courtesy Push

264

2009

COMMENDATION Longhut (right), Push, Fingal Head, completed 2008 Photographs by Clare and Papi, courtesy Push

265

2009

COMMENDATION Varsity Station Village Masterplan, Deicke Richards, 2008 Courtesy Deicke Richards

266

2009

COMMENDATION Varsity Station Village Masterplan, Deicke Richards, 2008 Courtesy Deicke Richards

267

2009

COMMENDATOIN Mirvac School of Sustainable Development, Bond University, Mirvac Design, Robina, completed 2008 Photographs by Alan Jensen, courtesy Mirvac

268

2009

HOUSE OF THE YEAR Albatross, BGD Architects, Mermaid Beach, completed 2008 Photographs by Remco, courtesy BGD Architects

269

2010

270

2010

COMMENDATION Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct Plan (opposite), HASSELL, Parklands/Southport, 2009 Image courtesy HASSELL

A more modest total of eight awards and commendations were drawn from 19 entries to the Gold Coast Architecture

ensured that “the functional requirements of the plan were duly complemented by strict attention to detail.” A house well

Awards, which were announced at the Ferry Road Market by State Awards Director Bud Brannigan on Friday April 30, 2010.

attuned to its subtropical setting—promoting, as the jury observed, relaxation “and the coastal lifestyle”—it “sits proudly

The Building of the Year Award was made to a collaboration between TrackStar and Hassell for the Varsity Lakes Station at

in its context engaging equally well with both its street and canal frontages.” The House of the Year Award, however,

the terminus of the Robina to Varsity Lakes Rail Extension on the Gold Coast line. Paul Uhlmann Architects succeeded, for a

rewarded the Tuckeroo Residence as a new beachfront residence “at the southern end of the Tweed Coast, set amongst

second time, in winning the House of the Year Award for the Tuckeroo Residence at Tweed Heads. Commendations included

private residences within a gated estate.” A family holiday home attending to the needs of an extended family group of

the regular representation of bespoke houses, but tended in this year to reward community amenities above all.

five individual families, the “format and forms of the house achieve communal and private space, while creating direct links

Undoubtedly the most visible of these was the development by AECOM and WhiteArchitecture of a large carpark into

between house and site, to reinforce the coastal setting.” The jury commended Paul Uhlmann Architects for their intelligent

the Broadwater Parklands. Observed the jury: the “solution now connects the new Parklands on grade with the Nerang

attention to the varying weather conditions, with “separate pavilion spaces . . . connected by external circulation, with a

Street axis extending all the way to the pier, rejuvenating this popular destination.” The site’s pavilions draw in the “bigger

number of strategically placed sliding screens and doors . . ..”

urban design picture of the Parklands, the simple white sculptural built forms are strong statements in the landscape whilst

In the realm of public architecture, Hassell’s Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct Plan for the Southport-Parklands

acknowledging the visual language of the Broadwater’s boat hull and sail shapes. The Pier Pavilion affords an opportunity to

site of the Gold Coast University Hospital and Gold Coast campus of Griffith University was rewarded for its resolution of

take in the Surfers Paradise skyline from its upper level above the tree line.” The Pier itself “restores an early Southport icon,

a masterplan that established the framework for “a pedestrian friendly and community oriented environment” that would

from the town’s days as a seaside destination . . .. The completed parklands will invest a great deal of community life into

be “urbane, socially and economically sustainable.” The jury noted the plan’s importance as a potential “model for urban infill

this picturesque strip.”

within South East Queensland, in particular as a way of demonstrating to neighbouring landholders, that integration with,

Among other community-orientated projects the Smith + Tracey Architects-designed Blue Care Labrador Gardens Aged Care Facility was commended as “a supreme response to the requirements of the [larger site masterplan] whilst respecting its location within the Labrador streetscape.” The Lightwave project for the Community Performing Arts

and contribution to, a common precinct outcome, benefits all stakeholders, and provides the rich diversity sought in any good town.” But it was with the Varsity Lakes Station that Hassell, collaborating with Trackstar, secured the Building of the Year

Centre at Robina—a new public face for the Robina State School—was likewise congratulated for its skillful street address

Award for “a carefully considered, carefully resolved and extremely vigorous piece of public architecture.” Following the

and for being “thoughtfully sited, neatly planned, thermally comfortable, and [demonstrating] great clarity of thought

Varsity Lakes Masterplan in its accommodation of an anticipated steady and substantial population growth, the station was

in its integration with the school and the topography.” As the jurors noted: “in today’s Building the Education Revolution

“designed and sited to eventually cope with large numbers of people, and as such, the spaces provided, materials used are

environment, this project demonstrates the value of applying good design principles to an education project, rather

robust and durable.” Light and airy and simply composed, the “planning is instantly and clearly legible, and allows rail users

than funds alone.” Designed for the Allisee community at Hollywell (opposite Crab Island on the Broadwater), the Allisee

to intuitively find their way to the railway platforms.” Its success as a hub of transit-oriented development remains open to

Recreation Pavilion offers a “thoughtful combination of structural system of portal frames, large internal spaces, and

debate, but even at the moment of completion the jury could read its civic aspirations with the clarity with which they were

breezeways” that results in a simple, balanced and tranquil ambience.

intended. /AL

From community projects to houses, the CSV House by Shane Denman Architects was commended for the testimony it paid to “a terrific working relationship between client, architect and builder.” A “meticulously resolved” programme

Source: 2010 RAIA Gold Coast/Northern Rivers Regional Architecture Awards Citations (www.architecture.com.au).

