Architectural Review: 157

THE BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE ISSUE 157 | 2018

WORKING WITH INDIGENOUS CULTURES FEATURE REALITIES OF PRO BONO WORK FINANCE CHILDCARE CENTRES GROWTH TYPOLOGY WAYFINDING DESIGN

The Business of Architecture

Carme Pinós

ESTUDIO CARME PINÓS – SPANISH STEPS TO SUCCESS

157

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Architectural Review

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FEATURE INTERVIEW Carme Pinós after Franco and going it alone.

CONTENTS

AR REGULARS 12

EDITORIAL

14

QUOTES

39

EMERGING PRACTICE Natalie Mortimer meets Whispering Smith’s Kate FitzGerald

64

ISSUE 157

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BRAIN TRUST The Australian Institute of Architects has blamed poor design for Melbourne’s drop in the 2018 Global Liveability Index. Do you think that’s a fair assessment?

BUSINESS 28

STRATEGY Pro bono, pro children – the implications of pro bono work for architects,

by Susanne Kennedy

32

FEATURE Connecting country – architects embracing Indigenous culture in their practices, by Stephen A Russell

36

GROWTH TYPOLOGIES Growing up: opportunities in childcare design, by Melissa Rymer

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CONTENTS

DESIGN 26

42

50

DESIGN Finding the way – when to engage expert wayfinding designers, by Marian Edmunds LEAD PROJECT Escola Massana, Barcelona by Estudio Carme Pinós

66

SKELETONS Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe

AR ADVISERS 24

TOTAL SYNERGY Six misconceptions limiting growth

56

DORMAKABA The future is digital

APPLICATION 58

MultiPly is the name of the game

62

SHOWCASE New products under the spotlight

EMERGING PROJECT House A by Whispering Smith

THE BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE

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12 EDITORIAL

lachlan.oakley @ niche.com.au (03) 9948 4952 Editor Madeleine Swain madeleine.swain @ niche.com.au Business development manager

HEAR HER ROAR

Tali Ben-Yehuda tali.yehuda @ niche.com.au (03) 9948 4953 Production

I

n the last issue of AR we featured a married couple who run their architectural practice together. Rosa Coy and George Yiontis are still a comparative rarity in the industry, and talked to us of client preconceptions and gender-based prejudices being an issue even today. But what must it have been like over 35 years ago when Carme Pinós set up a small practice with her husband Enric Miralles, in post-Franco Barcelona?

Challenging is the answer. Clients would routinely ignore her and only address Miralles. But if that was hard, how very much harder did it become once she and Miralles divorced?

Born and bred in Barcelona, Pinós stayed there to establish her own practice after the split.

Despite her experience and skills, she was faced with a profession that valued her husband’s work and not hers. “All the cameras, all the photos were for Enric,” she says now.

It’s an absolute testament to her tenacity and strength of character that she not only stuck to her guns, but thrived. While English is still very much a second language for her, she teaches and lectures all over the world and her designs are in demand in places as far afield as Guadalajara in Mexico and here in Australia, for this year’s MPavilion in Melbourne.

Pinós has been able to let her work speak for her – and of course design is a universal language – but she backs this up with a palpable passion for the industry and what it can achieve that burns just as brightly now as it did all those years ago.

And while she may not have used the word in our interview with her, she’s clearly an inspiration for feminist architects everywhere. Perhaps her legacy is best exemplified by the approach employed by our emerging architecture practice this issue. Kate FitzGerald proclaims Whispering Smith is “staunchly feminist”, adding that being loud and proud about this helps to steer the “right people to us” and “deter the wrong ones”. Perhaps things have changed a bit since 1980s Barcelona after all…

Production manager Alicia Pinnock alicia.pinnock@niche.com.au Editorial designer Keely Goodall Design and digital prepress Karl Dyer Publishing Chairman Nicholas Dower Managing director Paul Lidgerwood Publisher & Commercial director Joanne Davies Financial controller Sonia Jurista Subscriptions Subscription enquiries Call 1800 804 160 or email subscriptions@niche.com.au Cover: Carme Pinós © Elleni Toumpas Stock images via 123RF Printing Southern Colour

Architecture and Design Division Architectural Review is a publication of Niche Media Pty Ltd

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AR ADVISER CONTRIBUTION An AR adviser is an organisation with which we’ve entered into a partnership to provide expert insight from their respective industries. In this issue, we welcome dormakaba and Total Synergy.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the editor, publisher or Niche Media Pty Ltd.

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14 QUOTES

“WHEN WE SPLIT, ALL THE PHOTOS WERE FOR ENRIC [MIRALLES], AND I DISAPPEARED COMPLETELY. BUT I AM HERE. NOW IT’S A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT IT IS STILL NOT SO EASY TO BE A WOMAN ALONE.” / CARME PINÓS, PAGE 16

“THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE FROM THE CLIENTS HAS BEEN THAT THEY USED TO HAVE THE WORST KINDERGARTEN AND NOW THEY HAVE THE BEST.” / ANDREW HOLLOWAY, PAGE 31

“THE SCANT PLANNING OF TRANSPORT, EDUCATION, HEALTH, SPORTING AND COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE HAS NOT KEPT PACE WITH THE CITY’S GROWTH, AND HAS MADE MELBOURNE AN INCREASINGLY AWFUL AND EXPENSIVE PLACE FOR A LARGE PROPORTION OF ITS INHABITANTS TO LIVE.” / JAN VAN SCHAIK, PAGE 64

“NO MATTER YOUR BELIEFS OR IDEALS ABOUT DESIGN, RUNNING A BUSINESS IS ALWAYS ABOUT CASH FLOW AND STAFF.” / SCOTT OSBORNE, PAGE 24

“IT IS IMPORTANT TO MANAGE PRO BONO PROJECTS WITH THE SAME DISCIPLINE AS FEE-PAYING PROJECTS.” / KERLINA BAHARI, PAGE 31

“THE WAY HE DESCRIBED COUNTRY WAS LIKE A CHURCH, AND THAT’S THE WAY THAT YOU HAVE TO TREAT THE PLACE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BUILD ON.” / TANIA DENNIS, PAGE 32

THE BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE

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“ARCHITECTURAL FIRMS OFTEN START A BID OR DESIGN PROCESS THINKING THEY HAVE ENOUGH DESIGN OR WAYFINDING KNOWLEDGE, BUT THEN BECOME TOO BUSY WITH MANY OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT.” / MARIAN EDMUNDS, PAGE 26

“IN OUR EXPERIENCE, COUNCILS ARE OFTEN WELCOMING OF CHILDCARE CENTRES AS THEY ARE AN EMPLOYER FOR THE LOCAL AREA AND WORK WELL AMONG OTHER ACTIVITY CENTRES SUCH AS SHOPS OR MEDICAL SUITES.” / KANE BARNETT, PAGE 36

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“MELBOURNE DIDN’T LOSE, VIENNA WON. WE NOW HAVE A CONTENDER, A CITY TO MOTIVATE US TO STRIVE TO BE THE BEST WE CAN.” / THEODORE KERLIDIS, PAGE 64 “YOU HAVE TO ALSO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU BUILD A COMMUNITY AND ACTUALLY TRANSFER SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TO THAT COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS AVAILING YOURSELF OF THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT ONE OF THE OLDEST CULTURES ON EARTH.” / DILLON KOMBUMERRI, PAGE 32

“WHERE AN ARCHITECTURAL TEAM MIGHT JUST COME UP WITH BIG MASSING, WE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THE USER INTERFACE ON A HUMAN SCALE AND ALSO ABOUT THE NEEDS OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF CLIENTS.” / SARAH MANNING, PAGE 26

“THE NIGHTINGALE MODEL HAS SHOWN THAT ARCHITECTS CAN DELIVER INCREDIBLE INNOVATIONS WHEN THEY LEAD PROJECTS FINANCIALLY AND STRATEGICALLY IN ADDITION TO LEADING THE DESIGN.” / KATE FITZGERALD, PAGE 40

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SPANISH STEPS TO SUCCESS CARMA PINÓS IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST CELEBRATED ARCHITECTS. SHE HAS BEEN AN INTERNATIONAL FELLOW OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS SINCE 2012 AND HER MOST LAUDED PROJECTS INCLUDE THE CUBE II TOWERS IN GUADALAJARA, MEXICO. BUT 27 YEARS AGO SHE WAS COMPLETELY ALONE, TRYING TO RECOVER FROM A BROKEN MARRIAGE AND PROFESSIONAL PARTNERSHIP AND START HER OWN PRACTICE WITH JUST A FEW TOOLS TO HER NAME. / MADELEINE SWAIN

W

alter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin, Alison and Peter Smithson, Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio… the fact that these names are so familiar indicates perhaps that they were the exception that proved the rule. Couples working in architecture in the early and mid parts of the 20th century were fairly rare beasts. And in Spain following the Civil War and World War II even more so, as the country found itself isolated politically and economically under the repressive regime of General Franco.

Following Franco’s death in 1975 and the country’s return to democracy, however, the conditions were ripe for an up and coming couple of architects to make their mark. Graduating from Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona in 1979, Carme Pinós went back to the school to study urbanism a couple of years later. In 1982 she formed a partnership with her husband Enric Miralles and their studio quickly made a name for itself.

“It was the beginning of the democracy in Spain,” says Pinós.

“The government gave us lots of opportunities to build practices through competitions.

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INTERVIEW 17

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18 INTERVIEW

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Carme Pinós on…

Leadership qualities. My rule is respect. I try to give space to people, to convince them that we are in the same boat, but they must believe this. My goals are their goals.

Current economic challenges. I’m looking abroad, out of my country. I started working in Mexico 20 years ago and I’m now focusing there and in France, especially with all the political difficulties in my region, Catalonia.

Advice for young architects starting out. It’s not easy for young people because when I was young, the idea of being an architect was more humanist. Now it seems the pressures of the market require a focus on big offices, more standard projects that are anonymous and luxurious, or pragmatic offices. Young people are working on contracts and maybe they have a different boss for every project.

“ALL THE PHOTOS, ALL THE CAMERAS WERE FOR ENRIC. AND I DISAPPEARED COMPLETELY... NOW IT’S A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT IT’S STILL NOT EASY TO BE A WOMAN ALONE.”

Succession. My studio is like a family. We are 13 people and they have all worked for me for at least 10 years. We are all architects and we work together very well and I suppose they know who will be next in line to lead the way…

Gender. When I started to study, there were 200 students, and only four women. The other women were working for the administration, and very few had their own firm, their own office. And when I worked with Enric, that just didn’t exist, a couple working together. Now it’s completely different.

“After Franco, there were a lot of things to do. A lot of sports centres, libraries, schools, hospitals… and we felt very free, supported by the ambience in Spain at the time,” she adds.

The couple saw international success with projects like the Igualada Cemetery Park (which they delivered via a competition) and the Archery Buildings for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. But after a prosperous decade, the couple split both personally and professionally.

Miralles went on to marry another architect, Benedetta Tagliabue, before dying at just 45 from a brain tumour in 2000.

