The Red and Black Architect

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The architecture of John Wardle Architects (JWA) is quite literally world class. Rich and contextual, their work is a strong contributor to architecture both in Melbourne and beyond.

Last year JWA released their second book ‘This Building Likes Me’ which was quickly followed up with an exhibition entitled ‘Coincidences’. Recently I caught up with John Wardle and Stefan Mee, to discuss their practice, their projects and where they see architecture heading.

Michael Smith – JWA is a unique practice in many different ways in Melbourne. Evolving from a small practice, there are now more than 70 employees. Despite the size, you still regularly tackle small projects, such as single homes, whilst other comparative sized practices struggle to make those small projects worthwhile. Is it a strategy to deliberately continue those kinds of projects and commissions?

John Wardle – Well, it is a characteristic, but I’m not sure I can describe it as a considered strategy. It’s a passion as much as anything. We believe that it’s important to look at the possibilities of a project’s likely outcome when evaluating it’s potential at commencement. If we are attracted to the client or the site, or particular aspects of the brief, the scale of the project doesn’t come into the equation. We do however pass on many smaller projects to younger practices, particularly those established by some of our past staff members.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image78_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Shearers Quarters by JWA won the 2012 Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture in the AIA National Awards. (Photo: Trevor Mein)"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="260" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image78_0.jpg?itok=JwpSl-WY" title="Shearers Quarters by JWA won the 2012 Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture in the AIA National Awards. (Photo: Trevor Mein)" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Shearers Quarters by JWA won the 2012 Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture in the AIA National Awards. (Photo: Trevor Mein)</figcaption></figure>MS –  One of the most remarkable things, in my view, is that despite the size there’s fantastic consistency in the quality of the work. While there’s diversity in scale, topology, materials and context there’s an almost universal elegance to the design solution. What do you attribute that down to? Is it part of the process that you find, or is it the structure?

JW – Well, we probably resource all projects to an equal status in the practice. We don’t have any B-type projects. We rigorously consider our design processes as something that’s constantly evolving over projects of all types.

I think what’s evident is the nature of design conversations within the office. These often include our client group. We involve our clients in some fairly rigorous and often intimate discussions and these often have an aesthetic aspect to them. Our work is generally not immediately resolved conceptually. It’s resolution part of a lengthier iterative process that drives toward the sorts of things that you’ve observed across the many types of projects we undertake.

MS – Last year you released the new book, This Building Likes Me, which is the second book that you’ve done as a practice. What were the motivations behind undertaking such a laborious task to create this book. What drove you to do it?

JW – Firstly, a great belief in the book as both a means of expressing current practice and as a record of history. It both transcends time and exposes life within the practice. It’s a good way of communicating who we are, our character, and our means of operation to a broad audience. It is also particularly important reference within the practice. There are many contributors and it is important that they see the book as a record of their input and this is conveyed to the outside world. It’s a large window into the operation of the practice.

MS – In both the book and the recent exhibition, Coincidences, you engaged people outside the practice to analyse and critique your work through photography and writing. Was part of the rationale behind these projects to achieve a better understanding of how your work is perceived by others?

JW – Yes it was, exactly that. I think it’s also an indication of our confidence to provide our work to others to express their creative approach. It really started with a very simple instruction as we gave each of the twelve photographers two projects to shoot. We did sort of orchestrate the variants and make sure that the two projects were generally of a dissimilar type and asked them to draw their own comparisons and commonality. Yes, there were some conversations but there wasn’t a tight script.

What’s interesting for us is to see how they responded to the one instruction of finding, through their photography, something that was common to both projects. It could be a serendipitous thing or something that was manifestly common to both.  For us it was great to then take a step back and observe their work and their observations of ours. This linked to the book itself and the coincidences of pairings that was central to the arrangement of the major projects within the book.

MS – One of the photographic pairings that really stood out for me in the Coincidences Exhibition was Brett Boardman’s photographs of the Melbourne School of Design and Westfield City in Sydney. What was so unusual about these photographs was the focus on the people who use the space, and in this case the people who actually are the cleaners and maintain the building. What was your reaction to these photographs?

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/cleaners-768x576.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Brett Boardman’s photographs for the Coincidences exhibition"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/cleaners-768x576.jpg?itok=pKt3tsGY" title="Brett Boardman’s photographs for the Coincidences exhibition" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Brett Boardman’s photographs for the Coincidences exhibition</figcaption></figure>JW – Laughter. This was a complete surprise and it evoked real humour, but it’s the kind of humour that is underpinned by really serious forethought. It was actually the backdrop to both the use of timber of the interior of the stairs that run through the MSD building and the lining of the lift core in the Westfield building. He found moments of spatial and material commonality, then he created a cast of people that would have experience common to both buildings, of course the cleaners. He wrote a nice bit of writing also about these observations and the knowledge that cleaners have of the buildings that they operate within.

Stefan Mee –  Brett’s idea about connecting it with the people who allow buildings to work and function was fantastic and brought those usually in the background to the foreground. It was a different way of thinking about our brief, and we enjoyed seeing that diversity amongst all the pairings, seeing all of the different ways of connecting the projects was really joyful for us.

MS – I think it also says something about architecture having a pragmatic purpose as well, and that it actually needs these people in order for a building to work, and so forth.

JW – It certainly does, and in doing so we are reminded of the reliance that our buildings have on the many performances of those that operate within them.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image79_4.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Melbourne School of Design by JWA and NADAAA (Photo: Nils Koenning)"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="551" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image79_4.jpg?itok=kECnBxre" title="Melbourne School of Design by JWA and NADAAA (Photo: Nils Koenning)" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Melbourne School of Design by JWA and NADAAA (Photo: Nils Koenning)</figcaption></figure>MS – Perhaps your most significant recent contribution to architecture, has been through the design of the Melbourne School of Design. This commission is not only significant because it’s a significant building at Melbourne University, but it’s now also the learning space for a substantial percentage of Melbourne’s future architects. Does the significance of this commission set the project apart from others, in your view?

JW – It certainly demanded that status by the way Melbourne University went about the procurement of architects for the project. The very well-considered international competition, commenced with a registration process that required the entrant to describe a project specific methodology.  We were assessed on that as much as past performance and experience. A very telling start to the project. From there it led to a short list, and the design competition. This caused us to think very carefully about the way we provide our services and the benefit of co-authoring a building with another firm. In this case the reach across to the Northern Hemisphere, and NADAAA’s link to the American tertiary education system broadened our perspective.

The next part of its status is its remarkable center-of-campus location.  A very precious place to build upon.  The care with which one would have to design a building that faces a series of important places on all four sides set in train an extensive process of research into the history of the campus.