271

2010

COMMENDATION Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct Plan, HASSELL, Parklands/Southport, 2009 Image courtesy HASSELL

272

2010

COMMENDATION Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct Plan, HASSELL, Parklands/Southport, 2009 Image courtesy HASSELL

273

2010

HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Tuckeroo Residence, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Tweed Heads, completed 2009 Photographs by David Sandison, courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

274

2010

COMMENDATION CSV House, Shane Denman Architects, completed 2009 Photographs by Rix Ryan Photography, courtesy Shane Denman Architects

275

2010

COMMENDATION Robina Community Performing Arts Centre, Lightwave, Robina, 2007-2010 Photograph by Amanda Briggs, courtesy Lightwave

276

2010

COMMENDATION Allisee Pavilion, Cox Rayner, Hollywell, 2008-2009 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy Cox Rayner

277

2010

COMMENDATION Blue Care Labrador Gardens Aged Care Facility, Smith + Tracey Architects, Labrador, completed 2009 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Smith + Tracey Architects and Scott Burrows

278

2010

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Robina to Varsity Lakes Rail Extension, Varsity Lakes Station, HASSELL and TrackStar Alliance, Robina, completed 2009 Photographs by Jon Linkins, courtesy HASSELL

279

2010

COMMENDATION Broadwater Parklands, WhiteArchitecture and AECOM, Southport, completed 2009 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Rothe Lowman White

280

2010

COMMENDATION Broadwater Parklands, WhiteArchitecture and AECOM, Southport, completed 2009 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Rothe Lowman White

281

2011

282

2011

HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLE’S CHOICE Cabarita Beach House (opposite), Owen and Vokes, Cabarita Beach, 2003-2008 Photographs by Jon Linkins, courtesy Owen Architecture and Vokes and Peters

Two residential projects took the top honours in the 2011 Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Regional Architecture Awards

In naming Owen and Vokes architects of the House of the Year, the jury made particular note of their achievement in

(under State Awards Director Malcolm Middleton and his deputy, Michael Rayner), which were announced on April 1

working “on an ordinary site where the architects have taken the client’s brief and provided an exciting low cost practical

of that year. The multi-residential community complex Sphere, designed by BDA Architecture on Labrador’s Musgrave

solution of refined simplicity and elegance.” Through a series of restrained gestures in plan and view, Owen and Vokes

Avenue, received the Building of the Year Award, while a spare courtyard canal-side house by Brisbane architects Owen

“maximized the use of a standard suburban canal front site” to provide, as the jury put it, “a solution outside the square.”

and Vokes earned the title of House of the Year. The balance of commendations, numbering six in total from 25 entries,

Thoroughly resolved from programming to detail, the project privileges individual experience in a restrained language and

were spread from Byron Bay to Jacob’s Well (opposite Kangaroo Island), and included recognition of commercial premises,

materiality hailed by the jury as “an uncluttered sophistication to the design solution.”

public architecture and urban design, a school hall (for All Saints Primary School at Boonah), residences in Southport (an

Shifting from houses to a multi-residential complex, Cypress at Byron comprises “a number of individual high quality

Inarc project in Regatta Parade) and Calypso Bay (Reddog Architects) and the multi-residential Cyprus at Byron (Haysom

residences within a group title structure on an ecologically restricted footprint.” Haysom Architects were commended for

Architects).

their use of a refined palette of fixtures, finishes and materials “to define spaces that stamp quality on the resultant spaces.”

Where the Broadwater Parklands had won a commendation for Whitearchitecture and Aecom in the previous year, The Hub allowed Whitearchitecture to return to this success for a series of maintenance and management buildings at the northern end of what had become an immediately significant intervention in the Southport fabric. “The playful forms,”

As the commendation reads: “Individuality is delivered for each site but in the context of a unified cluster of buildings that form their own landscape form that compliments the greater landscape setting.” At Boonah, BA Architects realised a Multi Purpose Hall in which “[context] has been engaged with carefully and

noted the jury, “are simply executed and offer an additional element of back lit night time form that changes the character,

thoughtfully to deliver a building with quite different external presentations for each side of the building. Flexible openings

enhances the safety and extends the contribution of the buildings to more than daylight hours.” In a rather different

. . . and a domestic scale street elevation combine to create a seamlessly integrated and welcoming new facility in the

scale and register, Inarc Design was commended for its delivery of “a high standard revitalisation of the main entrance to

rural town setting.” Adding an element intended to enhance the community presence of the All Saints Primary School, the

an existing neglected commercial building”: One Short Street, Southport. “The architects have approached the project

architects were complimented for using steel portal framing to give the building “a sense of scale and presence . . . whilst

by stripping back the existing building fabric to expose and make a visual feature of the existing concrete structure . . ..

allowing for large openings to fit into the rhythm of the facade.”