Pinós formed her own practice – but the challenges of setting up as a woman on her own were significant, she recalls. “It was very tough,” she says. “It was not easy, absolutely not easy. It took me a lot of time for people to believe in me – other professionals, but also the clients. I had to work alone, with very few tools. But I kept going ahead, because I had a lot of faith in myself.”

With Miralles, she was good friends with Peter and Alison Smithson – one of the few other married couples working in architecture at the

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time. She describes them as her ‘reference’, but found that as soon as she and Miralles went their separate ways, she became invisible.

“All the photos, all the cameras were for Enric,” she recalls. “And I disappeared completely. But I’m here. I’ve come a long way. Now it’s a little different, but it’s still not easy to be a woman alone.”

Even when she was with Miralles, she often found herself sidelined.

In meetings clients would address her husband and ignore her.

“Absolutely,” she says. “It’s a lot of years ago, more than 30. No, I didn’t exist. But also it’s our fault. In a way, women must learn to impose, to make them respect us.”

She got her kick-start from an international firm that came to Barcelona looking for her. “They came to Barcelona and said, ‘OK, here’s Miralles, but where’s Pinós?’ And I was in a hole, working alone. They found me and invited me to lecture in Vienna and take part in a big project in Guadalajara in Mexico,” she says. “This changed my luck.”

She capitalised on this by continuing to enter competitions, and winning them. The design side of her business began to thrive and

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“I HAVE NO IDEA OF MONEY. NO IDEA OF WHAT MONEY I HAVE, HOW MUCH EACH PROJECT COSTS. I DON’T WANT TO KNOW THAT.” she currently has between 13 and 15 people working for her. The administration side of her own practice, however, is something she has never been comfortable with. “I have no idea of money,” she stresses.

“No idea of what money I have, how much each project costs. I don’t want to know that.” Instead, she has a trusted financial manager, who “controls all the money, all the projects, all the contracts”, leaving her free to concentrate on what she loves: designing. With a considerable amount of lecturing thrown in.

“But my head is always in the studio,” she says. “The first thing I did when I arrived here [in Australia] was to contact my studio in Spain.

With WhatsApp I can make a sketch and send it quickly and I also have some projects under construction. People can send me photos at the end of the day – I’m in constant touch with them.

“At the moment, I have one person working in France, another in San Francisco, another in Mexico…”

Unlike many of her peers, she doesn’t need to tout for business, she says, and isn’t too affected by the vagaries of the economy. “All my big

projects arrive through competitions,” she explains. “I have a reputation and I get asked to take part in restricted competitions.”

Strategic thinking has never been a focus, although she admits that she now has some semblance of a five-year plan in place. “I have a little one,” she says. “As I have to be more responsible now. I’m focusing a lot on Mexico and on France.”

Public housing has become a particularly important typology for the practice, with multiple projects in Spain, Mexico and France (Pinós is a dual national). She compares the opportunities in Guadalajara to those in some parts of Australia. “It’s growing and changing the model,” she says. “It was a spread city like Melbourne, but now it’s starting to be more dense.”

But wherever and whatever the project, Pinós says that she trusts her team completely. “I control it when something goes wrong,” she explains, “but only in the last moments of construction is my presence constant.” Up until then everyone at Estudio Carme Pinós is in the same boat. She’s just the captain of that boat.

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INTERVIEW 21

MPAVILION FOLLOWING SEAN GODSELL’S INAUGURAL MPAVILION IN 2014 AND FURTHER CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AMANDA LEVETE, BIJOY JAIN AND OMA, CARME PINÓS’ PROJECT IS THE FIFTH ANNUAL ITERATION OF THIS TEMPORARY INSTALLATION CREATED TO HOUSE EVENTS, CONCERTS AND TALKS FOR THE SUMMER, WHILE ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO MELBOURNE’S ONGOING DESIGN DEBATE. AR: Why did you want to be involved in designing the MPavilion?

Carme Pinós: I received a telephone call asking if I wanted to design a pavilion. I said, ‘Of course, yes. In Australia? Wow! It’s too far.` But I knew Melbourne. This is my fifth time here. I like Melbourne. It was a challenge to make this small thing, but every year it has to be something different.

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22 INTERVIEW

WHEN THEY ASKED ME TO MAKE UP A PAVILION ONLY FOR ONE YEAR, I KNEW THAT I MUST MAKE SOMETHING SPECIAL.

Had you heard of the project, before you had got the phone call from Naomi Milgrom?

Yes, there was some information, but when they asked me to make up a pavilion only for one year, I knew that I must make something special, because I suppose they are waiting to be surprised with the new pavilion. It’s part of the game. It was not easy, but when I came here, I saw the site and it was easy. (She clicks her fingers.) On the way back, I designed it in the plane.

What were your inspirations?

I wanted to make something that was not only a space where things happen, but also an experience in the middle of the park. I wanted to make something enclosed, but also open. It can be beautiful because of all the natural phenomena; you are going to feel it. For example, the roof has a brise soleil, but it’s transparent; you are going to see the water when it rains. And you are going to see the change of light all the time and the shadows... The light, the shadows, the water with rain, all that. I’ve tried to protect it from the wind, but also to allow the wind to pass through. ar

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24 AR ADVISER

SIX MISCONCEPTIONS LIMITING

GROWTH

OVER 20 YEARS OF DEVELOPING SOFTWARE DESIGNED TO HELP ARCHITECTURAL BUSINESSES IMPROVE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY IN PROJECT DELIVERY, TOTAL SYNERGY CEO SCOTT OSBORNE HAS SEEN MANY PITFALLS AND MISCONCEPTIONS THAT TYPICALLY LIMIT GROWTH AND PROGRESS. HERE, HE BREAKS DOWN A FEW FOR YOU TO CONSIDER IN YOUR BUSINESS.

A

re you managing your practice or does your practice manage you? How do you feel about your business – do you find you’re hitting a brick wall and feeling out of control with excessive hours and no work/life balance? Or perhaps you feel like you’re chasing the business and it’s running away from you, rather than leading it forward?

As directors and business leaders – not just architects – you need time to focus on strategic decision-making, not just chasing your tail. One way to do that is to address a few myths that may be holding you back:

‘MY BUSINESS RUNS ON GREAT DESIGN’ The first common misconception is that your business runs on great design.

Is the purpose of your business to make a profit or is the purpose to come up with great design? This is a conundrum for designers.

There’s no future for your practice if you don’t invest in growth. Growth means doing profitable work, not just more work. Investing in growth also affords you critical time to focus resources on research, concept development or continuing professional development.

Furthermore, in built environment design,

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you must ensure your business can weather the inevitable peaks and troughs tied to various economic cycles that affect construction. Or, more simply, it’s no good working in a business where you can’t pay wages.

Profit is key to all of these things and, if not for anything else, to buffer your business against change. No matter your beliefs or ideals about design, running a business is always about cash flow and staff, so you need to make sure that’s covered by tracking your projects and ensuring ideals don’t override common sense.

‘I DON’T HAVE TIME TO LEARN NEW TECHNOLOGY’ Progress is important in a business and technological progress is all around us.

A key driver of change in all businesses and industries over the last few years – and one that has been researched and documented for the global built environment design industry in particular – is the shift to cloud computing. Moving to the cloud is inevitable.

The delay in small businesses moving to the cloud is often underpinned by fear, uncertainty and doubt. The reality is, cloud-based systems are inherently more secure than a typical on-premises set-up. From reducing your hardware

overheads to having all your data backed up with georedundancy (in more than one place around the world), the cloud is all managed for you and reduces your overall IT overhead significantly, resulting in a lower cost of ownership.

With the cloud comes new opportunities to adopt fresh, more efficient systems and approaches.

Granted, with that comes a planning, training and learning overhead, but systems are only as good as what you put into them. To gain the efficiencies of new systems there’s nothing more you can do than understand why you

NO MATTER YOUR BELIEFS OR IDEALS ABOUT DESIGN, RUNNING A BUSINESS IS ALWAYS ABOUT CASH FLOW AND STAFF. need them, then knuckle down and learn them. The investment in time will pay off tenfold (assuming you’re investing in the right system for the planned outcome).

We’ve seen this in both the architectural and the engineering side of the industry. For example, structural engineers who invested early

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‘FIXED FEE JOBS DON’T NEED BUDGETS’

‘THE BUSINESS WILL ADAPT TO CHANGING WORKLOADS’ As your business grows, you need to know both that you have enough staff to do the work that you’re forecasting, and that you have enough work for the staff you have on hand. Unless you can estimate how much work is coming up and see how that’s panning out with win/ loss ratios and with expected billings, you’ve got a real issue with how you’re going to plan headcount for the future.

‘THE MARKET SETS MY RATES’ ‘I don’t set my rates; the market tells me what I charge.’ No, it doesn’t.

When I compare the different professional services industries, I see such similarities, but also comparative differences. When I look at what

H RT NO

Another misconception we hear time and again is that you don’t need to budget fixed fee jobs. Whether fees are fixed price, percentage of construction value or hourly charge, they’re all still simply recovering professional services charges.

Fixed fee jobs are usually based on the effort expended on the job. Successful firms don’t just pin their fees through an hourly rate, they look at value-based fees, and that gives them some ability to create higher value projects.

That’s why it’s crucial to budget your projects and track actual costs against the budget – to ensure your team knows what’s expected of them on an ongoing basis. Without measuring a budget, regardless of fee type, you don’t know what a project cost your business and whether it’s a good one to win or avoid in future.

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TO IMPROVE YOUR ABILITY TO CHARGE WHAT YOU’RE WORTH, YOU HAVE TO DIFFERENTIATE AND DEMONSTRATE IT IN YOUR SPECIFIC EXPERTISE. architects charge as hourly rates and I compare it to accountants and lawyers, and even engineers, I see a profession that is highly educated and highly technical, but just not confident enough to charge the deserved fees. That comes back to understanding how your fees are put together and having confidence that they should be higher, not lower.

Understanding your rates, understanding your costs, is very important in knowing the base.

To improve your ability to charge what you’re worth, you have to differentiate and demonstrate it in your specific expertise. Are you an expert in a particular field? Do you have a portfolio of projects in a sector that adds to the value you offer? Do you provide unique services or design innovation, or work with specialised materials? Can you deliver projects faster because of your technology investments? You need to find a way to demonstrate your value and why you’re worth a particular fee.

‘I CAN’T AFFORD TO SPEND MORE ON TECHNOLOGY’ Twenty years ago, there was probably a ratio of four draftsman to one architect.

Now, through the use CAD and BIM, we’ve seen that drop down to a oneto-one ratio or lower. If you’re like me, you’d like to grow your business two or three-fold, but if you could do that without more staff, that would be an ideal situation. Investing in the right systems – and the right governance framework to use them correctly – enables your team to be more effective and efficient.

In summary, these are only some of the pitfalls facing design businesses today.