MS – Having achieved a significant pivot from the single residential projects into large commercial institutional and urban projects. What advice would you give to small practices attempting the same leap?

JW – Believe in good fortune, and make the most of it when it occurs. The story of our rise through various project scales into this territory that we now inhabit is a story of relationships with people, that had the confidence to engage with us.  They may have taken perceived risks as they saw the potential in us, as a younger firm, short on specific experience. These people weren’t overwhelmed by the need for precedents, or the convention that in order to be selected for a project, one must have done that very project, many times before. In every case, there were individuals, some of who were part of large organisations, that supported our engagement for projects that opened new territories for us.

As we’ve grown, we have looked very carefully at inviting others into the practice that have had particular skills that could be added to these within the practice, always broadening our range. One bit of advice I often give to other smaller practices is to actually take on a range of staff and employ as many as you can afford to employ early, starting with some young students, but also some more mature staff members. It will allow you to do other things, as a practice principal, and very quickly draw in the benefits of the collaborative experience that is an essential platform for creative practice.

MS – Diversity is key to that as well, isn’t it? Getting a range of viewpoints.

JW – I think there’s actually a curiosity that’s driven much of our practice direction. The thing that gives me the most pleasure is the diversity of the work we undertake, from very small projects, coastal and urban family housing, up to major projects that take their place in the centre of the city, as well as everything in between.  This includes research buildings, educational facilities, commercial and private institutions, galleries, infrastructure projects and so forth. That range is something that goes beyond any early ambitions that I had for the practice, and certainly provides great opportunities for expressing the many skills combined within the practice.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/0913_00_n7415_-sml-768x512.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Melbourne School of Design by JWA and NADAAA (Photo: Peter Bennetts)"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/0913_00_n7415_-sml-768x512.jpg?itok=1T4TRAAy" title="Melbourne School of Design by JWA and NADAAA (Photo: Peter Bennetts)" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Melbourne School of Design by JWA and NADAAA (Photo: Peter Bennetts)</figcaption></figure>Michael Smith is a principal at Ateiler Red+Black. This article originally appeared on the Red and Black <a href="http://www.theredandblackarchitect.com/coincidences-and-curiosity-qa-with-john-wardle-and-stefan-mee-part-1/">website</a>.
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redblackarchitect

Coincidences and curiosity – Q+A with John Wardle and Stefan Mee (Part 1)

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Once again Melbourne has turned it on for the spectacular cultural juggernaut that is White Night. A crowd of around 600,000 took part in the all night festival of projections, performances, artworks and installations.

Stealing the show again this year was the extraordinary projections upon the Royal Exhibition Building.  The Light show entitled ‘Rhythms Of The Night’ by White Night &amp; Artists In Motion, depicted the four stages of sleep. These fantastical scenes were at times like that of a Halloween nightmare, with spiders and skeletons. The dream would them move on by disintegrating into vibrant black and white patterns reminiscent of MC Escher.

Supporting this main event, were a number of excellent installations throughout the Carlton Gardens Precinct. Sailing in between the Melbourne Museum and the Royal Exhibition Building was ‘The Pyrophone Juggernaut’. Part steel pirate ship, part musical performance, part pyrotechnic show this collaboration between Hubbub Music and Strut &amp; Fret was a real crowd favorite.

Nearby, the Sonic Light Bubble by Eness and Pixel Fruit by Tim Newman both created valuable support pieces to this precinct, which as a whole was a significant improvement from previous years.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/cg1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Nebulous by Alex Sanson"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="556" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/cg1.jpg?itok=srpjr3ix" title="Nebulous by Alex Sanson" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Nebulous by Alex Sanson</figcaption></figure>In Flinders Street, the ‘usual suspects’ between St Pauls Cathedral and the Forum Theatre were lit up with vibrant animations. This year the theme was ‘Fractured Fairytales’ which gave some traditional fairytales a Pop Art feel.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/flinders2.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Fractured Fairytales by White Night with The Electric Canvas"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="488" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/flinders2.jpg?itok=997HxiOi" title="Fractured Fairytales by White Night with The Electric Canvas" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Fractured Fairytales by White Night with The Electric Canvas</figcaption></figure>In the southern gardens, participants were greeted with any number of unusual sights and experiences. The White Knight Messenger, a superb piece by Blanck Canvas, patrolled St Kilda Road, moving majestically between the Elm trees.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/sculpture1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Bouquet Toss, Mitch Gow and Eloise Kent"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="611" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/sculpture1.jpg?itok=GNhrohCj" title="The Bouquet Toss, Mitch Gow and Eloise Kent" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Bouquet Toss, Mitch Gow and Eloise Kent</figcaption></figure>Another White Night favorite is the State Library of Victoria which was illuminated both outside and from within the reading room. This year punters were taken on a trip beneath the waves, to view the seascapes of Port Phillip Bay. Seals, Seahorses and a swarm of crabs all made for a surreal library experience in the middle of the night.

Outside the library a group of protesters took the opportunity to make their views known on the City of Melbourne’s homeless ban. Their protest was peaceful and undertaken with great respect.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/library1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Seadragon’s Lair by Sheree Marris, Lisa Greenaway and John Power, in the State Library of Victoria"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="398" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/library1.jpg?itok=1SvAsYvR" title="Seadragon’s Lair by Sheree Marris, Lisa Greenaway and John Power, in the State Library of Victoria" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Seadragon’s Lair by Sheree Marris, Lisa Greenaway and John Power, in the State Library of Victoria</figcaption></figure>Perhaps no building is more suitable for dramatic projection than the National Gallery of Victoria. The smooth bluestone facade beyond the rippling water fountain could make any moving image sing. This year the fashion designs of Victor and Rolf were chosen to bring the colour and style. Whilst it probably didn’t live up to the highs of last year, it remained a spectacular contributor to the evening.

Not all parts of the program were brilliant successes. The illumination of the Coops Shot Tower at Melbourne Central was quite underwhelming and the limited scope of the Flinders Street Station projections (although high in quality) would have disappointed some.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/ngv2.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="VIKTOR&amp;ROLF – INSIDE OUT by White Night with the Electirc Canvas"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/ngv2.jpg?itok=B47eETnf" title="VIKTOR&amp;ROLF – INSIDE OUT by White Night with the Electirc Canvas" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>VIKTOR&amp;ROLF – INSIDE OUT by White Night with the Electirc Canvas</figcaption></figure>Overall White Night 2017 was another shining success for the arts and urban culture in Melbourne. Yet despite the 600,000 strong crowds and the crowding issues having largely been resolved, there is a determined force that is working to undermine this event.