The external edges of the site are reinvented through a skillful use of landscape and streetscape to create a significant repositioning of the urban setting as well as the building fabric.” The Regatta Parade Residence rewarded a firm more regularly commended for its commercial interiors for repositioning

In naming the Sphere Residential Community Building of the Year, the jury congratulated BDA Architecture for a suite of buildings that “demonstrates the attributes of higher density, low to medium rise master-planned development with considered community form and landscape amenity.” The project passed the sustainability test with numerous measures

an “original 1970s Mediterranean style residence on one of the Gold Coasts best streets . . . to deliver the potential of the

to accommodate environmental conditions and conserve energy expenditure. A community comprising a fluid student

outlook into the solid fabric of the original house but with significantly heightened internal amenity.” Reddog, too, were

population alongside permanent residents was seen by the jury to be “responding positively to the calibre of the streets and

congratulated for their “stylish solution to the provision of a contemporary residence on a conventional canal front block.”

laneways established in the overall masterplan,” promising a period of consolidation as the nearby university campus and

Its extensive use of timber and glazing made, observed the jury, for “a refined uncompromising design form” arranged

hospital continued to redefine the neighbourhood as decidedly urban. /AL

around a central courtyard. The jury’s observations on Regatta Parade also holds true for the SM house, both projects controlling water views to contrast “with the traditional canal interface of open decks and delivers a house with layers of

Source: 2011 RAIA Queensland State Architecture Awards Citations (www.architecture.com.au).

privacy and outlook.”

283

2011

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Sphere Residential Community, BDA Architecture, Southport, stages 1-4 completed 2010 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy BDA Architecture

284

2011

COMMENDATION All Saints Primary School Multi Purpose Hall, BA Architects, Boonah, completed 2010 Photographs and drawing courtesy BA Architects

285

2011

286

COMMENDATION

SM Residence, Reddog Architects, Calypso Bay, 2008-2010

Regatta Parade Residence, Inarc, Southport, 2009-2011

Photographs by Jon Linkins, courtesy Reddog Architects

Photographs by Ross Spencer, courtesy Inarc

2011

COMMENDATION One Short Street, Inarc, Southport, 2008-2009 Photographs by Ross Spencer, courtesy Inarc

287

2011

COMMENDATION The Hub, Broadwater Parklands, WHITEARCHITECTURE, Broadbeach, completed 2010 Photographs by Richard Pearse, courtesy Rothe Lowman White

288

2011

COMMENDATION Cyprus at Byron, Haysom Architects, Byron Bay, 2006-2010 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Haysom Architects and Cyprus at Byron

289

2011

HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Cabarita Beach House, Owen and Vokes, Cabarita Beach, 2003-2008 Photographs by Jon Linkins, courtesy Owen Architecture and Vokes and Peters

290

2011

HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Cabarita Beach House, Owen and Vokes, Cabarita Beach, 2003-2008 Photographs by Jon Linkins, courtesy Owen Architecture and Vokes and Peters

291

2012

292

2012

COMMENDATION The Oracle (opposite), DBI Design, Broadbeach, completed 2011 Photograph by Georgie Lucock, courtesy DBI Design

Following in the footsteps of the previous year’s awards and commendations in the 2012 Gold Coast and Northern Rivers

Carrara on a tight timeframe to allow a new AFL team to enter the national pool. In so doing, it served to consolidate the

Regional Awards of the AIA were again limited to the two major prizes alongside six commendations from a total of 23

city-region’s sporting infrastructure, which with the success of the Commonwealth Games bid announced in that same

entries. A jury overseen by State Awards Director Michael Rayner favoured public and infrastructural works in this year,

year (Metricon Stadium at Carrara will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as track and field events) would

with the Hassell-authored Gold Coast Rapid Transit Corridor Study GCRT 2031 joining the small community of documents

continue to offer opportunities for Australian architects.

to have secured a regional commendation in the Gold Coast Architecture Awards to date. Other commendations went to

The continued profits of Labor’s Building the Education Revolution programme registered in the Park Lake State School

Park Lake State School (Suters Architects), The Oracle (Broadbeach, DBI Design), Metricon Stadium (at Carrara, by sports

(Pacific Pines), a simple formal move informing the composition of an elegant pair of pavilions. The same could be said of

architecture specialists Populous) and, winning Building of the Year, a second expansion of the Robina Hospital by BVN

the two commended residential projects, with the Mermaid Beach houses of both BGD and Uhlmann balancing sparseness

Architecture. Residential commendations went to awards perennials Paul Uhlmann Architects (Surf Residence) and BGD

and minimalistic rectilinear massing with the rich use of timber—deployed as solid cladding elements against the tide of the

Architects (Sunbrite Residence), both for works at Mermaid Beach, while the House of the Year was won by newcomer Paul

Queensland taste for open battening as an expression of climatic responsiveness.

Robertson for a hinterland house on Advaita Way at Natural Bridge. Alongside Rayner and State Awards Deputy Director Mark Damant, the jury comprised of Casuarina Beach-based

The promise of the Oracle Sales Centre was fulfilled in this year’s awards with the Oracle’s twinned, off-axis toweron-podium arrangement flagging (along with the Hilton towers by Buchan Group) a new typological development in the

architect Scott Carpenter, Matt Cooper (Aspect Architecture), Darren Greenaway (BDA Architecture), Gold Coast