It’s OK, even necessary, to be idealistic about the value of design, but you can only practise that belief if you run your business effectively and efficiently, to make a profit, and grow. ar totalsynergy.com/ar

Scott Osborne is founder and CEO of Total Synergy. His company develops Synergy — cloud business and project management software for architects, engineers and construction designers (AEC). Synergy’s goal is to give AEC professionals more time for design. Total Synergy has served the AEC industry since 1999 and has over 16,000 users worldwide.

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26 DESIGN

FINDING THE WAY ONCE A PROJECT HAS BEEN BUILT, PEOPLE NEED TO FIND THEIR WAY AROUND IT. THIS IS WHEN WAYFINDING SPECIALISTS MAY BE THE SMARTEST OPTION. / MARIAN EDMUNDS

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ayfinding has traditionally been carried out by architects teaming up with graphic designers, but the niche is maturing to become a vital and specialised spatial exploration. Clients, and users, are pressing for deeper understanding and clearer flows in user experiences.

Architects also want to differentiate themselves from competitors and one of the most increasingly popular ways is through wayfinding and user experience research, say Sarah Manning and Peter Feldmann, founding directors of Spaceagency in London.

Manning was an enlightening and inspiring speaker at Edge, the annual conference of Australian Institute of Architects, held on the Gold Coast this year. The pair’s work delves into the psychology of space, at the interface between users and the built environment, to connect people to places.

Architectural firms often start a bid or design process thinking they have enough design or wayfinding knowledge, but then become too busy with many other elements of the project. Or they find they don’t have enough knowledge of the complexities of wayfinding, which is vitally important in large projects.

“Typically we don’t start at day one on the wayfinding side,” says Manning.

“Although when we come into projects early on, we can give input, so that it doesn’t come later as an add-on.”

Spaceagency looks at the flow of movement and activity on and surrounding the site, drawing upon its

contemporary and traditional culture, and then works on integrating this with street furniture elements, arrangement of the space, signage, traffic and pedestrian flows, and branding. “Where an architectural team might just come up with big massing, we would have thought about the user interface on a human scale and also about the needs of the various types of clients,” explains Manning.

“Clients are extremely aware that society is moving into the experience economy, and this is especially so for the Millennial generation,” she adds.

“The many little conveniences that didn’t used to be there now go into making it a seamless journey.”

There are graphic design firms that do some wayfinding, but Manning recommends working with a specialist.

Spaceagency has worked on Australian projects and there are also specialists located in Australia, she says.

Spaceagency has a team of 20, and hires a lot of graphic designers.

Those who flourish in wayfinding have spatial backgrounds, says Manning.

Either they’ve studied interior design or

above: Eastland. © Spaceagency opposite page top: Dreamland. © Lightbureau bottom: Astana Expo 2017. © Spaceagency

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their parents are architects, or they’ve worked in practice.

But wayfinders are not easily found.

The niche is more than graphic design and not the same as architecture.

Few people have both knowledge in wayfinding and a strong design sense. “You’re mixing something that’s very strategic and planning focused with a need to be aesthetically driven,” says Manning.

Both Manning and Feldmann give talks at design schools or do workshops.

This is where they recruit young designers and start to collaborate to share their knowledge and teach wayfinding.

Manning trained as an architect, and in the comprehensive study of ‘space intense’. “We’re not looking at just the two-dimensional graphics,” she says. “We’re looking at how we can help people use spaces and find their way through spaces, and the graphics are only the end product.”

She also worked in urban design “which is working at the systems level of the city and understanding how they work”. Prior to founding Spaceagency nine years ago, Manning was an associate director at Space Syntax, forecasting pedestrian movement and

THOSE WHO FLOURISH IN WAYFINDING HAVE SPATIAL BACKGROUNDS. EITHER THEY’VE STUDIED INTERIOR DESIGN OR THEIR PARENTS ARE ARCHITECTS. focusing on public realm interventions.

There she worked at a strategic level to help structure large-scale urban design and mixed use developments.

Feldmann, on the other hand, was a project leader at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam after studying architecture, in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands.

Wayfinding outcomes depend on the connection between the disciplines of design, says Manning. If the combination of architects and graphic designers have a good close relationship, the end

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product can be well done. If they don’t, there can be a disconnection.

Spaceagency’s clients tend to be working on large-scale service projects, such as master plans for transport and retail hubs, as well as hospitals and sporting stadia.

Projects can be years in the making.

Spaceagency has been working on King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia since 2010, and that’s not built yet. Both Manning and Feldman say they enjoy a change of pace with smaller, temporary signage and wayfinding pop-up projects such as the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg or Clerkenwell Design Week.

“It’s fast, exciting work and very different for us,” says Manning.

With great demand for their work and for education and training in user experience. Manning and Feldmann share their knowledge through teaching.

This is going one step further in 2018 with the September publication of their book, The Spaceagency Guide to Wayfinding to be published in both English and Chinese. “It’s a user’s manual, a kind of sharing our IP (intellectual property) about how you go through the process of developing wayfinding projects,” Manning explains.

Curiosity drives an emphasis on research for the team. They will go to great lengths to understand the context of a place. This has included expeditions such as Manning immersing herself for weeks in the UNESCO-protected craft of Al Sadu weaving by Bedouin women

in the United Arab Emirates. The project required a deep understanding of the craft, the pigments, the looms and time spent with the elderly women weavers in order to represent, respect and protect cultural traditions. Such projects take time and investment, says Manning.

“We’re trying to deep dive into the culture to absorb everything we can find, the particular typology, client, local culture, customs, colours, typefaces everything that’s relevant in any way to then interpret that. It’s always a unique interpretation bespoke to the project.” ar

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28 STRATEGY

PRO BONO PRO

CHILDREN WHAT DOES PRO BONO WORK MEAN FOR A PRACTICE? AR SPEAKS WITH HAYBALL’S KERLINA BAHARI, AND SAVE THE CHILDREN’S ANDREW HOLLOWAY, ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES ON THE UPGRADE OF THE MOOROOPNA KINDERGARTEN IN SHEPPARTON, VICTORIA. / SUSANNE KENNEDY

GETTING STARTED Between 2016 and 2018, Hayball Architects worked on a pro bono basis with Save the Children Australia, which owns and operates the kindergarten.

Following a fortuitous social meeting between staff members from the two organisations, and senior leadership agreement to partner, the NGO (non government organisation) outlined its priorities for the kindergarten revitalisation project in a formal project brief to Hayball.

“It is important to manage pro bono projects with the same discipline as feepaying projects,” says project architect Kerlina Bahari.

The architectural firm was tasked with transforming a tired and poorly

functioning 30-year-old facility into a vibrant and engaging, state-of-the-art learning space that would accommodate more children.

“The most important thing from Save the Children’s perspective was to create a good learning environment for every child who accesses the facility,” says Holloway. “This is important because we know that signs of disconnect in early learning stages can carry over into high school and later life, if not addressed early.”

In addition to meeting diverse learning needs, Mooroopna staff pick up their students in a bus each day, feed them meals, and provide packed lunchboxes for them to take home for dinner.

“Many of the students who attend the kindergarten are from lower socioeconomic families,” says Bahari.

“Many are Indigenous or have a history of family violence.”

The facility was, therefore, as much refuge as kinder, albeit a dark and dated one. In addition to being uninviting, “it was freezing cold in the winter and boiling hot in the summer,” says Holloway.

MONEY AND PRO BONO Each pro bono project has unique funding arrangements. In Mooroopna’s case, the Victorian Government contributed over $300,000 via a Department of Education and Training (DET) Early Learning Facility Upgrade

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TIPS ON PRO BONO WORK “IT IS IMPORTANT TO MANAGE PRO BONO PROJECTS WITH THE SAME DISCIPLINE AS FEE-PAYING PROJECTS.” – KERLINA BAHARI

Discipline: manage pro bono projects with the same discipline as fee-paying projects. __________ Endurance: actively nurture and maintain senior commitment over the course of the project. __________ Flexibility: be prepared to respond to surprises, which may entail seeking further donations, adjusting design etc. __________ Clarity of brief: clearly define the parameters of the pro bono architectural and contractor work being offered. __________ Opportunities: further to the social contribution, pro bono work provides opportunities to innovate and develop architectural practice. __________ Leverage: when seeking new donations and contributions, highlight how they would be maximised by already secured funding/ donations.

Grant, and Save the Children raised over $260,000 via direct project donations.

Hayball Architects provided its entire project services pro bono. This meant managing risk, contracts and contractors, budget, timelines and design, in addition to negotiating material and service donations at reduced or no cost, where possible. The scale of the DET grant not only ensured a substantial kinder renovation on its own; it also enabled Hayball and Save the Children to leverage further donations and pro bono contributions.

“In the end, the overall project cost, excluding Hayball fees, was just over $700,000,” says Holloway. “And each contributor’s investment was maximised.”

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WHAT WAS DONE? In keeping with Save the Children’s brief, the Hayball design modernised and extended the early learning facilities.

The floor plan was increased by around 50 percent, allowing 26 more three- to four-year-olds to access the Mooroopna’s preschool education each year. And the facility now boasts a second multi-use classroom, new storage shed, larger and more functional internal kitchen space, a new ‘kids’ kitchen’, and welcoming reception area for staff to meet and support parents and carers. There are also quiet zones for amped up children to unwind and relax, and rooms to for private consultation.

Hayball utilised different colour schemes to make the latter areas feel calmer, and to create more vibrant play and learning spaces. Natural light and warmth were other vital ingredients.

“We wanted to get as much sun in there as possible,” says Bahari. “And maximise environmental gain through passive design.”

Further, the new light-filled design incorporates inviting landscaped areas for play-based learning and an integrated kitchen garden zone, which produces fresh produce for families to take home.

WHY PRO BONO? Since its inception, Hayball has worked outside the mainstream particularly in

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A Czech-style lager, brewed in Tasmania.

Rules are meant to be broken.

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public housing and education, and with trade unions. “Our key values involve building strong and healthy communities and being socially responsible and economically mindful,” says Bahari. “The Mooroopna Kindergarten project has enabled Save the Children to provide the best possible [out-of-home] start for vulnerable children.”

It was also an opportunity to innovate and build on the firm’s, already considerable, education design expertise, according to the architect.

IS PRO BONO WORK DIFFERENT FOR ARCHITECTS? Construction projects are generally lengthy by nature, so when an architect or architectural practice offers services pro bono, it can be more difficult to contain or limit that contribution the way a lawyer or publicist might, through a discrete fee or PR campaign, for example.

Architectural and construction projects also involve coordinating multidisciplinary teams and sustaining organisational commitment for the life of a project.

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“These projects can go for years and require a long-term resource commitment to stay on the cause,” says Bahari. “It is important to have continued support from the senior leadership team.”

Further, pro bono work requires high levels of flexibility. An unplanned material donation, for instance, may require significant last-minute changes to a design. Inversely, more donations may need to be sought due to unexpected developments. Contractors and suppliers also often work under variable (pro bono, discounted or paid) conditions, while juggling their own external project commitments.