Some sections of conservative politics are attempting to politicize the event as a law and order issue. This is being readily facilitated by some sections of the media who are continually pushing fear. If you were to read the Herald Sun at the moment, you might think Melbournians shouldn’t leave their homes for fear of certain death. The reality at White Night however that there were ample police available to respond to the slightest issue.

The White Night crowd size of 600,000 punters is roughly equivalent to the size of 6 Melbourne Cup crowds. Despite this huge number, there were just 21 police arrests. By comparison there were 9 arrests at the Melbourne Cup in 2016, well over double the arrest rate per patron.

There are always going to be incidents when there are large crowds at events, but to push fear for political gain, is petty and irresponsible. White Night is a celebration of our diverse society together, enjoying the vibrancy of our city, contesting ideas, experiencing culture and participating in urban life.

“Night the beloved.

Night when words fade and things come alive”

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image9_11.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="White Night"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="270" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image9_11.jpg?itok=UUnt1e0z" title="White Night" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>White Night</figcaption></figure>To see the original article and additional images, visit Michael Smith's blog - <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/">The Red and Black Architect</a>
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Melbourne’s White Night 2017

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Recently Michael Smith and Sonia Sarangi sat down for an in depth conversation with Kerstin Thompson, one of Melbourne’s most highly respected architects, to discuss the built environment, form making and the relentless negotiation required to create excellent architecture.

This continues from the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/negotiating-form-qa-with-kerstin-thompson">first part of the interview</a>.

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Michael Smith: Previously you’ve spoken about your architecture as being a gradient architecture. Is this a conscious benchmark or is it a result of the process?

Kerstin Thompson: I wrote about gradients a long time ago – the thinking came from a classic late 80s training in architecture where all oppositions were being challenged. Anything that was black or white I was always looking for the grey. You think about things on a spectrum rather than one or the other. The article reflected on the kinds of formal outcomes a gradient architecture might offer. I think that idea still permeates through a lot of our projects where the situation presented is not an either or it’s an in-between and you need to formulate a response to that.

In relation to our Deakin School of Architecture and Built Environment / A+B this idea of gradients relates to different kinds of spaces and how they relate to each other. The school’s existing floorplan was highly cellular and comprised of discrete spaces. We shifted this to a more fluid arrangement, rethinking the formal binaries of public vs private spaces, smaller spaces to bigger spaces, intimate space/open space, quiet space/loud space. Exploring the space between these two ends is often an important driver our projects. You offer a range of spaces and it makes available different sorts of positions; people find their preference and make their choices within that.

MS: So it is a deliberate strategy to put that in?

KT: Yes I think it is. It came from when I was teaching in the early 90s at RMIT. I was doing my Masters and I became interested in all the figure grounds we used to do in black and white. I thought about what it might look like if you thought about a grey rather than black or white; what are these confused in-between things? Whether it’s the public/private conundrum of the shopping mall; what is that, that’s not a black or a white. Much later when KTA began working in heritage contexts we found ourselves needing to respond to neighbourhood character but we didn’t want to do this through direct imitation. There’s a way of transforming but also having some continuity with where you are. That’s an in-between. They were early examples in the practice and I think that’s something we’ve tried to build on.

Sonia Sarangi: That is a very rich approach and I can connect to that, but I wonder whether sometimes if that approach takes a bit more convincing. Our human nature is to look at black and white, you are picking the harder route.

KT: True. I remember years ago when we were working on the <a href="http://kerstinthompson.com/index.php?id=24">Upside Down House</a> in Middle Park – that project was exactly that. There was a heritage listing on an existing house on the site but the house was in a very poor state structurally. Even though it had a listing on it the council said a case could be made to pull it down. However, we had to demonstrate that what replaced it would be a better outcome. We spent 2 years proposing various iterations but still had to go to VCAT because we couldn’t get council support. My argument was that while this building didn’t mimic the form of its neighbours, its holistic approach to site was entirely appropriate for the pattern of the neighbourhood. Form isn’t the only key.

<figure><a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/upside-down-house-sketch.png"><img alt="Upside Down House section, Kerstin Thompson Architects" height="180" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" src="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/upside-down-house-sketch.png?w=640&amp;h=180" srcset="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/upside-down-house-sketch.png?w=640&amp;h=180 640w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/upside-down-house-sketch.png?w=1280&amp;h=360 1280w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/upside-down-house-sketch.png?w=150&amp;h=42 150w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/upside-down-house-sketch.png?w=300&amp;h=84 300w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/upside-down-house-sketch.png?w=768&amp;h=216 768w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/upside-down-house-sketch.png?w=1024&amp;h=288 1024w" style="border:none;vertical-align:baseline;height:auto;" width="640"></a>

<figcaption>Upside Down House section, Kerstin Thompson Architects</figcaption></figure>So much heritage discussion then revolved around whether you are either exactly like your neighbours or you’re a juxtaposition attempting to slam dunk the suburb. I explained it would be a subtle building that didn’t look like its neighbours but still had a quietness to it. But they didn’t believe me. Council wondered why would any architect be advocating for that? Well, because we’ve always maintained that a good building doesn’t have to stand out. Anyway, when the project was eventually built it ended up winning the City of Port Phillip’s local design awards for new house.

SS: It is a rich irony that Port Phillip obviously loved the finished building.

KT: They did. The reason they gave for blocking it was: “Kerstin we know you’ll do a reasonable job but this will set a precedent and then we could get bad versions of it.” Point being, I see it as council’s problem to stop the bad versions not the good ones. Anyway, when the jury came they drove past the house twice because they missed it. I said: “See I told you it was low key”.

MS: Do you see your architecture as being particularly Australian, or is this perception a by-product of integrating your architecture so successfully with Australian landscapes?

KT: That’s a really good question. I think we probably understand our work both within a local repertoire and a global one. Yes you have your local reference points and whether that’s contemporary peers or older peers. For example, Boyd and Grounds, Baracco + Wright and all that mob from when I grew up. More recently current peers I’d say NMBW’s interests, some of Michael Markham’s work for example. There are peers I have a great respect for and there are interests common to us. I think there’s the bigger global discipline and you’re always trying to situate your work within that but also draw from it too. There’s also the idea of acting locally with a building. Not so much in the formal sense of what an Australian building looks like but more that it does something to help place-make in its situation, and help reinforce valued aspects of the local condition.

It can also be more explicit than that. For our design for <a href="http://kerstinthompson.com/index.php?id=20">Ivanhoe House</a>, for example, it felt important to draw on the incredible architectural heritage of the suburb. Neighbourhood character is one of the planning requirements but I don’t have a lot of time for that generic contemporary. Instead we looked to Harold Desbrowe Annear as a reference point knowing that he had a body of work in that suburb and also because it fitted with the client’s preference for a slightly arts and crafts type building. We thought let’s look to a local precedent with that being part of what we interpret for the building.