Gold Coast skyline. Activating a run-down moment in Broadbeach with a new street-level retail and dining district that

architect Leah Lang, Leigh Shutter (Griffith University) and Brian Mossop of the Gold Coast Bulletin. The jury observed

negotiates between the high-rise form and urban design demands while predicating for the obsolescence of current

that House of the Year Advaita Way “achieves sustainable design in ways that are not only particular to residential design

programming with what the architects term “mixed-use modules”—a tactic that will allow for the reuse of residential

but adaptable to other building typologies. The key element is a composition of dual skins—one glass and one a semi-

apartments as commercial space and that will encourage the building to remain functionally relevant in the face of change in

permeable layer of mesh screening.” In winning the People’s Choice Award, too, the commanding rectilinear timber and

the city around it.

glass form stylishly responded to the lines and hues of the surrounding Springbrook National Park—registering a dialogue

That the city will change is inevitable, and the GCRT 2031 Study documents the direction and future evolution in

with its landscape in minimalist forms, material richness and an atmosphere captured in the photographs to which the

population size, character and distribution of the increasingly dense urban strip extending from Broadbeach to Southport.

popular vote doubtless responded.

Supporting a major transport planning initiative to reorientate use of the Gold Coast from private to public transport and to

Consolidating the work undertaken by Jackson Architecture not so many years earlier, the Robina Hospital expansion

connect Gold Coast public transport to the infrastructure of Queensland’s South-East, the report tables a considered and

project by BVN completed the transformation of a small local hospital into a major regional health facility. The jury

compelling image of the city—an idea of how the city will appear and function on a par with the visionary Clarke Gazzard

commended the new design for its “abundant natural light and views to near or far landscape [which] give the spaces a

Strategic Plan of the 1960s. /AL

non-institutional feel, while courtyard spaces and rooftop gardens offer patients and visitors places to rest and recover outside of the normal clinical realm.” Sacrificing neither “operational efficiency” nor environmental qualities for staff

Sources: RAIA media statement, April 24, 2012 (www.architectureau.com); “Oracle,” World Architects (www.world-

and patients, functional and lively interiors interact intelligently with the building’s exterior. As the citation has it: “The

architects.com); “Metricon Stadium Raises the Bar” (www.populous.com).

architecture is elegant and refined, with gardens and rooftop terraces enhancing social and relaxation opportunities.” North of Robina Hospital and its neighbouring Skilled Park (home to NRL team Titans), Populous completed a second stadium at

293

2012

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Robina Hospital Extension, BVN Architecture, Robina, 2007-2012 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones (above) and John Gollings (right and upper right), courtesy BVN Donovan Hill

294

2012

BUILDING OF THE YEAR Robina Hospital Extension, BVN Architecture, Robina, 2007-2012 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy BVN Donovan Hill

295

2012

COMMENDATION Gold Coast Rapid Transit Corridor Study: GCRT 2031, HASSELL, 2010-2011 Courtesy HASSELL

296

2012

COMMENDATION Gold Coast Rapid Transit Corridor Study: GCRT 2031, HASSELL, 2010-2011 Courtesy HASSELL

297

2012

COMMENDATION Metricon Stadium, Populous, Carrara, 2009-2011 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Populous

298

2012

COMMENDATION The Oracle (opposite), DBI Design, Broadbeach, completed 2011 Image by Food Slicer, courtesy DBI Design

299

2012

COMMENDATION Sunbrite Residence, BGD Architects, Mermaid Beach, completed 2012 Photographs by Rix Ryan Photography, courtesy BGD Architects

300

2012

COMMENDATION Park Lake State School, Suters Architects, Pacific Pines, 2009-2011 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy DWP Suters

301

2012

HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Advaita Way, Paul Robertson Architect, Natural Bridge, 2008-2012 Photograph by Matt Hofmann (above) and Scott Burrows (right), courtesy Paul Robertson

302

2012

HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Advaita Way, Paul Robertson Architect, Natural Bridge, 2008-2012 Photograph by Matt Hofmann, courtesy Paul Robertson

303

2013

304

2013

HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLE’S CHOICE Binna Burra Sky Lodges (opposite), dm2 architecture, Beechmont, completed 2012 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy dm2 architecture

Marking three decades of the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Regional Architecture Awards, the 30th Annual

details provides for each member of the family including,” noted the jury, “the beloved puppies.” A much heavier work, the

Architectural Oscars, as they were dubbed, were announced on Saturday, 20 April, at a gala event staged at the Palazzo

substantial stonework acts materially in counterpoint to the transcience of the beach. An island vernacular work by WIM

Versace on Main Beach. The eighteen projects entered in this year’s awards spanned across a range of building types and

Architects, the South Stradbroke Island “Main Hut” was likewise recognized for its elegant practicality and straightforward

the cross-state territory of the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Region of the RAIA. Decisions were taken by a jury led

material choices, the jury wrote: “This holiday home mediates necessity and utility with simplicity and joy, whilst carefully

by the State Awards Director, Brisbane architect Mark Damant alongside Deputy Awards Director Liam Proberts, and a

allowing for the rich meaning of its site and tapestry of generations to continue.”

substantial team of judges including David Brown (Sunland Group), Matt Cooper (Aspect Architecture), Finn Jones (Gold

Nudging Q1 for the city’s spot as tallest building, the 77-storey Soul at Surfers Paradise was commended for having

Coast City Council and former Regional Chair of the AIA), Alison McDonald (newly appointed to Griffith University), Paul

“positively and dramatically affected the public realm of Surfers Paradise and the city skyline” as a “large-scale urban