“During the preliminary demolition phase we discovered that the northern wall was very unstable and needed to be rebuilt,” says Holloway. “So Hayball (successfully) approached BlueScope for more timber cladding.” Diverse Builders also liaised with Boral (which donated all of the project concrete) about meeting additional concrete needs.

The ultimate litmus test for any architectural project – be it pro bono or fee-paying – is user and client satisfaction.

“The overwhelming response from the clients has been that they used to have the worst kindergarten and now they have the best,” says Holloway.

Contractors and consultants: Diverse Builders – was flexible and happy to source discounted or free materials Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec – provided structural design, certification and continued to contribute its services during construction phase Prowse Quantity Surveyors – provided project cost planning at the design phase Hard Rock Geotechnical – provided geotechnical investigations Suppliers: Hayball worked with suppliers to provide items for free or at cost price Lysaght (BlueScope Steel) – wall cladding Boral – all concrete Autex – pinboards Armstrong Ceilings – acoustic ceiling Forbo – vinyl flooring Interface Australia – carpet tiles aquaBUBBLER – drinking fountain ar

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32 FEATURE

CONNECTING COUNTRY LISTEN, LIVE AND LEARN, AR TALKS TO THREE ARCHITECTS EMBRACING INDIGENOUS CULTURE IN THEIR DESIGN PRACTICE. / STEPHEN A RUSSELL

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s a young graduate starting out on his architectural career with the Aboriginal Housing Company in Sydney in 1986, Yugembir man Dillon Kombumerri was a little wary of the idea of nonIndigenous people interpreting Aboriginal culture in their design practice.

“When I first thought about what it meant to be an Aboriginal person designing with Aboriginal communities in mind, I really had it in my head that I didn’t feel comfortable with [non-Indigenous people working in this space],” he recalls. “But as I started working on projects, and meeting non-Indigenous architects who had been working with community – somebody like Gregory Burgess springs to mind – then I actually took a very different position.”

Now a principal architect in the Office of the Government Architect NSW, Kombumerri has been one of the prominent voices advising on the Sydney Ochre Grid. A mapping project that seeks to connect both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities, building knowledge bridges to enable better planning and design decisions that embrace culture and connection to country, it’s fair to say he’s shifted considerably on the issue.

“I actually took the me, or the ego, out of it and thought, ‘Well, if the community is working well with whoever it is, and they feel comfortable sharing their knowledge with an architect, be they black, white or brindle, and they are getting a good outcome, then that’s really great’.”

What really matters is the quality of engagement with the community, Kombumerri argues, and that’s about more than just asking questions. “It’s very much about going in as open as you can, not just

inertly listening to the community, but also contributing, and that’s about relationship-building.”

He notes it’s important that the relationship is not an asymmetrical one, but instead a true partnership. “If you go in saying, ‘I’m here to listen,’ and you think that’s a good thing, but you don’t give back, then that’s not a good process. You have to also think about how you build a community and actually transfer skills and knowledge to that community, as well as availing yourself of this opportunity to learn about one of the oldest cultures on earth, which in some ways positions you commercially for economic benefit.”

Where he sees room for improvement is in better pathways for community engagement at all stages of a project, from initial community consultation, through the design and construction processes, right up to handover, and in identifying Aboriginal people with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skillsets to bring to the table.

There is great scope for architecture practices across the land to work hand-in-hand with Aboriginal communities, drawing on their expertise, but also opening up real pathways for improvement in return, Kombumerri suggests. “We want to shift the framework from disadvantage to opportunity.”

What he doesn’t want to see is a ‘walking on eggshells’ approach that means nothing gets done for fear of cracking a few along the way.

“Now, we know there is a desire within communities, and within the industry, to engage with Aboriginal culture and heritage, but there is

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Djakanimba Pavilions. © Peter Eve

“IT’S VERY MUCH ABOUT GOING IN AS OPEN AS YOU CAN, NOT JUST INERTLY LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO CONTRIBUTING, AND THAT’S ABOUT RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING.” – DILLON KOMBUMERRI also this anxiety about misstepping or saying the wrong thing, or of people not knowing who to go to and ask, so a key aspect of the Ochre Grid is to help connect industry and government with the people who are the knowledge holders of Aboriginal culture and heritage to bring that wealth to the design of places.”

THE ART OF LISTENING Tania Dennis, director of Townsville-based practice Insideout Architects, is one such non-Indigenous architect who has passionately embraced the opportunity to share knowledge, culture and passion with Indigenous communities.

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Spending her childhood in the Top End – in Arnhem Land, Darwin and Katherine – Dennis has a deep-seated appreciation for the place and its people and was thrilled to be asked to work with Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation, a not-for-profit cultural organisation based at the Ghunmarn Culture Centre in Beswick or Wugularr, the traditional country of the Jawoyn people. “It was an honour to work with Djilpin Arts and the open and collaborative nature of their work really inspires me,” she says.

With Djilpin having built a solid platform for Indigenous visual and performing artists and hosting the Walking with Spirits Festival at Beswick Falls, Insideout was engaged to create on-site accommodation. “They needed a place for learning locally, and also for exhibitions and for visitors or people they were collaborating with to stay.”

Insideout came up with the National Architecture Award-winning Djakanimba Pavilions. Working hand-in-hand with Djilpin’s much-loved artistic director*, who sadly died earlier this year, Dennis sat down with him at Wugularr, with much of the work incorporating overlaying ideas hashed out on foot. “We sorted things out by walking around, talking about stuff and remixing things if they didn’t work, just being able to see the project through their eyes.”

Working to a tight budget, the elevated buildings with interconnecting verandas were designed to offer a flexible solution.

“We had to make them adaptable, so fold down beds can be packed away if the spaces are needed for learning,” Dennis says.

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34 FEATURE

left: Ochre Grid plan. © Andrew Cowan below: Tania Dennis on the roof of Insideout Architects’ Tjulyuru Cultural and Civic Centre © Mike Gillam, Vanishing Point right: Walumba Elders Centre © Peter Bennetts

“THE WAY HE DESCRIBED COUNTRY WAS LIKE A CHURCH, AND THAT’S THE WAY THAT YOU HAVE TO TREAT THE PLACE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BUILD ON.” – TANIA DENNIS “The buildings are unadorned and pretty simple, but they work because people can weave their own colour and culture into them, kind of like a blank canvas,” she adds.

Since that first collaboration, Djilpin Arts has reengaged Insideout to work on another series of pavilions that includes a café, camp kitchen and retail gallery, further deepening a relationship built on mutual respect. Djilpin’s artistic director also offered Dennis some heartfelt advice that dancing is key to happiness. “He taught me that the gesture of dancing not only honours the earth, but also those that have come before and that, when you dance, all the worry evaporates,” she says. “He saw the pavilions as being like magic kicked up in the dust. The way he described country was like a church, and that’s the way that you have to treat the place that you are going to build on. I think we can all learn from that profound connection with land and place.”

REBUILDING COMMUNITY Warmun, the traditional home of the Gija people in the eastern extremities of the Kimberley Region in far northern Western Australia, was almost completely destroyed by a one-in-300-year flood in 2011. This necessitated a year-long relocation of the community to Kununurra, some 200 kilometres north, and Perth-based practice Iredale Pedersen Hook was engaged to help rebuild public amenities during that period. The construction of the award-winning Walumba

Elders Centre was at the heart of this new vision for the community.

It was vital that it was located close to the school and town centre, recognising the importance of passing on knowledge.

Building strong relationships with the Gija elders identified a number of important cultural considerations. “Gender separation was one of the first principles in this community,” says Iredale Pedersen Hook director Finn Pedersen. As a result, two swooping wings encompass the structure, which is raised on stilts above the 2011 flood level, connecting at one end and traced with sweeping walkways.

“The building reflects the importance of this need for separate spaces, while creating a communal space in the middle that acts as a community hub with fire pits, where they can come together to celebrate lore and culture,” Pedersen adds. “The elders also knew that they would have some elders who would be married, so we included rooms for couples too.”

Pedersen mostly relied on models and hand-drawn plans when sitting down with the Gija elders. “It was very analogue, there was no VR or fly-through as we got to the heart of how people wanted to live in the building and what they wanted it to do.”

That included a specific funerary area for Sorry Business that allows for palliative care and subsequent spiritual cleansing without disrupting the rest of the community. “Context is everything in design, and that context is both physical and cultural,” Pedersen says, noting that it’s been a privilege to work with several Indigenous communities, one

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that he takes very seriously. “This notion of how you design for remote communities, and for the culture of that community, is very important, and it is a continuous process. You accumulate experience slowly and you feel the weight of it.”

FIRED UP Kombumerri believes that cross-country collaboration with community is vitally important, but notes that this progress needs to be better connected. “They are like little campfires being set up all around the place, but they aren’t necessarily linked.”

Sydney’s Ochre Grid is aimed at building much needed networks that will endure. “It brings a cohesive narrative to the whole of Sydney, because if culture is a map across the landscape, it’s not just the individual places that are important, it’s actually how you get to those places and everything in between.”

With hard work and a lot of love, he hopes this endeavour will inspire more architectural practices to engage with Indigenous communities in meaningful ways. “This is a very exciting project that helps bring everything together so that we can design places that are very much country-centred, that talk to the deep history of country.” ar * AR has withheld the name of Djilpin’s former artistic director out of respect for Indigenous bereavement practices.

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36 GROWTH TYPOLOGIES

GROWING UP: OPPORTUNITIES IN CHILDCARE DESIGN IN THE SECOND OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES EXAMINING TYPOLOGIES OFFERING GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICES TO EXPLORE, AR LOOKS AT THE CHILDCARE SPACE. / MELISSA RYMER

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ith the continued rise in urban development and the increasing expansion of growth corridors in and around large cities such as Melbourne (where the population is sitting at 4.8 million and is predicted to hit eight million by 2050), childcare centres have become a highly profitable investment for Australian developers. But the process of designing and developing a centre can easily become complicated or even stalled if the parties involved are not familiar with the rules and regulations surrounding childcare.

Speaking to principals from firms Co-lab Architects and K20 Architecture, AR discovers both are passionate about the potential for growth in this sector.

Theodore Kerlidis, owner and director at K20, brings a strong commitment to sustainability with the philosophy to “leave a place better than we find it”.

They are aiming to develop centres that will have a “100-year life cycle, and will potentially be off the grid”. His firm is working mostly within the community and local government childcare sector, whereas Co-lab is working primarily within the private sector.

SITE FEASIBILITY There are strictly regulated codes that have been developed by the education department to ensure an appropriate allocation of space for childcare, so it is critical that the site can meet these stringent requirements. Before embarking on a childcare development, it is important to determine the number of children that need to be accommodated within the centre, as that will dictate the rest of the design.

Zoning is another factor that needs to be addressed in terms of both individual council regulations and profitability.

According to Co-lab’s founding director and principal architect Kane Barnett: “In our experience, councils are often welcoming of childcare centres as they are an employer for the local area and work well among other activity centres such as shops or medical suites. Additionally, in terms of clientele, they are welcomed on the fringes of residential areas or near workplaces – locations where parents can drop their children off on their way to work.”