One of the other things I’ve noticed is that a lot of our buildings are very long and low. Sometimes, I think, this has stemmed from a desire to make sense of the vastness of the site. When you don’t have a defined site, you have to use the built form to define the territory. It started with the <a href="http://kerstinthompson.com/index.php?id=27">Lake Connewarre House </a>but you can also see it with <a href="http://kerstinthompson.com/index.php?id=38">Marysville Police Station</a> and <a href="http://kerstinthompson.com/index.php?id=18">Hanging Rock House</a>. It’s where we’ve attenuated the buildings into length to help define the space around it.

It’s almost turning the building into a wall of sorts, and you use that to make it less about a figure and more about trying to harness a territory adjacent to it. Sometimes I think that might be a response to our bigness of horizon, our wideness and our flatness. It’s something I’d like to give a bit more thought to.

MS: You have done a few police station projects. What I find interesting about that building type is that despite the substantial functional requirements and a consistent client, the finished buildings are diverse.

KT: That’s true. I have tried to write a bit about this because it goes back to that question around making an architecture of a situation. The police stations are a nice example of that because the brief is the same. Often people justify built forms through program, whereas if the program is consistent across, say four projects, then what varies the outcome? That’s been really fascinating to wrestle with. That’s where we thought interestingly form was one of those devices. Same program but how we arrange it has a really big impact on how it operates on its site.

With Marysville it gets dragged out. It’s a long building along the edge of a park and that’s because we wanted to create more interface with interiors of the station looking out to the green space rather than just a tiny little shop front and then a long deep plan. By contrast with Warrandyte and Hurstbridge, which were done together, they are both in green belt suburbs in Melbourne. To camouflage them in their landscapes, we took an approach to brick detailing that was friendly and endearing: to reflect the greenness of the communities we used green bricks. With Marysville, we used timber instead. Through formal differences, the arrangement of program, and material choices those buildings fit more appropriately to their situations. The situation is what changes in the brief. The program is the same.

<figure><a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-police-station.jpg"><img alt="Marysville Police Station by Kerstin Thompson Architects. (Photo credit: Trevor Mein) " height="437" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" src="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-police-station.jpg?w=640&amp;h=437" srcset="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-police-station.jpg?w=640&amp;h=437 640w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-police-station.jpg?w=1280&amp;h=874 1280w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-police-station.jpg?w=150&amp;h=102 150w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-police-station.jpg?w=300&amp;h=205 300w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-police-station.jpg?w=768&amp;h=524 768w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-police-station.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=699 1024w" style="border:none;vertical-align:baseline;height:auto;" width="640"></a>

<figcaption>Marysville Police Station by Kerstin Thompson Architects. Photo credit: Trevor Mein</figcaption></figure><figure><a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-elevation.png"><img alt="Marysville Police Station elevation. Kerstin Thompson Architects" height="396" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" src="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-elevation.png?w=640&amp;h=396" srcset="https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-elevation.png?w=640&amp;h=396 640w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-elevation.png?w=150&amp;h=93 150w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-elevation.png?w=300&amp;h=186 300w, https://theredandblackarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/marysville-elevation.png 750w" style="border:none;vertical-align:baseline;height:auto;" width="640"></a>

<figcaption>Marysville Police Station elevation. Kerstin Thompson Architects</figcaption></figure>MS: In addition to running a highly successful architecture practice you are also involved in architecture education both here in Melbourne and New Zealand. It seems that for the longest time the mantra of architects looking at the current education system is one of concern that it’s not what it used to be. How do you think our institutions are preparing the next generation of architects? Are they on track or do we need to shake it up?

KT: One thing I touched on earlier is the strange resistance to housing as an agenda for architecture schools. Some academics consider it too difficult, others that it’s got no speculative potential. But I think it’s strange in education for us to be resisting a major and important endeavour. Another issue is the enduring emphasis on the single author project in schools. I would still say that most studios run with about 20 students working in parallel, maybe on the same brief but individually. Something I’ve tried to do in my own teaching programs is set up opportunities for familiarizing students with a much more negotiated practice that I think architecture is and which I think has enormous design opportunity too. Studios where for instance there’s a very high level of interfacing of other student’s work in the outcome.

An example is a studio I did I think it was about 2004 at RMIT, I’ve since run different versions of it. There were 3 different projects. The first was about building a piece of infill. That’s simple interface, you just have to interface your site with the adjoining ones first thing. Then we bumped it up where it was a row housing project and if there was 20 students in the class they each did one of the houses in the row. They had two neighbours, they had a live, contingent interface that could change outside and they had to respond to that. That was the row house. Then the third part was when instead of just having 2 moving edges you had them in every possible interface on the QV site and they all worked out how they would Masterplan and organize the whole site now overlapping and moving through each other.

The point of all of that was to teach an appreciation for non-static context, which I think is in every way what practice is like every day. It’s contingent, you’re constantly getting thrown curve balls, and it’s how you negotiate and manage that and what you can extract out of it. I think that’s how good buildings come about. That’s a very valuable skill to have. The tragedy of architectural culture, and even the recent talk with Darren Anderson covered this, is how students do their final project at school and it’s as if it’s the greatest moment in their thinking and then they get into practice and it’s all depressing and downhill. That’s the exact opposite of what I think an architect should be thinking. I actually think you’ll get out of school and you’ll be so glad to have these real conditions to try and extract good architecture out of. I think it’s teaching an appreciation for the messiness as the potential and if you’ve got the tools to channel that then that’s where good architecture happens. I’d like more of that in education.

SS: I don’t think I ever heard the word negotiation once in my 5 years of education. That’s the sad thing and that’s every day now. That word just never comes up in school.

KT: It’s relentless. All you do is negotiate.

MS: Thank you very much for your time.

This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/negotiating-form-qa-with-kerstin-thompson-part-2/">The Red &amp; Black Architect blog</a>.
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Negotiating Form: Q+A with Kerstin Thompson (Part 2)

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Kerstin Thompson is one of Australia’s most respect architects. Her practice Kerstin Thompson Architects was established in 1994 and has delivered architectural excellence across a broad spectrum of project types from education projects, police stations and commercial fit outs, as well as multi-residential and single bespoke homes.

Recently Michael Smith and Sonia Sarangi sat down for an in depth conversation with Kerstin to discuss the built environment, form making and the relentless negotiation required to create excellent architecture.

Michael Smith: As one of Melbourne’s leading architects, how do you evaluate the development of our city? What do you think we’re doing well and where do we need to lift our game?