Robertson (Paul Robertson Architect), Zac Tooth (ZT A+B) and media representatives jurors Shannon Willoughby (Gold

intervention”—recognising architectural success in the financially beleaguered development. A rectilinear response to the

Coast Bulletin) and Peter Scott (ABC Coast FM).

tube form of the Q1 tower, its street-level presence almost entirely dissolves the habitual dislocation of the tower from the

The Gold Coast University Hospital Mental Health Unit by the design consortium of PDT Architects, health specialists Silver Thomas Hanley and Hassell was named Building of the Year, recognising one of the first projects to be realised

pedestrian scale of the city, recalling the success of the Aria tower of a decade earlier. Saint Stephen’s College Senior Technology Building, by Burling Brown, was noted for its creation of “an innovative

from the substantial Health and Knowledge Precinct Plan to have secured a Regional Commendation for Hassell in 2010.

and dynamic learning and teaching environment that skillfully caters for student needs and expands the knowledge base

A formally driven project characterised by atriums and a restrained approach to the application of vibrant colour, it was,

of architectural response to pedagogy.” The Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre—designed by Pentarchi

according to the jury, a “thoroughly engaging and considered response to an overwhelmingly complex program, that sets

and PHORM in consultation with the Australian Institute of Sport for the development of a surfing elite—was likewise

new benchmarks in healthcare and user needs.”

commended for being a “conceptually rich and resolved project that efficiently and economically responds to current and

The House of the Year Award (and also People’s Choice—made, in this instance, by the awards evening public) curiously went to a resort complex rather than to a single domestic dwelling, as it had in previous years. The jury observed that in the

future user needs.” Already at the thirtieth celebration of Gold Coast architecture, it was clear that there was more to come: the Gold

Binna Burra Sky Lodges, dm2architecture had “carefully crafted a complex brief into a thoughtful, contextual, sustainable

Coast University Hospital and Health and Knowledge Precinct continuing to see prominent and strong buildings realised,

and wonderful piece of conceptually rich architecture and legacy for its national park setting.” Awarding its incredible setting

one after another; a major new building for the Soheil Abedian School of Architecture drawing to completion at Bond

as much as the architecture, the project presented a palette of details and forms that connected the pavilions into the

University; a light rail infrastructure visibly connecting the city in a completely new way; new sports and accommodation

contemporary reception of the Queensland architectural vernacular.

projects in advance of the XXI Commonwealth Games; and a highly anticipated new Cultural Centre—together describing

A number of private residences received commendations, including the Promenade Residence on the Isle of Capri, by BGD Architects, “an elegant neighbour that beautifully and precisely resolves the family home for a perfect suburban

a new chapter in the architectural history of the Gold Coast city and region that would doubtless populate the Gold Coast Architecture Awards over the next decade. /AL

waterfront living arrangement.” Its signature screen invokes the breezeblock materiality of the 1950s and ’60s Gold Coast house-building boom, but retaining a lightness of effect. Paul Uhlmann also returned to Mermaid Beach with the

Source: 2013 RAIA Gold Coast/Northern Rivers Regional Architecture Awards Citations (www.architecture.com.au).

Sebring Residence, a “bold ambitious and extravagant residence of carefully articulated spaces and surprisingly delicate

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HOUSE OF THE YEAR and PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE Binna Burra Sky Lodges, dm2 architecture, Beechmont, completed 2012 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy dm2 architecture

306

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307

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BUILDING OF THE YEAR Gold Coast University Hospital Mental Health Unit, PDT + STH + HASSELL, Southport, completed 2012 Photograph by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy HASSELL and Queensland Health. The person in this photograph is not a patient and is used to provide context only

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BUILDING OF THE YEAR Gold Coast University Hospital Mental Health Unit, PDT + STH + HASSELL, Southport, completed 2012 Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones, courtesy HASSELL and Queensland Health The people in these photographs are not patients and are used to provide context only

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COMMENDATION 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Scale: 1:100 @ A4

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South Stradbroke House, WIM Architects, South Stradbroke Island, completed 2012 Photograph by Mitchell Young, drawings by WIM Architecture, courtesy WIM Architects

310

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COMMENDATION South Stradbroke House, WIM Architects, South Stradbroke Island, completed 2012 Photographs by Mitchell Young, drawing by WIM Architecture, courtesy WIM Architects

311

2013

COMMENDATION Promenade Residence, BGD Architects, Isle of Capri, completed 2012 Photographs by Rix Ryan Photography, courtesy BGD Architects

312

2013

COMMENDATION Sebring Residence, Paul Uhlmann Architects, Mermaid Beach, completed 2012 Photographs by Remco, courtesy Paul Uhlmann Architects

313

2013

COMMENDATION Senior Technology Building, St Stephenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College, Burling Brown, Upper Coomera, completed 2012 Photographs by Scott Burrows, courtesy Burling Brown and Scott Burrows

314

2013

COMMENDATION Soul, DBI Design, Surfers Paradise, completed 2012 Image by Warren Coyle, photographs by Tony Dowthwaite (upper and lower right) and Peter Sexty (centre right), courtesy DBI Design

315

2013

COMMENDATION Surfing Australia High Performance Centre, Phorm Architecture + Design and PentArchi Architecture in association, 2010-2012 Photographs by Adnic Photographic Services, drawings by Phorm and PentArchi, courtesy of Phorm Architecture + Design