NAVIGATING COMPLEX CHILDCARE REGULATIONS Once a suitable site for the construction of a childcare centre has been located, the design process begins. This can be very complex as there is an intricate web of rules and regulations mandated by the government. Co-lab Architecture collaborates with a childcare consultant in every centre design process, and over the years has developed a detailed understanding of centre requirements.

Current regulations dictate that every child must have 3.25 square metres of space inside and seven square metres outside, while there must also be ample parking for parents. The design needs to consider an array of factors including: fencing, gate swings, outdoor toilets and indoor furnishings, such as doorjambs and bench heights. For

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WHILE CHILDCARE CENTRES PRESENT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR STRONG RETURNS ON INVESTMENT, THIS CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED IF THE PROCESS IS MANAGED EFFICIENTLY AND EXPERTLY FROM THE OUTSET.

above / left: Inspire Early Learning Journey Childcare Centre. © Kit Haselden

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example, handles on doors to outside areas must be child-height, whereas handles on doors to staff areas must be much higher. Potential finger traps and climbing hazards must be identified and resolved. This can often mean the actual space requirements are bigger than the regulations may imply. Add to this the rules around the dimensions of childcare rooms, the need for children to always be able to access outdoor space and for rooms to be light-filled.

Regulations also dictate staffing ratios and design compliance. For example, there must be one childcare provider for every four children under three and for every 11 children from three to five years old. This will impact the number of adult toilets, as well as the space a developer may allocate to staffrooms, offices and planning rooms.

A DELICATE BALANCING ACT The next thing to navigate is the number of stakeholders.

According to Barnett: “When designing a site, however, we are not just considering government regulations, but also the needs of the three critical audiences: the parent, the child and the developer.”

As any parent would understand, putting children into childcare can be a stressful time, as parents are transitioning back into the workforce and often feeling quite overwhelmed.

Having worked in this area for some time, Co-lab understands this emotional conflict. “Our design solutions address the need to alleviate some of this parental guilt. We do this by creating airy, natural spaces that appeal to adult aesthetics,” says Barnett.

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KANE BARNETT

Childcare projects are more complex than a lot of developers initially appreciate. There is a third level of approval that is required above a planning and building permit. The Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) must inspect, approve and license the centre before any children will be allowed on-site. This approval ensures the centre can operate in compliance with the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care. Some guidelines are explicit; e.g. minimum areas per child for indoor and outdoor space. Other guidelines aren’t explicit and are based on balancing a number of factors simultaneously; e.g. quality of landscaping and the dimensions of the area. This is deliberate, as the overall experience of a centre cannot be determined by a single element or minimum requirement. The DET’s main concern after all is that the buildings and grounds are appropriate and safe for children, giving those children good quality experiences.

Ravenhall Kool Kidz. © Kit Haselden

Landscaping is a critical part of this design process, and Co-lab Architecture has developed a successful collaboration with Package Landscapes. It is no longer good enough to merely throw down some AstroTurf and some outdoor play equipment. These elements are now seen as integral to the design of the centres and need to be both imaginative and safe.

Simple colours and pared back designs also appeal to children, as they react best to spaces they can make their own. Creating versatile spaces both inside and out that can be modified easily to stimulate children’s imaginations are a significant design feature.

Equally important is to create a space that appeals to staff, as a dedicated and professional workforce is essential in order to retain parents and provide consistency of care to children. So, it becomes vital to attract and maintain an engaged workforce and this includes incorporating a pleasant staffroom, curriculum planning rooms and considering showers for those

staff who cycle or walk to work. All of these rooms add up both financially and spatially, making the design of a childcare centre a delicate balancing act between resources, regulations, aesthetics and feasibility.

Co-lab Architecture has completed approximately 14 childcare centres and currently has nine in construction.

The typology constitutes around 70 percent of the work of the practice.

While childcare centres present the opportunity for strong returns on investment, this can only be achieved if the process is managed efficiently and expertly from the outset.

Given this is an expanding area, while there are many complex factors to consider, it offers scope for the growth of many design practices.

This may include the potential to incorporate childcare centres within multi-level residential and commercial developments. There is also likely to be some growth in refurbishing existing childcare centres, so they continue to comply with the stringent planning and zoning requirements. ar

Having experience with childcare providers, engaging with DET early in the process is essential in designing new centres.

Unless your designer has experience with getting childcare centres approved by DET it may be hard to determine exactly what this means, particularly when more multistorey centres are being built. __________ Things to avoid: •

outdoor play areas that are substantially enclosed, or covered by levels above, and

•

children’s rooms that rely on borrowed light or without adequate natural ventilation. __________ Things to consider: •

surveillance and supervision of children by the educators

•

the orientation of the building to maximise solar access to outdoor play areas

•

ensuring children can experience the natural environment in outdoor areas, and

•

how indoor and outdoor areas can be integrated for flexible use. __________ Things not to skimp on: •

playground design and quality of materials.

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EMERGING PRACTICE 39

EMERGING: WHISPERING SMITH WITH INITIAL ASPIRATIONS OF BEING A VET, WHISPERING SMITH FOUNDER KATE FITZGERALD WAS DRAWN TO A CAREER IN ARCHITECTURE BY THE PULL OF `SELF-DIRECTED, COLLABORATIVE AND EXPLORATORY LEARNING’. / NATALIE MORTIMER

I

t may be difficult for people to connect a farm upbringing with a creative pursuit like architecture, but for Kate FitzGerald, founder of Whispering Smith, it was these formative years spent getting involved in all aspects of farm life that drove a passion for thinking and making.

“Farming is all about teamwork and coming up with clever solutions to problems,” says FitzGerald, “and as kids we always had access to tools, space and plenty of time to build or invent things. That is where I began solving problems via making.”

FitzGerald grew up in rural Victoria spending her time riding horses and mustering stock. Unsurprisingly, she wanted to become a vet, until she found out at an open day that the degree was “more textbooks and not many animals”. It was her mum who suggested she check out the architecture faculty on the way out.

“She said she had an inkling that I’d like it, and the minute I saw all the crazy experimental models I knew that kind of self-directed, collaborative and exploratory learning was something I’d love doing for the rest of my life. I’m so thankful for my mum’s all-knowing wisdom that day,” says FitzGerald.

During her studies at architecture school she worked part-time in a few different firms but “never clicked” with the commercial reality of being a young architecture employee. Upon graduating in 2010, FitzGerald struggled to find a graduate job and decided to get some of her own hands-on experience. She purchased a block in her hometown and her parents gifted her a derelict farmhouse that they moved into town on a truck.

“My dad loaned me some money and I spent 12 months rebuilding it with the help of friends and family. I learned so much about construction and the architectural process from that little project, and that is where Whispering Smith began.”

In the early days, FitzGerald undertook a lot of low-fee work in order to get some projects under her belt and it was one such project that

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“THE NIGHTINGALE MODEL HAS SHOWN THAT ARCHITECTS CAN DELIVER INCREDIBLE INNOVATIONS WHEN THEY LEAD PROJECTS FINANCIALLY AND STRATEGICALLY IN ADDITION TO LEADING THE DESIGN,” led her to Perth in 2013, where she started up a new venture with two friends – an award-winning social enterprise called Sprout Ventures.

“It was fascinating to see how other industries value start-ups, and to see how much they support new entrepreneurs with business mentoring and business development,” says FitzGerald. “Whispering Smith was emerging at the same time and it’s a vastly different experience as a start-up architecture firm.” That experience shaped the youth-centric, entrepreneurial DNA of Whispering Smith. “Encouraging emerging practices will always be one of our key advocacy positions,” she says.

Today, Whispering Smith works across both residential and commercial projects, as well as completing a residential development on the side. Since the very start of Whispering Smith, the practice has acted as the developer on key projects and it’s those projects that have proved the most successful.

“The Nightingale model has shown that architects can deliver incredible innovations when they lead projects financially and strategically in addition to leading the design,” says FitzGerald. “We have found that we understand so much more about the barriers to better housing in WA because we put our own money down and learned the true reality of things.

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Kate FitzGerald on…

Proudest career moment to date. Getting registered as a selfemployed architect and providing a space for other young architects to develop at Whispering Smith. Winning a State Architecture award as a 32-year-old female director was also one of the proudest moments for me personally.

“That hurt at the time, but now we have the tools to help other young people find a way into the old-fashioned, unfair mess that is the housing market. We’re also working on delivering our architecture in more affordable packages than the traditional fee-for service model and are doing a series of houses for a brand called New Resident.”

Whispering Smith is also busy in the advocacy space as a committee member for the ACA (Association of Consulting Architects) where the practice is helping to facilitate a ‘Business of Small Practice’ or ‘BoSP’ series with MSG Architecture – aiming to support small practices in starting, growing and being more profitable.

With a foot now firmly in the architecture world, what does FitzGerald wish she had known in the early days of Whispering Smith?

“I wish I’d had a closer relationship with a mentor, or a community that I could have asked for advice on the issues that crop up when you are a starting an architecture firm,” she says. “It’s expected that graduates will gain all the relevant knowledge about the architectural industry from working for someone else, which doesn’t always transpire.”

FitzGerald points to a survey of graduates completed in 2012 by the Australian Institute of Architects, which found that 47.9 percent of nonregistered graduates surveyed cited ‘lack of practical experience’ as one of their main reasons for not registering.

“This reflects that we have this issue within firms in addition to those working outside a traditional employment model,” says FitzGerald. “As a start-up practice, accessing that unique knowledge that comes from being an experienced architect is almost impossible and I wish we’d had access to all the supportive, great architects that we know now.”

FitzGerald’s own practice is made up of a young team, and the ethos is all about collaborating with clients, builders and other practices that are “good humans”.

“Life and work are just more enjoyable that way,” she says. “We’re staunchly feminist as well, and we find that saying that loud and proud is sending the right people to us, and deterring the wrong ones. My role as a director is to be more of a coach, and to facilitate the staff in their journey to becoming leaders in the profession themselves. Only 11 percent of our directors of architecture are female, and producing and supporting strong female leaders is a priority for us until we see that number hit 50 percent.”

So, where does FitzGerald see Whispering Smith in the next five years?

“Hopefully we will have developed an equitable business model for start-up practices that we can share, and maybe we’ll have a hand in building a community of profitable small practices with the BoSP – we’re always looking for advice if anyone reading this has any to offer on that subject,” she says. “Hopefully we’ll still be having those conversations about whether or not we’ve done too much advocacy and not enough money-making for the month, but I’m sure we’ll be as happy working away on great projects regardless.”

Most important lessons learned along the way. There used to be some big egos in architecture and I personally think there’s no room for that anymore – it’s a service industry, and our personal and industry reputations are too important in the bigger scheme of things.

Favourite project to date. House A (see page 50) because it gave us a soapbox and megaphone, like this one we’re using now!

Advice for up-and-coming architects. Get some skills in business and learn how other professions are staying profitable in addition to architectural businesses. I think it’s difficult to start and flourish in this era as a traditional fee-for-service practice. I also think having a mentor or a community to learn and grow with is one of the most important factors and, to have that, you need to contribute first. Join groups, volunteer, advocate and be present in the profession and people will help you out in return when you need it.