Kerstin Thompson: I often bang on about how housing matters because most construction activity is housing. If you get housing wrong you’re buggering up your city. In my teaching in Wellington, but also in my practice here, I often lead research around higher density forms of housing.

Recently one of my thesis students did an interim presentation to an academic from Newcastle University on the topic and his comment was “it’s so unusual seeing thesis projects on housing. In Newcastle we think it’s too hard so we don’t encourage students to tackle it.” I thought what a failure not to ask students to think about a substantial part of the city’s formation.

MS: It’s an extraordinary approach.

KT: It is. I’m always surprised that housing is seen as a prosaic topic in universities, that it’s not viewed as a place for innovation and good thinking. I think we’re realizing that Melbourne, despite priding itself on its architectural cultural, is missing the mark in terms of housing quality. This crisis is reflected in the design of minimum standards but it’s 10 years too late. That said, any turnaround is something.

MS: That leads directly into my second question, which is exactly on those draft apartment standards. Are they a good result or a missed opportunity?

KT: They’re a good start. Minimum size always alarms me because I do think there are cases where size is not the determinant of a living space’s quality or public realm benefit. When I brought a group of students over from Wellington earlier this year we went on a housing tour that took in Cairo Apartments – a classic case of where very small spaces can have an incredibly high level of amenity because of their relationship to garden or to outside.

I know that’s a low density version compared to high rise but there are many cases to be made for small that’s well designed and meets a whole lot of other liveability criteria.

What I’m not sure about is how much needs to be discretionary or mandatory. I think you’ve always got to allow for alternatives and exceptions. By way of example, we’re currently doing a project in a suburb in the inner north that’s involved an interesting negotiation around the relationship of the development to a boundary setback.

The local council has been ahead of the curve in developing its own apartment design code. The challenge for us was a section of the code pertaining to varied setbacks depending on a spatial use (bedroom, living room) and the height of the building (how many storeys). Essentially if you had blank walls and relied on borrowed light from other rooms it was a lot easier to meet the code than incorporating windows and having to adjust your setback.

It was a classic case where you know potential quality is being lost if the code is followed. We thought it was more generous to have a 3-metre setback because every apartment in the scheme has a double aspect and maximum cross flow ventilation. That was a fundamental principle that directed all of the massing across the site. We weren’t reliant on this rear setback, it’s only secondary, but we know it’s better for those apartments and we also think it had some benefits for the future development of the adjoining side.

Council has obviously adopted the code for a reason but then you begin to see its unintended consequences. So begins a larger discussion around discretionary aspects and being able to espouse the merits of an alternative. That’s probably one of our big hurdles, that a level of expertise and resourcing is required within council to review individual designs. You can see why it doesn’t happen, but it’s only through challenging these codes that we find new ways of doing things.

We had a case, again I’m trying to be concrete, a few years ago with a site in Fitzroy which has a 2-storey heritage base. We felt that if we put the new building in line above that the development – compared to the usual wedding cake setbacks – would be more appropriate to the morphology of Fitzroy. Also, that a perimeter block development provided better internal amenity for the development because you could do dual aspect. Even though it defied all the usual heritage defaults of setbacks from the historic façade, we pushed really hard and eventually got council support.

So it becomes a question of constantly challenging the default and approaching projects from first principles, which sometimes means high risk because you are saying to your client I actually think questioning this will get a better outcome but it’s a less predictable process that we might have to go through. That’s the scary part because it’s on your head if it doesn’t work.

MS: So to summarize your position, the apartment standards are good but they can’t be definitive. We need to have people who understand the issues to be able to provide exceptions to the rules, where appropriate.

KT: That’s right, and the intelligence to recognize when a diversion from a default is a much better outcome. How you would measure a better outcome is you would always assess it within the development, but around the development too.

“Housing always has to have a level of mutual benefit for its situation.”

That’s another little test you apply. Yes it’s good for the development but as long as it’s not jeopardizing or offsetting a problem from your site onto someone else’s site.

MS: One of the biggest changes globally that we have seen in the last few years in architecture is the rise of parametric design. Do you see this as a style in itself similar to say art deco, or is it more simply a tool that some architects will use to explore complex forms?

KT: I think it’s really interesting. Recently I went to the talk at the Boyd Foundation by Darren Anderson, who wrote the book Imaginary Cities. His talk was about future visions and they necessarily tell you more about the present out of which they came. Also that future visions tend towards this idea of tabula rasa.

That they’re often presented without any understanding or concession to the existing layer of stuff that will be there. They’re strangely outside of time. Anyway, the point in relation to your question was he showed many future visions for Melbourne and he dug up all of these extraordinary schemes. Some of which I’d seen before but others were really new to me.

One of them was from the 70s that was a scheme done on the Jolimont Railway.

Sonia Sarangi: Yes, those are some really crazy schemes.

KT: The wildest form making. Except for the fact that it was rendered through hand, it was a hand drawing. It looked like the sorts of projects I’ve seen recently coming out of RMIT’s parametric studios. I found it fascinating. Partly because there were these direct formal parallels using an old technology and a new technology.

It’s interesting in that it tells you it’s not necessarily the tool that’s determining the forms. He also showed Mendelsohn’s Einstein Tower and you see this formal interest from early in the 20th century through to this one in the 70s in Melbourne. It’s interesting where there’s a formal intent and you just pick your tool to get to that.

The extent to which the tool can enable a new formal intent, that is something I’ve seen in the more innovative parametric studies, and again at RMIT, the thesis work there with Roland Snooks and his students. I think the possibility of these self-proliferating formal processes is really interesting. Revit, for example, which is more for the purposes of documentation and procurement benefits is not necessarily for a formal end. Why is that? Possibly because formally it doesn’t help our language or our architecture.

I will say that a long, long time ago, ’97 when we did an early project for RMIT, it was a technology estate project. It was a twisted form we were attempting to develop, which was to do with solar orientation on this curve site, et cetera. I remember having to go and find one of my old students to help me model it because with my auto CAD skills it was never going to happen.

That was a nice moment where I completely understood this need for another tool to generate a 3D model.

SS: Do you ever worry that it might plant the seed for a certain kind of … I don’t want to use the world laziness.

KT: Absolutely. But it’s a complex one because on the one hand a lot of discussion in architecture is not necessarily to do with form making, and I do think that there are high risks when it’s the number 1 priority because it can result in an excess and wilfulness that I associate with problematic buildings. I know that on the one hand we fight form as a key driver or manifestation of architectural thinking.

On the other I also realize that if we think of what we do as architects it is about making a physical space out of matter, and inevitably that is a creation of form.