316

2013

317

Index

318

Adviev, Rita 10, 19, 93, 169

220-23, 293

Davis Heather Group, The (see also The Heather Thiedeke

Giles, Bill 8, 109

AECOM 9, 271, 280-81

Buchan, Laird & Bawden (see also Buchan Group) 7, 19

Group) 8, 19, 26-27, 28, 30, 49

Giles Degenhart Partnership (see also degenhartSHEDD,

AG Architects 255, 262

Bud Brannigan 224-26

DBI Design (and as Desmond Brooke International; see also

Robina Design Servicce) 85, 89

Allom Lovell Marquis-Kyle 129, 134

Burling Brown 8, 18-20, 84-87, 93, 99, 163, 165, 169,

Media Five) 6, 11, 14-15, 129, 225, 227-29, 241, 253,

Gina McLellan (see also McLellan, Gina; Ideo Architecture)

Archidiom 173, 230

174, 305, 314

292-93, 299, 315

121, 126

Arkhefield 236, 255

Burling, Ron (see also Burling Brown) 7, 65

Degenhart, Amy (see also degenhartSHEDD) 8, 13, 79

Glendinning, Lionel 10, 65

Arkitektika (formerly Pearce Architecture) 264

Burton, Paul 13

degenhartSHEDD 79

Goff, Bruce 49

Ashton Raggatt McDougall 11

BVN Architecture (see also Bligh Voller Nield) 293-95

Deicke Richards 266-67

Gold Coast Bulletin (see also Weekend Bulletin) 9, 10, 12,

BA Architects 283, 285

Cameron Chisholm Nicol 128, 130-32

Denis Holland (see also Holland, Denis) 73-74, 79-80

33, 73, 129, 137, 147, 157, 163, 169, 241, 293, 305

Baildon, Gary 147

Carlile, Deborah 8, 13, 19, 73

Denton Corker Marshall 115

Gold Coast City Council 101, 104, 134

Bailey, Donald 79

Carpenter, Scott (see also Scott Carpenter) 293

Design Collaborative 7

Goodsir Baker Wilde 33

Barnes, Barry 8

Clare, Lindsay 10, 73, 101

Design Forum (see also degenhartSHEDD; Robina Design

Gordon, Bob 129, 137

Base Architecture 241, 252

Clark, Bruce 85

Service) 79, 88, 188-190

Greenaway, Darryl 293

Batchelor, Sarah 13

Clarke Gazzard 8, 293

Design Linkon 39, 68, 73, 75

Greenway International 120-22, 134

Bayden Goddard Design (see also BGD Architects) 179, 182

Clarke, Peter (see also Peter T Clarke) 8, 39

Dimitriou Architects (see also dm2 architecture) 153

Greg Barnes 230

BDA Architecture 147, 152, 189, 194, 241, 248, 255,

Complete Urban 12

dm2 architecture 147, 304-307

Griffith, Alan 8, 13

258-59, 283-84

Conrad Gargett 8, 12, 19, 22-23, 49

Donovan Hill 157, 160

Ground, Roy 33

Beath, Gordon 85

Context 134

Douglas, Ian (see Suendermann Douglas McFall) 33, 39

Gruzman, Neville 7, 19, 33, 93

Beck, Lyn 147

Cooper, Matt 293, 305

Down, Ken 10, 79

Hamilton Hayes Henderson 72, 140, 166, 169, 174, 189,

Beedell, Graeme 33

Corker, Bill (see also Denton Corker Marshall) 115

Dunlop, George 7

195

Bell, Lex 59

Cottee Parker 153, 225, 231

Dunstan, Mark 157

HASSELL 11, 270-73, 279, 293, 296-97, 305, 308-309

BGD Architects (see also Bayden Goddard Design) 189,

Cox, Louise 109

Edser, Noel 7

Hayes, Alan (see also Hamilton Hayes Henderson) 8, 13, 59

200-201, 241, 243, 255, 269, 293, 300, 312

Cox, Philip 101

Eldon Bottcher (see also Bottcher, Eldon) 19, 29, 39, 42

Hayes and Scott 9

Bill Job & Associates 8

Cox Rayner 189, 193, 225, 238-39, 241, 249, 277

Elizabeth Watson Brown (see also Watson Brown, Elizabeth)

Haysom Architects 203, 218-19, 283, 289

Bligh, Graham (see also Bligh Voller Nield; BVN Architecture)

CRAB 12

163, 167

Heather, Bill (see aslo The Heather Thiedeke Group, The

101, 109

Crone McKerrell Lynch 147

Ellivo 255, 263

Davis Heather Group) 8, 13, 73

Bligh Voller Nield (see also BVN Architecture) 192, 199

Cummings, Malcolm (see Malcolm Cummings) 7-8, 13

Ewart, Greg 8

Heather Thiedeke Group, The (see also The Davis Heather

BoARC 179, 185

Cummings, Robert 7

Fairweather Proberts (see also Liam Proberts Architects)

Group) 8, 32-34, 36-37, 39, 44, 48-50, 59, 63, 65, 69,

Bottcher, Eldon (see also Eldon Bottcher) 101, 137

Cummings and Burns (see also Malcolm Cummings; BDA

225, 233, 261

73, 76, 79, 81, 83

Bowden, Bruce 85

Architecture) 34-35, 39, 47, 49, 54-55, 65, 68, 79, 81,

Follent, Philip (see also Philip Follent) 8, 85, 157, 163

Henshell Hanson Associates 134

Boyd, Robin 7, 13

85, 91-95, 98, 101, 104, 106-107, 111

Forgan-Smith, Greg 8, 13, 109

HJM 134

Branczyk, Piotr 163

Dale Cohen Architect 129

Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss (see also Fulton Trotter; Fulton