Most important things to have when building and growing a practice. Friends. Whispering Smith is the total sum of people who have contributed, loaned, built things, volunteered, mentored and supported us, and without that we’d be nowhere. We have always done those things for others, so being a good friend as well as having them is critical. My amazing partner Matt is a talented landscaper/super tradie and I have to say we’d be Whispering Nobody without his hard work on almost all of our projects.

“WE’RE STAUNCHLY FEMINIST AS WELL, AND WE FIND THAT SAYING THAT LOUD AND PROUD IS SENDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO US, AND DETERRING THE WRONG ONES.”

www.whisperingsmith.com.au

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42 LEAD PROJECT

ESCOLA MASSANA, BARCELONA

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Photography © Duccio Malagamba

Project description.

Escola Massana (La Massana School of Art) forms part of the long transformation process of Gardunya Square, situated in the heart of Barcelona’s historical district. This project responds to the brief of creating a luminous interior made up of open spaces in its 11,000 square metres of usable surface area, while at the same time achieving an exterior that remains harmonious with the urban web in which it stands. The building is split, both in terms of

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volumetrics as well as in the solution of the façade, in response to the surrounding construction. In order to give the building a unique and more sculptural character and simultaneously diminish the bulkiness, the part of the building that faces the square is split into two rotating volumes that generate different terraces. The ceramic elements, reminiscent of a brise soleil, that cover the exterior emphasise its volumetric intentions while at the same time protecting the students’ privacy.

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44 LEAD PROJECT

Architect’s statement – Carme Pinós, Estudio Carme Pinós.

I made this project thinking from the perspective of the people, and thinking of the movement of the people, because this area is very mixed, with lots of different social classes. There are immigrants and there are people who have lived here all their lives – so it’s a special place.

And I started to observe public spaces in old cities. In the Middle Ages in Barcelona, the public spaces were not regular shapes. The only regular square that exists in this area is La Plaça Reial, a square made for the bourgeoisie. It’s a square with a centre; all the façades are equal, looking at the centre.

And the competition planned for a façade, but I said ‘no way’.

My first thought was it doesn’t matter if this façade is beautiful or not, I don’t want to stop the movement with a façade, with a block.

Because on one side is housing, on the other side is the school.

I make public spaces that connect one with one another. It’s all about the movement of the people. For example, for the school, I made the entrance facing the passage with the courtyard. This meant my response to the competition, my plans, jumped the lines of the competition.

However, I still won. I started the project and then they asked me for another project – to create the façade of the Boqueria market, which I didn’t want to do, as it was not a building, it was a provisional roof made permanent. The market had a problem with rain and sun, which destroys the fruit. They also had a problem with the wind. I resolved these three problems by making some of the roof smaller.

This means the smaller roof can pass underneath the big one, to enable protection from the wind, the rain and the sun.

When it came to the school itself my biggest worry was that even though it is big – 11,000 square metres and six floors – I wanted

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“IT’S BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE IN EACH MOMENT OF THE DAY THE SHADOWS CHANGE.”

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it to appear small. With this resolution, being this compact, you don’t realise the dimensions of the building, how I’ve broken it in two pieces so it looks smaller. It’s an institutional building, but it’s near housing, so I worked on a domestic scale.

The challenge was that in front there is a public space full of people, so I added the brise soleil, so that the students can see out but they have privacy. When I entered the competition I talked to the professor and the teachers and they said they wanted to occupy a very human school, they wanted open spaces. So the interior is different, protected from the exterior, but much bigger. There’s a lot of sun and you can always perceive where you are. It’s beautiful because in each moment of the day the shadows change. This has something in common with the MPavilion.

I also wanted the interior courtyard to appear like a street, and the fence to appear like windows. The third façade is the ceiling. I’m very worried about air circulation, so the ceiling can open, but with no mechanical air-conditioning and no technology.

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Post occupancy evaluation.

■ complete a neoclassical urban intervention dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, by means of a contemporary language.

AR CONDUCTS AN INFORMAL POST OCCUPANCY EVALUATION OF ESCOLA MASSANA WITH MARC AURELI SANTOS FROM BARCELONA TOWN COUNCIL, WHO WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL PROCESS.

How was Estudio Carme Pinós chosen for the project?

The City Council called for an international competition in two phases and then chose five teams that developed the ideas of the functional program.

What were the top five elements that were most important for the finished building to have integrated into the design?

■ formalise the city structure in a highly degraded urban void ■ fulfil a complex functional program with a significant demand of surface area ■ create a public space of sufficient size so as to foster social interaction, as well as to sew and integrate the diverse surrounding areas ■ understand the historic city and its complexity, under avoidance of creating a false history, and

How involved were you during the construction period and how long did that process take?

The project began in 2007 with a participatory process made up of different neighbourhood entities to define the scope of the proposal. Back then, I was in charge of the project office responsible for Barcelona’s Old Town and not only drafted the bases for the architectural competition, but also was a member of the jury. During the different project phases, I intervened only partially, since there were several parties involved: the Barcelona Municipal Market Institute,

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A PART OF THE HISTORICAL CENTRE HAS BEEN COMPLETED WITH INTELLIGENCE AND SENSITIVITY AND THE CITY FLOWS SMOOTHLY IN THIS AREA.

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the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Education, the Municipal Housing Board, a housing cooperative and a private operator. My role was to coordinate and timely resolve conflicts, especially in the initial phases – underground works – as in the final ones – there were some problems with the housing cooperative and the private operator.

Now that the project is finished: How well does it respond to those top elements, individually?

A part of the historical centre has been completed with intelligence and sensitivity and the city flows smoothly in this area.

The functional program was satisfactorily fulfilled in all of its parts and proves a great success, since the final volumetry does not reflect the actual demands: the architecture seems much lighter than what the functional program requested.

The new Gardunya Square is a thriving space due to the presence of both the [Boqueria] market and the Massana School. Only its fourth

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48 LEAD PROJECT

Project details Name of project: La Massana Fine Arts School Location: Plaza Gardunya Nº 9, Barcelona Client: Consorci d’Educació de Barcelona Promoter: Ajuntament de Barcelona, BIM/SA Dates: Contest: 2006. 1st prize Preliminary draft: 2007 Basic project: 2008 Executive project: 2010 Start of work: 2015 Completion date: September 2017 Area: Effective: 10,050 square metres Built: 11,010 square metres Cost: PEC project: €11.5 million PEC final: €11.1 million Fees: €912,030.76 Euros Complete mission (origin contract) Architect team: Architect, project author: Carme Pinós Desplat Project manager: Samuel Arriola Design team: Elsa Martí, Roberto Carlos García, Holger Hennefarth, Blanca Perote, Ana Isabel Rodríguez, Inés Senghour, Francisco Olivas Consultants: Structural engineer: Boma – Masala consultants Mechanical and electrical engineer: Indus Ing eniería y Arquitectura Project manager: Entropia – PCG Builder: UTE Massana (Acciona – Copcisa) Photography: Estudio Carme Pinós, Duccio Malagamba

façade yet needs to be completed, which is still dependent on new policy decisions regarding the future extension of the Library of Catalonia and the connection with the Rubió and Lluch Gardens – already under study.

The complexity of the city’s historical fabric has been understood and the values of the context (views, circulation, light, greenery) have been taken advantage of in order to improve this sector.

The neoclassical square of Sant Josep, which gave rise to the market and was never finished, has finally been completed with a contemporary approach, that has understood its historic values without mimicking the architecture of the early 19th century.

Are there any unexpected or surprising elements that have become apparent through daily use?

Some elements have been very successful, such as the relationship of the public space with the market, the urban presence of the new

Massana School or the intelligent relationship between its façades and the continuity of those of C/Hospital [Carrer de l’Hospital]. Functionally, all the vehicles linked to the market have disappeared due to the operation of burying all the infrastructure and linking the accesses to the surrounding streets.

What has been the reaction from visitors?

There has been controversy towards the new architecture, but the citizens’ overall response has been very positive: the formal aspects of the architectural proposal, as well as its seamless relationship with the historic architecture have been well understood.

Are there any elements that will need further adaptation or augmentation?

The fourth façade of the square – which was actually not part of the competition – still has to be completed. This is directly related to the

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“IT’S AN INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING, BUT IT’S NEAR HOUSING, SO I WORKED ON A DOMESTIC SCALE.”

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STONE WORKSHOP STEEL WORKSHOP PHOTOGRAPH WORKSHOP SET AUDIOVISUALS CLASSROOM STORAGE ARCHIVE RESTROOMS CHANGING ROOM MAINTENANCE BUILDING SERVICES UNDERGROUND CAR PARK PLAZA GARDUNYA EXIT CAR PARK

decision on the ensemble of the Old Hospital de la Santa Creu and the extension of the Library of Catalonia.

Have you needed to go back to Estudio Carme Pinós with any queries or responses to the project?

The process took quite a long time and Estudio Carme Pinós has been adapting to the different demands and functional changes, especially due to changes in criteria concerning the management of the Massana School, as well as functional issues relating to the dwellings. Also, only at a later stage, the project received new demands: the extension of the rear façade of the Boqueria Market and the enhancement of connectivity between the market and the new square.

And, if so, was the practice able to handle any issues successfully?

Perfectly. ar

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EMERGING PROJECT 51

HOUSE A KATE FITZGERALD, DIRECTOR OF WHISPERING SMITH, DISCUSSES HOUSE A, A HOME SHE BUILT FOR HERSELF AND HER PARTNER THAT HAS AN UNUSUAL SIZE AND APPEARANCE / NATALIE MORTIMER

Architect’s statement. Whispering Smith’s House A is a challenge to the status quo of housing in Perth. The sustainable apartment-house hybrid is designed for small lots and uses commercial materials in an innovative way to achieve a tight footprint and carbon neutral status.

The brief was to take a 175-square metre block under Perth’s single bedroom dwelling code, and make an affordable and sustainable home for Whispering Smith’s director, Kate FitzGerald and her partner. House A is 70 square metres of compact, flexible and delightful spaces, which are capable of hosting a dinner party for 30 guests, illustrating that small can be big.

House A was the first house of three by Whispering Smith, in partnership with FitzGerald’s father. The diminutive footprint of the house was designed to maintain the existing mature trees and 1950s house on-site, with House A being allocated to the land left over.

The house is a product of highly efficient planning and employed commercial tilt-up concrete construction methods to achieve a tighter and taller footprint. The project relied heavily on craft, detailing and a raw material or wabi-sabi spec to provide amenity and delight in the small footprint. Whispering Smith merged spaces and volumes to achieve simultaneous privacy and openness without the need

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for doors and walls. When the cost of the build is considered in conjunction with the reduced investment in the land purchase, it is apparent that innovative architecture meant the project was a financially viable one for its Millennial occupants.