I also recognize that some of our buildings have been identified for a clarity of form making. It’s not that they’re anti-form either, which I know some people will try to argue. I still think we always have this problem with form, but it is that extent to which it is a square peg/round hole problem. I think that’s when I question it, and how you find a form. I tried to describe this in a recent talk on ethics at the Robin Boyd Foundation in relation to the idea of accommodation.

To accommodate sounds like whatever comes in as a force within the making of a project you just take on board unquestioningly. It’s not saying that. It’s saying that all projects have various forces on them and our job, I think, is to accommodate those but through an intent of sorts.

You are still doing something with these forces that is directed somehow. It’s not just whatever. I think that’s where bad architecture has an intent that is divorced from the forces it has to navigate and it just has determination to apply those regardless of whether it’s the right thing or not. That was partly where I was getting into an ethics of architecture that you have to wrestle with these considerations, it’s our duty to do that.

Also for a disciplinary contribution you’re trying to wrestle and doing something with those that achieves something of integrity especially.

Continued in the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/negotiating-form-qa-with-kerstin-thompson-part-2">second part of this interview</a>.

This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/negotiating-form-qa-with-kerstin-thompson-part-1/">The Red &amp; Architect Blog</a>.
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Negotiating Form: Q+A with Kerstin Thompson

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Whilst there has been substantial publicity and commentary around Victoria’s proposed apartment standards, the Central City Planning Provisions, Melbourne Amendment C270 have been quietly progressing. Recently Vanessa Bird, the Victorian President of the Australian Institute of Architects, took some time to answer a few questions about this proposed planning amendment  as well as the institutes wider advocacy agenda.

Red+Black Architect – For those who haven’t been following this process, what is the Central City Planning Provisions amendment about, and what is at stake?

Vanessa Bird – Amendment C270 proposes changes to existing provisions within the Hoddle Grid and <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/new-apartments/southbank-vic">Southbank</a>. The stated aim is to protect the liveability of the city by ensuring the provision of space around tall buildings, protect important public spaces from overshadowing, including the Yarra River, and establish floor area ratios for new developments.

Developments which exceed the base floor area ratio will be matched by public benefits such as on-site public open space and laneways, or social housing within the development. No maximum height limit is proposed except for identified special character areas. A floor area ratio of 18:1 Is proposed with uplift bonuses available for the provision of public benefits.

R+BA – As Victorian President you have been leading the AIA’s response to this process. What outcomes are you hoping to achieve?

VB – The AIA aims to shift the discussion towards mechanisms that reward design excellence. We have a role to play as the ‘critical friend’ to government – as NSW President Shaun Carter put it – advocating for good planning and excellent design outcomes. This means we can be supportive but ask provocative questions as an advocate for the success of C270.

In August the Institute presented on C270 at a Planning Panel hearing. The presentation focused on 2 key points. The first being that design excellence is a key pillar of any good planning outcome and should be rewarded. A well designed city needs both good built form outcomes and good design outcomes, and the two are not mutually inclusive.

The current C270 does not place any weight on design excellence. We argued that good design is critical to good city outcomes and should not be separated from planning. To achieve this end, we have proposed a Design Review Panel for any project over 18:1 or to provide significant Floor Area Uplift for projects that gain permits through a DRP process.

We acknowledge that a DRP process by its very nature will be a more time consuming process, which is critical in achieving a good design outcome. Lack of time is not the friend of good design. Given this, the developer should be rewarded with significant uplift benefits for embarking on this process as it will cost more money, and may result in a more expensive building, while producing greater long-term benefits to society.

In addition, an independent architect should be mandatory on all projects over 18:1. Any project over 18:1 is of significance and as such design should be considered paramount.

The second part of the presentation focused on expanding the definition and scope of Floor Area Uplift for Public Benefits. We support Public Benefits which improve the quality of the public realm and architecture, of the diversity and accessibility of the city, and which allow architects to design innovatively to create a memorable and sustainable built environment.

The definition of Public Benefits should be expanded to include, Sustainable Design, works to Heritage Buildings, Innovation, Social Use / Mixed Use. Precinct-based benefits were proposed – meaning off site benefits – and point to the need for Precinct Masterplans. Several Chapter Councillors and members of the Large Practice Forum contributed to the content and presentation including Tim Leslie, Matthew Smith, Adam Pustola, Ingrid Bakker, Craig Baudin, Jesse Judd and Alison Cleary.

R+BA – The recently released draft apartment standards proscribe minimum building set-backs for apartments, is there any potential overlap between these policies?

VB – Under the proposed C270 amendment 5 metre setbacks are mandatory. Overlays will continue to operate, so the requirements of the Apartment Standards sit below the requirements of an overlay. The AIA proposed that controls be mandatory unless you go through DRP where say an average setback calculation could be considered.

This would allow for a variety of built forms rather than a strict vertical face to the boundary, such as a curved facade which reduces the setback in the middle of the site but increases it towards the street frontage. These variations would need approval by the DRP to ensure they meet the planning objectives and delivering design excellence.

R+BA – With a renewed focus on advocacy, will the Institute be looking to provide input on the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel or the recently released vision for the Arden urban renewal precinct?

VB – Yes, just last month I MC’d at an ‘industry networking event’ for members of PIA, AILA and AIA where a group of cross-disciplinary speakers spoke about transport options for cities, which apart from public transport included bikes, walking, and autonomous shared vehicles. Rob Moore, City of Melbourne Project Executive for Melbourne Metro Rail, gave a fascinating talk on maintaining design quality on what is extensively a civil engineering project.

Interestingly he used a WA Government Architect diagram to guide the design review and decision making process. As the AIA becomes a more active advocacy voice, we are asked to provide feedback more often on moretopics.

Our work and that of the office of government architect are increasingly informing the debate on cities.

To answer the second part of your question – a group of Chapter Councillors and the Urban Design Forum are working on an AIA position on Arden-Macauley. Architects of course contribute to the debate through the quality of their design work but also need to stand up for the precinct and the public interest.

R+BA –  Do you think that the VCAT system for appealing planning decisions is working as well as it could? Some recent decisions such as the now infamous <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/buildings/nightingale-apartments-6-florence-street-brunswick">Nightingale</a> refusal, give the perception that some outcomes can vary depending on the member hearing the case. Should cases be heard by a panel of members rather than an individual in order to dispel this perception?

VB – The member question is a VCAT matter, although they do have 2 or 3 members on larger cases. VCAT is a transparent process. The AIA supports the maintenance of community consultation and the right for third party appeal. That said, we would like to see a Design Review Process that carries weight at VCAT incorporated into the assessment process in the Apartment Standards Guidelines.