HOK Sport Architecture (see also Populous) 255

Brannigan, Bud (see also Bud Brannigan) 271

Damant, Mark 293, 305

Trotter Moss) 78-80, 85, 90, 101, 105

Holden, Gordon 13

Brooks, Desmond (see Media Five; DBI Design) 19, 59

Darryl Parker 93, 110, 116, 137

Fulton Trotter 121, 156-57, 217

Holland, Denis (see Denis Holland) 137

Brown, Alexandra 13

Daryl Jackson Architects (see also Jackson Architecture)

Fulton Trotter Moss 137, 145, 147, 150

Howlett, Jeffrey 10, 79

Brown, David (see also Sunland Group) 163, 305

136-39, 163, 179, 187

Gall and Medek 157-58

HPA Architects (see also Mirvac Design) 129, 163, 166,

Bryce, HE Michael 11

David Raby (and as David Raby Architect) 19, 29, 39, 42,

Gardiner, Peter (see also Peddle Thorp) 163

179, 186, 225, 232

Buchan Group 8, 121, 124, 154-55, 169, 175-76, 183,

49, 59, 63, 79, 82

Gibbons, Russ 7

Hulbert Group, The 49, 54-55, 59, 63, 73, 147

Ian Moore Architects 20204

Media Five (see also DBI Design) 6, 19, 24-25, 39, 42, 49,

Pie, Geoffrey 10, 59, 85

Stenders, Andris (see also Stenders and Partners) 7

Ideo Architecture (see also Paul Uhlmann Architects) 135

52-53, 59, 62, 64-67, 79

Place Design 241, 246-47

Stephen Tuck Interior Architecture 121

Inarc Design 104, 118, 121, 127, 129, 140, 156, 171,

Merrin, Col 7

Populous (formerly HOK Sport Architecture) 10, 254-57,

STH (also as Silver Thomas Hanley) 305, 308-309

286-87

Michael Witty Architects (see also Robertson Witty

293, 298

Suendermann Douglas McFall 33

Innovarchi 178-79, 220-23

Architects) 13, 101, 105, 115, 118-19

Probert, Liam (see also Liam Proberts Architects and

Sunland Group 163, 169, 176, 203, 220-23, 241, 244-47

Jackson Architecture (see also Daryl Jackson Architects) 164,

Mirvac Design (see also HPA Architects) 163, 225, 255, 268

Fairweather Proberts) 305

Suters Architects 293, 301

241, 250, 293

Mjatelski, Paul 73

Project Services (Queensland Government) 225, 234-35

Tange, Kenzo 101

Jackson, Bill (see The Hulbert Group) 73

Mobbs, John (see also Mobbs, Thompson and Payne) 8, 93

Push (see also Les Jones) 264-65

Tangram Architects 216, 225, 237, 241, 244-45

Jackson, Daryl (see also Daryl Jackson Architects; Jackson

Mobbs, Thompson and Payne 51, 73, 77, 115

Quarry, Neville 10, 39

Taylor, Jennifer 163, 169

Architecture) 10, 49, 147

Mossop, Brian 9, 11, 13, 147, 169, 293

Quartermaine, Nathan 13

Thompson, Shane 169, 179, 241

James Cubitt Architects 129, 132

Nettleton Tribe 207

Raby, David (see also David Raby) 7

Thomson Adsett 157, 159

Jeff Davidson 129, 135

Newton, Ken 9, 11-13

Rayner, Michael 283, 293

Thomson, Kerstin 121

John Dimitriou Architects (see also dm2 architecture) 147

Niecon 241

Reddog Architects 283, 286

Tony Battams Architect 13, 147, 151

John Mainwaring and Associates 179, 184, 189, 191

Nutter, David 10, 39

Riddel, Robert 121, 129

Tooth, Zac 305

John Mobbs and Associates (see also Mobbs, Thompson and

Nyerges, Les 8

Robertson Witty Architects (see also Michael Witty

Toyota, Brian (see also Crone McKerrell Lynch) 147

Payne) 39, 45, 137

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill, Justin 255

Architects) 123

TrackStar Alliance 271, 279

Jones, Finn 8, 13

Oppenheim 11

Robertson, Paul (see Paul Robertson Architect) 305

Trotter, Mark (see also Fulton Gilmour Trotter Moss; Fulton

Joyce, Bernard 10, 73

Owen and Vokes 282-83, 290-91

Robina Design Service 85, 89

Trotter; Fulton Trotter Moss) 8, 10, 13, 93, 115, 121

Joyce Ninkivell 10, 73

Parker, Darryl (see Darryl Parker) 121, 129

Roehrs, Mark 147, 157

Vernon, Ken 157

Keniger, Michael 10, 49

Parrington, Doug 163

Roy, Peter 115, 121

Walter, Nicholas 19

Kennedy, Rosemary 241

Patane Group, The 100, 102-103

Ryan, Owen 7

Watson Brown, Elizabeth (see also Elizabeth Watson Brown)