House A’s front garden makes use of the verge as a native garden and outdoor living area and has increased the amenity of the occupants of the house, the residents of the street and the local birdlife. Landscaping House A’s verge provides an important cultural and environmental benefit, as well as replacing the much needed green space for occupants as cities densify. Other sustainable aspects of the house include an underground rain tank, solar panels, recycled materials and an internal drying line.

The soft grey concrete planes absorb and reflect the surrounding natural landscape, and House A’s minimal form is in stark contrast to its ubiquitous brick and tile neighbours. In the evenings, the house almost disappears into the late afternoon light, softly reflecting the colours of Scarborough’s sunsets. The design of House A was originally intended to challenge the status quo of oversized and low-quality housing in Western Australia. Since its completion, the project has evolved to become a platform for Whispering Smith to share the positive power of architecture.

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WE WANTED TO BUILD A PROTOTYPE FOR AN APARTMENT-HOUSE HYBRID TO SHOW PEOPLE HOW SMALL CAN BE BIG IF YOU WORK HARD AT THE DESIGN.

What was the inspiration behind House A? House A embodies our desire to build something relevant for our generation. A lot of younger people and downsizers don’t have a lot of stuff or are having children much later, and we are using our homes for all kinds of things, from starting businesses or hosting a long table dinner for 20. We wanted to build a prototype house that did all of these things, while being affordable, sustainable and made from really beautiful, long-lasting materials, and we thought the best way was just to design and build it ourselves.

simple; it’s a stripped back set of concrete planes stacked together like a house of cards. It’s really easy to see how it all fitted together and we worked hard to make each junction as simple and as beautiful as we could, so the house was easy to understand and our architecture was more approachable; more like an oversized paperweight than a house.

We think there is something important in that ethos of minimalism, of making the hard choice to keep our designer ego out of the process to help us reduce the physical and environmental footprint of our houses at the same time as embracing simple, good design for a better life.

House A Is the first of three dwellings; have the others been built or are they expected to be built?

House A is the first of three – House B is a renovation and extension of the existing character house, which will be up for sale at the end of 2018. House C is now the dream house for a young family and is halfway through the approvals process, due to start construction later this year.

The colour palette of the home is very minimal; why is this?

We made a conscious decision to choose materials that would age well, were simple to understand and construct, and didn’t require cladding or extra finishes. We used lime paint, soap finish and linseed oil because the interior materials were largely the ‘finish’ themselves. The concrete will never need painting and will only get better as it ages. At dusk, the concrete panels absorb the evening colours and the light, and the house almost disappears into the sky, and there’s something really nice about that. I think ultimately the softer palette originated from a desire to have a space to unwind in that wasn’t oversaturated with trends or design features or glossy plastic finishes – it’s kind of like having a sniff of some coffee beans after you’ve smelt too many perfumes… It’s the perfect place to reset.

Can you briefly outline the concept and distinctive elements of the property?

House A is our first foray into being a developer – we wanted to build a prototype for an apartment-house hybrid to show people how small can be big if you work hard at the design. The house itself is a really

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54 EMERGING PROJECT

Project details Client: Kate FitzGerald Scale: floor area 70 square metres, site area 175 square metres Completion date: 2018 Architecture: Whispering Smith Built by: Talo Construction Photographer: Ben Hosking

What recycled materials were used for the interiors?

We used a really high-recycled content mix for our tilt-up concrete walls, which have 65 percent slag (a by-product of steel production) instead of high carbon emitting Portland cement. We used recycled bricks in the walls and landscape, with some coming from the demolished parts of House B. We also recycled some of House B’s cabinetry, and custom milled old jarrah stud frames, which make up the charred timber entry.

What design elements are executed to create a spacious feeling in the home?

We worked really hard when we designed the floor plan and each space flows into the next, with the only door being to the loo. We can section off parts of the house for cosiness and privacy, but the most important part is that we can open up huge sections of it to the garden and courtyard. For six months of the year we live half outside. We hosted an informal night for planners and local government interested in seeing what a small house can be, and we had 30 guests that night. Someone made the comment that it feels more like a bar than a house, and that’s a mighty achievement for 70 square metres of floor area.

Did you use any other residential projects as inspiration?

We didn’t necessarily use other projects for inspiration, but are constantly inspired by the ethos and ideas of other designers and

other cultures – from wabi-sabi ideology in Japan through to Alvar Aalto’s ideas on beauty in everyday life or even the global movement against fast fashion. We’ve been lucky to practise among some incredible Aussie residential architects like Kennedy Nolan and Clare Cousins, and we’ve definitely been influenced by the work of those practices, and so many more. Ultimately, to create something truly minimal we had to switch off from Pinterest, Instagram and the daily bombardment of trends and cool stuff, so we could focus and create something that was just clever, simple and artful. This way of designing is now woven into the ethos of all our work at Whispering Smith and we’re so lucky we have the opportunity to practise architecture this way.

What have you enjoyed most about this project?

Definitely the people we’ve engaged with along the journey. We’ve built some great friendships and have been lucky enough to work with like-minded and talented people like our builder and all of the makers on-site. We’re now firm believers that a good culture on-site is critical to the success of our projects. It’s also been so encouraging to see the amount of support our home town has given us; we’ve had so much interest from the local media and from locals who’ve stopped in to tell us that driving past House A is the highlight of their day. It doesn’t get much better than that. ar

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WE CAN SECTION OFF PARTS OF THE HOUSE FOR COSINESS AND PRIVACY, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT PART IS THAT WE CAN OPEN UP HUGE SECTIONS OF IT TO THE GARDEN AND COURTYARD.

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56 AR ADVISER

THE FUTURE IS

DIGITAL FOR ANYONE WHO EVER FELT NERVOUS ABOUT HANDING OUT A KEY TO A PROSPECTIVE TENANT OR VISITOR, OR, WORSE, LEAVING ONE UNDER THE MAT, DIGITAL SECURITY SHOULD PUT THEIR MIND AT REST FOR GOOD, WRITES ANGUS RICHARDSON.

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echnological advances have seen the way we interact with all our household items change and this is no different for the household front door lock. The increasing level of digital door locks in our market has changed the way we look at our front door security. Although still commonly supplied with the traditional mechanical key override, the digital door locks of today can now offer a range of features depending on the user’s wants and needs. These features can be in the form of a basic digital push button lock, an RFID (radio-frequency identification) lock or a biometric fingerprint lock.

Also available is an all-in-one model featuring all the previously listed functions, providing multiple methods of access. But more recently these features have begun to take a backseat to the smart technologies, such as Bluetooth connectivity using an app on your smartphone or tablet etc. This allows for a simple touch of a button on a connected smartphone or a simple gesture such as shaking the

phone to open the lock when the user is approaching the door.

IOT APPLICATIONS Currently, the latest option is to have WiFi enabled locks allowing smart homes to offer a complete online solution.

These features are encompassed by what is commonly known as the Internet of Things (IoT). We will most likely all soon have multiple connected devices within our homes that we will be able to operate via smartphones or a simple voice command to online devices such as Google Home or Amazon’s Alexacontrolled Echo smart speaker etc.

In the world of security, the IoT will, among other things, allow us to simply monitor, lock/unlock doors, view live CCTV (closed circuit television) footage or turn alarms on or off. And we’ll be able to do all of this from the comfort of our couch, workspace or even from a hotel room on the other side of the world.

Providing you have access to the internet via cellular or Wi-Fi, the IoT will allow management from anywhere you are.

The most recent benefit offered with today’s digital smart locks means that gone are the days of leaving a key hidden under a rock or pot plant or revealing your PIN (personal identification number) on a piece of paper, so that visitors such as friends, tradespeople or even couriers can gain access.

With Bluetooth smart locks, you can now (as the administrator) share a digital key via multiple methods of electronic communication, including text message and email.

TIME SENSITIVE These digital keys can be in the form of time sensitive PINs. This option means the visitor does not need to download an app to access the door; they simply enter the PIN to open the door.

Alternatively, a message can be sent to the visitor that requires them to download an app (if not already installed) and a digital key is added to the app allowing access via a smartphone.

Most importantly, whether BLE (Bluetooth low energy) or online options,

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WITH BLUETOOTH SMART LOCKS, YOU CAN NOW SHARE A DIGITAL KEY VIA MULTIPLE METHODS OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING TEXT MESSAGE AND EMAIL.

depending on who your visitor is, you can set the digital key to be time sensitive, meaning that you can provide a solution that will only provide access for a fixed number of days/hours/minutes or even a single-use code that will only open the lock once. This provides convenience for both you and the visitor, but most importantly maintains security without needing to manage anything, such as deleting codes/RFID cards once the time allocation has expired.

For online smart locks (Wi-Fi enabled), the operation is typically much easier, with the added benefit of being able to manage the lock from anywhere,

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open the door remotely and receive live activities (audits).

These features have not only made it convenient for the homeowner and their visitors, but an ever-expanding industry of self-managed holiday letting such as Airbnb has become much easier to manage. Now, rather than sending guests to the local real estate/butcher/ newsagency to pick up the keys (always assuming they arrive in business hours!), users of this technology can arrange for them to go directly to the house/ apartment and enter freely using the digital key with which they have been provided via SMS or email as part of their booking.

It should be emphasised that these features are not exclusive to residential security.

BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL The development of smart locks has also seen a change in the way we do business. As with Airbnb, the options for commercial applications have created further opportunities for businesses – such as couriers and postal services

dropping deliveries in allocated secure lockers ready for pick-up. Alternatively, utility companies are always looking for the latest technologies to secure the hundreds and thousands of standalone buildings (substations, for example) that are scattered all over Australia. While these were historically secured by a mechanical keyed padlock, we are now seeing the development of smart padlocks to offer all the convenience of above.

Towards the future, there are already new technologies available, such as biometric facial recognition in a residential space. At present, however, the security of these options can be questionable in some cases and, of course, with any biometric system there are issues around privacy concerns.

When such issues are overcome, though, this will allow users to simply approach the door for it to open, while offering all the benefits of an online smart lock. ar

Angus Richardson is the product manager DHW and DDL | Pacific at dormakaba.

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18/09/18 10:57 AM

58 APPLICATION

MULITPLY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME MULTIPLY, A NINE-METRE HIGH, CARBON-NEUTRAL WOODEN PAVILION MADE ENTIRELY OF AMERICAN TULIPWOOD, OPENED TO THE PUBLIC IN THE SACKLER COURTYARD OF THE V&A AS PART OF THE RECENT LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL.

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he 43 cubic metres of tulipwood that make up MultiPly store the equivalent of 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide and are replaced with natural growth in the American forest in five minutes.

The installation was a collaboration between Waugh Thistleton Architects, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and ARUP, and illustrates how modular cross-laminated construction in hardwood is a viable solution to current housing crises. The structure was made with the first UK-manufactured crosslaminated timber (CLT) panels.

MultiPly, one of London Design Festival’s Landmark projects, comprised a maze-like series of interconnected spaces that overlap and intertwine. It was conceived and constructed to encourage visitors to rethink the way we design and build our homes and cities.