The VCAT pathway adds to the cost of housing through delays and representation costs, so certainty in the Decision Guidelines and their assessment is crucial. Design experts are needed to assess design objectives, not planners or lawyers – again highlighting the need for DRPs with authority.

R+BA – How would you rate the current State Government’s performance on built environment issues?

VB – The AIA can’t rate a sitting government whose projects haven’t yet been delivered. It’s at the end of the term when they can be evaluated. As mentioned earlier we work with government to achieve the best outcome and advocate for the public interest. We do though welcome the initiative of the Apartment Design Guidelines, C270 is a positive step as is the long overdue Melbourne Metro Rail Project.

R+BA – Thank you for your time

 

Michael Smith is a principal at <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/industry/atelier-red-black">Atelier Red+Black</a>. This article originally appeared on the <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/">Red and Black architect blog</a>
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Q+A with Vanessa Bird, Victorian President of the Australian Institute of Architects

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Now in it’s ninth year, Melbourne Open House once again pushes the discovery and appreciation of architecture and the built environment into the mainstream.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image22_6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Medibank offices in Docklands by Hassell"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image22_6.jpg?itok=gD_TsHyX" title="Medibank offices in Docklands by Hassell" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Medibank offices in Docklands by Hassell</figcaption></figure>With well over 100 different buildings to experience across the weekend, those wishing to indulge their curiosity were spoilt for choice. From the historic to the contemporary, from very public buildings to very special private residences, the program delivered in spades. As always it is impossible to see everything, but with Open House a solid fixture in Melbourne’s busy events schedule, it is possible to build up a collection of experiences year on year.

<h2>Medibank Offices</h2>

How can a large corporate organisation provide a healthy 21st century work environment for its staff? This was the challenge that faced the architects Hassell when conceiving the new offices in Docklands for Medibank. This fluid form tower represents some of the latest thinking on office environments.

Boasting an outdoor sports court, edible garden, flexible work spaces and even an indoor fireplace, the building is a generous investment in the people who occupy the building.

From a visitor’s perspective the wow factor is all in the atrium. Crisp white ribbons provide a rich layering effect which is emphasized further through brightly coloured floor and ceiling surfaces. The result is a vibrant, energetic building, which must surely be a delight to work within.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image27_5.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Medibank offices in Docklands by Hassell"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="1726" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image27_5.jpg?itok=eReIsU6B" title="Medibank offices in Docklands by Hassell" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Medibank offices in Docklands by Hassell</figcaption></figure><h2>The Argus Building</h2>

The Argus newspaper was a highly innovative and respected newspaper that was published between 1846 and 1957. The building on the corner of Elizabeth and Latrobe Streets in Melbourne was built as the headquarters for all aspects of the publication between 1924 and 1926. The newspaper was abruptly discontinued in 1957 and at some point after that fell into disrepair.

In 2014 the building was reopened as an education facility for the Melbourne Institute of Technology. Since that time it has been a particularly popular attraction on Melbourne Open House weekend for curious visitors.

The interior fit out and alterations were undertaken by Design inc. Whilst there is some of the remaining original fabric exposed, it is unfortunate to report that within the vast majority of the interior, the old has been completely covered with the new. This raises interesting questions about the preservation of our built heritage.

On the one hand the ability for an otherwise derelict building to be given a new use will ensure its survival into the future. On the other hand, to cover up the internal building fabric with white plasterboard and commercial flooring seems like an opportunity lost. No doubt the design team and client had their reasons. The building was in a perilously poor state and there are always limitations on what a client can spend to realize a project.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image21_7.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Argus building on the corner of Elizabeth and Latrobe Streets"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="383" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image21_7.jpg?itok=KocBFl53" title="The Argus building on the corner of Elizabeth and Latrobe Streets" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Argus building on the corner of Elizabeth and Latrobe Streets</figcaption></figure><figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image20_6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Argus Building is now used by the Melbourne Institute of Technology. Fitouts by Design Inc."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="213" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image20_6.jpg?itok=E_FM4IjR" title="The Argus Building is now used by the Melbourne Institute of Technology. Fitouts by Design Inc." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Argus Building is now used by the Melbourne Institute of Technology. Fitouts by Design Inc.</figcaption></figure><h2>The Supreme Court of Victoria</h2>

Perhaps one of the most surprising and interesting experiences available, was the visit to the Supreme Court of Victoria. The Supreme Court is actually a collection of buildings originally designed by A.L. Smith and built between 1857-1884. The classical stone facade that graces the street conceals a large courtyard within.

This external space is the setting for the glorious Supreme Court Library, the dome of which can be seen from the streets beyond. From within, the library feels like a relative of the much loved State Library of Victoria although it is actually older than the Joseph Reed building. Despite the grandeur of the detailing and decoration, the space itself is surprisingly intimate. As well as the architecture the library holds a fascinating collection of books and historical documents.

In a glass case, an Argus newspaper from exactly 100 years earlier is on display, reporting losses from the ‘Great War’ and complaints about the Hoyts theater prices.

The other notable spaces within this complex are, of course, the courts themselves. These spaces are some of the most serious that you will experience in Victoria. Court 4, otherwise known as the Banco Court, is the oldest and most elaborate of the court rooms. The finely detailed ceiling is both extraordinary and unexpected. The fixed timber seating, which was carefully thought out well over 100 years prior, still operates in the way originally intended.

There are only a few minor additions to the space, such as a couple of large monitors for the jury to observe video evidence.

Unfortunately photographs are not permitted to be taken within the court, so really you have to go an experience it for yourself.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image19_10.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Exterior images of the Supreme Court of Victoria"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="533" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image19_10.jpg?itok=xYlcYnun" title="Exterior images of the Supreme Court of Victoria" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Exterior images of the Supreme Court of Victoria</figcaption></figure>With tens of thousands of visitors to buildings across the city, Melbourne Open House continues to prove that architecture is for everyone.

Michael Smith is a principal at Ateiler Red+Black. This article originally appeared on the <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/">Red and Black architect blog</a>.
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Melbourne Open House 2016

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Melbourne’s most important building to be completed in 2016 sits proudly at the top of Elizabeth Street as a beacon of hope to all Victorians fighting cancer.

One of the great success stories in the development of the city of Melbourne is the creation of the flourishing Parkville medical precinct in the early twenty first century. Just to the North of the CBD, with the University of Melbourne as an anchor point, a collection of world class research facilities have sprung up at an astonishing rate.

Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, the Peter Doherty Institute, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and the Melbourne Brain Centre are all now located within the precinct which also boasts the new Royal Children’s Hospital, the Royal Women’s Hospital and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The crown jewel in this impressive collection is the new home for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre which stands proudly as the flagship and gateway to this precinct.