Kidd, Brian 109

Paul Robertson Architect 302-303

Saini, Balwant 10, 19

109, 115, 163

Kollar, Peter 7

Paul Uhlmann Architects (also as Paul Uhlmann, see also Ideo

Saville, Brett (see Buchan Group) 8, 13, 115, 189

Watson, Don 137, 147

Lahz Nimmo 12, 168-70, 179, 181

Architecture) 115-16, 121, 126, 137, 142-43, 147, 152,

Scott Carpenter 214

Weekend Bulletin 109, 241

Lang, Leah

157, 161, 169, 171, 177, 189, 196-97, 203, 208-209,

Scott, Peter 305

WhiteArchitecture 9, 271, 280-81, 288

Langer, Karl 147

241, 251, 274, 293, 305, 313

Shane Denman Architects 189, 198, 203, 210-13, 230,

Whittingdon, Bevan (see also Design Collaborative) 7

Laver, Bill 59

Payne, Stewart 73, 115

271, 275

Wilde, Dudley (see also Goodsir Baker Wilde) 10, 33

Leach, Andrew 13

PDT Architects 308-309

Shutter, Leigh 293

Williamson, Don (see also Conrad Gargett) 8, 10, 39, 49

Les Jones (see also Push) 108-110

Peddle Thorpe 121, 163, 241, 246-47

Sikora, Rom 73

Willoughby, Shannon 305

Liam Proberts Architects (see also Fairweather Proberts)

Peel, Henry 101

Skinner, Peter 225

Wilson, Andrew 203

114-15, 117

PentArchi 13, 305, 316-17

Small, Sir Bruce 49

Wilson Architects 162-63, 255, 260-61

Licence, Jeff 12-13

Peter T Clarke 19-21, 39, 46-47, 65, 68, 73, 75

Smith + Tracey 271, 278

WIM Architects 203, 215, 305, 310-311

Lightwave 276

Peter Jansen and Associates 39, 43, 56-57

Sparc* Architects 240-42

Winkle, Evan 79, 157

Mainwaring, John (see also John Mainwaring and Associates)

Philip Follent 19, 38, 40-41, 65, 70-71, 73-74, 79-80, 93,

Spencer, Robin 10, 65

Woods Bagot 129, 144, 157

129, 137

96-97, 112-13, 115, 129, 132, 141, 146-49, 179, 182

Spencer, Ross 129

Woolley, James 85

Malcolm Cummings (see also Cummings and Burns) 19, 29

Phillips, David 8

St John Kennedy, Louise 10

Zaha Hadid Architects 11

McDonald, Alison 305

Phillips Smith Conwell 121, 125, 203, 206

Staddon Consulting 134

Zechovic, Karlo 169

McLellan, Gina (see also Gina McLellan) 129

Phorm Architecture + Design 305, 316-17

Stenders and Partners 58-61

319

Credits

320

This list excludes architectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own images except where

Clive Buxton 209

Matt Hofmann 302-303

Ross Spencer 104, 118, 127, 140, 156, 171, 286-87

independently credited.

Colin Hamilton Photography 193

Mitchell Young 310-311

Russell Shakespeare 221

David Sandison 136, 138-39, 161, 164, 166, 171, 177,

Murray Waite 198

Quinton Marais 175

Adam Weathered Photography 195

182, 185, 187, 192, 196, 199, 224, 248, 251, 274

Open 2 View 264

Scott Burrows 9-10, 172, 206, 208, 217, 234-36, 240,

Adnic Photographic Services 13, 316-17

Eric Victor 89

Paul Lynch 250

242, 254-59, 263, 278, 280-81, 284, 289, 298, 302,

Alan Jensen 268

Food Slicer 15, 299

Peter Hyatt 226

304, 306-307, 314, 318

Amanda Briggs 276

George Favios 253

Peter Johnson 45

Shannon McGrath 246

Andrew Leach 4-5, 13, 20-21, 29, 35, 63, 77, 81-82,

George Lucock 293

Peter Mylonas 262

Stephen Oxenbury 178, 180

87, 90, 92, 94-96, 98-99, 106-107, 120-22, 132, 134,

Georgina Kreutzer 135

Peter Sexty 315

Stewart Payne 18

144, 150-51, 165, 173, 176, 194, 253

Greg Minns 250

Piotr Branczyk 237

Studio Sept 8, 154-55, 197

Andrew Trimmer 219

Gunther Lamprecht 216

Remco 114, 117, 243, 269, 313

Tom Anthony 188, 190

Brett Boardman 168, 170, 181, 207

John Gollings cover, 244-47, 294

Richard Pearse 288

Tony Dowthwaite 315

Brian Usher

Jon Linkins 160, 167, 180, 261, 279, 282, 286, 290-91

Richard Stringer 12, 22-23, 26-32, 34, 36-38, 41, 44,

Warren Coyle 14, 315

Christopher Frederick Jones 232-33, 238-39, 249, 252,

Katherine Rickard 45-47, 72, 75

48, 50, 63, 69, 74, 76, 81, 83, 174

Wouter Van Acker 111

260-61, 277, 294-95, 301, 308-309

Ken Foley 100, 103

Rix Ryan Photography 211, 212, 275, 300, 312

Clare and Papi 264-65

Mark Gerritson 218-19

Rocket Matter 202-205

321

322