The three-dimensional structure was built out of a flexible system, made of 17 modules of American tulipwood CLT, with digitally fabricated joints. Like a piece of flat-packed furniture, the pavilion arrived as a kit of parts and was assembled in under a week. At the crown of the structure was a module with a thermo-treated tulipwood interior layer – the first time thermally modified timber (TMT) has been incorporated as a protective later in CLT. Because it was built out of modules, the pavilion was taken apart and reassembled in a new home after the London Design Festival.

MultiPly confronts two of the current age’s biggest challenges – the pressing need for housing and the urgency to fight climate change. It presents the fusion of modular systems and sustainable construction materials as a solution.

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60 APPLICATION

As part of the Exhibition Road Day of Design, Waugh Thistleton Architects ran a workshop outside the V&A’s Sackler Courtyard during the London Design Festival to give young, aspiring architects a chance to recreate MultiPly on a smaller scale.

Each child received an A4 sheet of laser cut modular panels, which had pre-cut windows and doors. The panels could be assembled in different ways to create individual shapes and structures.

The workshop was aimed at children from four to 15 years old with a more complex version for older children.

“The main ambition of this project is to publicly debate how environmental challenges can be addressed through innovative, affordable construction,” says Andrew Waugh, co-founder of Waugh Thistleton Architects. “We are at a crisis point in terms of both housing and carbon dioxide emissions and we believe that building in a versatile, sustainable material, such as tulipwood, is an important way of addressing these issues.”

Tulipwood is sourced from the eastern US, where the hardwood forest area is expanding at a rate of one football pitch every minute, and already exceeds 110 million hectares, equivalent to the combined area of France and Spain. This makes the material both sustainable and environmentally friendly, especially as it is one of the most abundant American hardwoods – accounting for 7.7 percent of the total standing volume in US hardwood forests. Every year, even after harvest, the volume of tulipwood in the US forest grows by 19 million cubic metres, the equivalent of over 19 Olympic swimming pools per day. ar waugh thistleton architects www.americanhardwood.org www.londondesignfestival.com

Credits Collaboration initiated by: American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) Designed by: Waugh Thistleton Architects Engineered by: Arup For: London Design Festival Presented at: Victoria & Albert Museum Timber donated by: Allegheny Wood Products, Baillie Lumber Co, Bingaman Lumber Inc, Boos Lumber Coorperation, Classic American Hardwoods, Collins Hardwood, Latham Timber, Northland Forest Products, Northwest Hardwoods, Parton Lumber and Thompson Hardwoods Inc Timber processing: Glenalmond Timber CLT manufacturing: Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) Fabrication and installation: Stage One Ltd Lighting: SEAM Design and Atrium Filming: Petr Krejci Photography: Ed Reeve, Petr Krejci and Ben Tynegate Renders: Forbes Massie Studio

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19/09/18 4:52 PM

62 APPLICATION – SHOWCASE

◄ Cult PH5 pendant light Designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen in 1958, the PH5 is an iconic pendant light that is equally at home in a residential interior or a commercial project. Synonymous with classic and timeless style, the pendant boasts a 50-centimetre diameter and, irrespective of how the light is installed or the light source used, remains completely glare free. Over the years the PH5 has been updated in step with contemporary living with a high gloss version introduced in 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of the design and four new matte colours introduced in 2013. cultdesign.com.au

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▲ Laufen VAL by Konstantin Grcic The extraordinary design potential of Laufen’s revolutionary SaphirKeramik reveals itself in the new bathroom collection VAL, designed by Konstantin Grcic.

The stunning VAL washbasin collection includes a rectangular and asymmetrical washbasin bowl. Each piece features an integrated shelf with fine surface structures and provides semi-dry areas in which to store cosmetics and soaps.

These basins are characterised by simple architectural lines, extremely narrow edges and gently rounded corners that emphasise the endless design possibilities of SaphirKeramik – making the washbasins of this collection globally unique.

A material that offers new possibilities, a designer who pursues new ways, a connection that creates new worlds. laufen.com.au

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► Transit Stainless Steel Curtain Range Locker Group’s Transit wire mesh curtains, installed on a curtain track, can be opened and closed to create some privacy and intimate spaces. Perfect for the busy city interior space and reception areas, the large Transit range can provide flexibility and the ability to alter spaces at a moment’s notice while adding an industrial tone. locker.com.au/architectural/curtains

◄ Sub-Zero Compact refrigeration for any room There’s never been a more versatile food preservation option than the new Sub-Zero 61cm indoor/outdoor refrigerator drawers. They are sized to work in multiple ‘small space’ settings – indoors or out, in any room of the house. And they have the advanced features that keep food fresher longer. Whether you’re dining indoors or al fresco, they make your experience more delicious. They are sized and designed to fit beautifully into any room in the home or outdoor space, and coordinate perfectly with other Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances. subzero-wolf.com.au

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21/09/18 2:09 PM

64 BRAIN TRUST

BRAIN TRUST THIS ISSUE AR ASKS A PANEL OF EXPERTS THEIR RESPONSE TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS HAS BLAMED POOR DESIGN FOR MELBOURNE’S DROP IN THE 2018 LIVEABILITY INDEX. DO YOU THINK THIS IS A FAIR ASSESSMENT?

to make Melbourne the most liveable city. We need to create space and air around our buildings, to increase green areas, to cultivate infrastructure that is liveable and breathable.

We need buildings to give back more than what they take away.

We need to restore the ecology and natural order of the land – to really consider and engage with the question of what is good design and what does it mean to design for Melbourne.

When we do this, we will truly be second to none.

challenges associated with apartment design quality, exciting new trends are emerging. From sustainable, affordable housing solutions to luxury downsizer offerings, all aspects of architecture and interior design now consider with ever-increasing care the human implications of design for varying demographics.

Our optimism for the future of design typologies in Australia is grounded in our shared responsibility to better the environments we shape. Creating spaces and cities that are world

DUNCAN BETTS PRINCIPAL, ROTHELOWMAN THEODORE KERLIDIS DIRECTOR, K20 ARCHITECTURE Melbourne didn’t lose, Vienna won. We now have a contender, a city to motivate us to strive to be the best we can. Sure, we’d prefer to be out in front rather than having to chase for the top spot, but after seven years we could use a wake-up call; a city without vision is a city in decay.

As a young city, we have the ability to make change active and to leave this place better than we find it. This is a real opportunity for us involved in designing and

building our city to strive for greater innovation and vision.

Melbourne’s challenge is to embrace eco-centric design and increase our city’s liveability faster than Vienna. A city of the future is a green city – one that not only allows us to prosper economically and socially, but that also includes the health and well-being of our environment.

We architects are a professional collective, talented and driven and part of the solution. We need to do more than just design to a brief. This may include asking more of our clients and for them to also participate in our challenge

Vienna’s recent success in winning the title of the ‘World’s Most Liveable City’ creates an opportune moment for architects. This prospect has not presented itself in a Melbourne context for seven years and it should be reason for excitement among innovative leaders in the design community.

Though Melbourne has fallen in the ranks of the World’s Most Liveable City study, research conducted by Global Liveability shows Melbourne has in fact increased its overall rating by 0.9 percent between 2017 and 2018.

While historically there have been widely documented

“THE SCANT PLANNING OF TRANSPORT, EDUCATION, HEALTH, SPORTING AND COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE HAS NOT KEPT PACE WITH THE CITY’S GROWTH, AND HAS MADE MELBOURNE AN INCREASINGLY AWFUL AND EXPENSIVE PLACE FOR A LARGE PROPORTION OF ITS INHABITANTS TO LIVE.” – JAN VAN SCHAIK

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class, our role must extend beyond design and become one of advocacy – advocating for more liveable cities through an intelligent response to the needs of a changing society.

Our best work is on the drawing board right now as we conceptualise intelligent designs that will positively influence the liveability of Australian cities for generations to come. The Global Liveability Index is just one measure of a city, and the future of design is nothing short of bright as Melbourne becomes more liveable by the day.

JAN VAN SCHAIK ARCHITECT, MVS ARCHITECTS RESEARCHER AND LECTURER, RMIT ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN CREATIVE AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES STRATEGIST, FUTURE TENSE The Liveability Index rankings are based on the The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index, which was designed to help companies calculate how much hardship allowance they would need to pay relocating employees.1 Being at the top of this list does not mean that people living in the city are living in the most liveable city in the world; it just means that the city is the one cheapest for companies to move their employees to.

The failure of wage growth to match the cost of renting or owning property has put pressure on Melbourne to spread outwards. Long-term infrastructure planning keeps people connected, happy and

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educated. But the free market is reactive, not strategic, making it almost impossible for a country fully in the grips of neoliberalism to plan ahead. The scant planning of transport, education, health, sporting and community infrastructure has not kept pace with the city’s growth, and has made Melbourne an increasingly awful and expensive place for a large proportion of its inhabitants to live.

Melbourne has fallen from the top of the Liveability Index not because of poor design, but because of decades of Australian government policy prioritising the interests of corporations above and beyond the interests

of its people based on the spurious understanding that wealth will trickle down.

Holding the title of ‘the world’s most liveable city’ is an opportunity to critique the skewed metrics that favour the interests of large corporations above and beyond the needs of people. Let us hope that Vienna, and its architectural association, does a better job than Melbourne did. ar 1

Julianna Rozek, Billie Giles-Corti, Lucy Gunn, “The ‘world’s most liveable city’ title isn’t a measure of the things most of us actually care about”, The Conversation, 15 August 2018

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66 SKELETONS

FARNSWORTH HOUSE IN SKELETONS, AR LOOKS AT NOTABLE AND ICONIC BUILDINGS WHEN THEY WERE STILL JUST A TWINKLE IN THEIR CREATOR’S EYE. / MELISSA RYMER

left Farnsworth House © Elizabeth Milnarik below FarnsworthHouse by Mies Van Der Rohe © Victor Grigas

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he Farnsworth House was designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1945 and constructed in 1951. It is a unique one-room weekend retreat in what then was a rural setting, located 89 kilometres (55 miles) south-west of Chicago’s downtown, on a 24-hectare (60-acre) estate site adjoining the Fox River, south of the city of Plano, Illinois. The home was commissioned by Edith Farnsworth MD, a prominent Chicago nephrologist, as a place where she could engage in her hobbies – playing the violin, translating poetry and enjoying nature. It continued to be a private residence for over 50 years until Landmarks Illinois and the National Trust for Historic Preservation purchased it in 2003. Today it is owned and managed by the Trust and the site is open as a public museum.

The Farnsworth House is a vital part of modern architectural

iconography and is an exemplary representation of both the International Style of architecture and 20th century modernism. It is a superb example of the modern movement’s desire to juxtapose the sleek, streamlined design of a modern structure with the organic environment of the surrounding nature. In the actual construction, the aesthetic idea was progressively

refined and developed through the choices of materials, colours and details. While subsequent debates and lawsuits sometimes questioned the practicality and liveability of its design, the Farnsworth House would increasingly be considered, by architects and scholars alike, to constitute one of the pivotal moments of Mies van der Rohe’s illustrious architectural career. ar

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