The genesis of this building was from a tender bidding process which was won by the Plenary Health consortium. Embedded within this consortium were STHDI, a joint venture between architects Silver Thomas Hanley and Design Inc, who provided design expertise in laboratory and clinical design. Architects McBride Charles Ryan (MCR) were brought into the consortium to provide their design expertise on the external form and the public areas within the building.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image14_7.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Exterior images"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="1213" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image14_7.jpg?itok=m1OWqObU" title="Exterior images" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Varying exterior profiles</figcaption></figure>This bidding process set a clear vision for what the project was to be from the very start. A world class clinical treatment, research and education facility all in one building.

<blockquote>
The promise that you have made to the State has to be delivered.
<cite>Debbie Ryan, McBride Charles Ryan</cite>
</blockquote>

From the viewpoint of the architects, there can hardly be a more challenging project. A massive site, a $1 billion budget, a huge number of stake holders from multiple organisations and multiple government bodies and the requirement to facilitate cutting edge technology. Yet despite these challenges, a brilliant piece of architecture has been produced.

The first thing you notice about this building, from whichever direction you approach, is the seductive organic expression which willfully sweeps across the facade. The crisp white lines that branch and spread across the glazed envelope intentionally reference the research collaboration and networking ambitions of the centre. Fittingly they also mimic the wiry winter branches of the elm trees surrounding the site.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/vccc-7.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre by McBride Charles Ryan in partnership with STHDI"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="741" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/vccc-7.jpg?itok=cj5wGIGD" title="The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre by McBride Charles Ryan in partnership with STHDI" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre by McBride Charles Ryan in partnership with STHDI</figcaption></figure>Along the north edge of the building the facade expression takes on a more sculptural form to present an entry colonnade to Grattan Street. Utilizing finely finished and detailed concrete and fibre reinforced polymer, the building successfully integrates with the busy pedestrian thoroughfare of the street.

Soaring above the observer are two bridge connections between the VCCC and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. These enable the two hospitals to share operating theaters, if the need arises, providing the benefit of additional resilience and efficiency to both hospitals.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image15_6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Bridges over Grattan Street"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="252" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image15_6.jpg?itok=kK8CnKh_" title="Bridges over Grattan Street" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Bridges over Grattan Street</figcaption></figure>Entering the main lobby, or ‘welcome hall’ as it is known, it is clear that the organic theme expressed externally has made it’s way to the interior. The bright and well-proportioned space is generous without overwhelming and disorientating the visitor. Despite being a largely white space, the design successfully navigates the danger of becoming visually sterile. Texture, pattern, and slight splashes of colour are all used with precision.

Moving deeper within the building, the grand central atrium reveals itself, providing an abundant source of natural light throughout the centre of the plan. Vaguely reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Guggenheim in New York, white ribbons dance around the void to spectacular effect.

Directly below, where one might have expected a staircase or lobby, an open amphitheater space reminds the visitor of the educational role of the building.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image16_6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="VCCC's impressive interiors on show"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="1171" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image16_6.jpg?itok=jGPopfrL" title="VCCC's impressive interiors on show" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>VCCC's impressive interiors on show</figcaption></figure>Hospitals and laboratories have to meet some of the most stringent design regulations of any building type. With the very specific requirements of Australian and international standards, it might have been expected to notice a convergence in design. Clearly the VCCC has avoided this anonymity. For MCR it was also of substantial importance that the building have a particularly Australian identity. The use of spotted gum timber as an orientating surface within the public spaces subtly makes this differentiation.

As with other major hospitals across the globe, a significant problem is attracting and retaining the best staff. Even though it has only just opened, the VCCC has already lured several world class Australian researchers back to Australia from prestigious international positions. From a research perspective, the building is also a symbol that our State and Federal Governments are taking cancer research seriously.

As well as being a success story for the MCR and STHDI design team, the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre is also a parable for the State Government, on the importance of a strong Government Architect. In procurement models where architecture teams are embedded within an overall project consortium, there is every risk that design quality can be sacrificed for other objectives.

The best protection for the public against these sub standard outcomes is for the State Government client to be provided expert advice. If the government will not accept a reduction in design quality, then the consortium will be forced to deliver on what was promised.

For researchers, the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre is a solid commitment to Australian medical science, in the form of a world class facility. For students and young professionals this building is about supporting the future of cancer treatment. However perhaps most importantly, for patients and their families, this is a building that exudes optimism and hope in a way that only the best architecture can.

Michael Smith is a principal at Ateiler Red+Black. This article originally appeared on the <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/">Red and Black architect blog</a>.
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Red+Black review: The VCCC - the new home of Peter Mac

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With the Victorian Government proceeding with Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel, further details have begun to emerge as to how the project will be delivered and what the benefits to Melbourne will be. It is perhaps the right moment to consider more carefully what the architecture within this project will need to deliver. To dive into this project from an architectural view point The Red+Black Architect interviewed emerging designer Justin Marden, who has an international background on underground railway architecture

Red + Black Architect – The Melbourne Metro Rail Project will have five new underground stations along the nine kilometre tunnel. This presents the question what should these stations look like?

Justin Marden –  The look and feel are important, however other factors such as ownership, character, materials, staff, funding models, risk, clients and management are also significant.  With metro stations it’s important to consider long and short term goals and connectivity options in a transparent manner.  For example, what the desired land use will be many decades from now, or how fast people can change trains. At Flinders St Station it’s more than 200% faster to change trains than Southern Cross.

Whilst achieving a design quality of international standard is important, we really need to look towards providing our stations with a local character that can differentiate ourselves from the rest of the world (and Australia) through design identity.

We also need to be playing to our strengths by encouraging greater diversity of design. Perhaps Flinders Street Metro Station could be designed, built, managed, named, staffed, and leased recognizably from the Indigenous community.

I’m actually not aware of any recent strategic infrastructure project in Australia that has significantly included an Indigenous influence. The Melbourne Metro Project presents as a significant opportunity to get serious about indigenous inclusion considering the site’s proximity to the river.

Perhaps a couple of the metro stations could be specifically allocated to a design practice that is led by one of our many fantastic women in architecture. As recently pointed out by Eli Giannini of the AIA’s National Gender Equity Committee, women rarely get the opportunity to lead the work on large scale public projects. These Metro Stations could become an example of governments using their purchasing power to facilitate positive cultural change.

As for the ground level entrances to the stations, perhaps the State government should consider an open A3 sized ideas competition.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/flinders-st-station.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The bland and anonymous Eastern concourse of Flinders Street Station. A lesson in what not to do."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="773" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/flinders-st-station.jpg?itok=Pz_ezkX7" title="The bland and anonymous Eastern concourse of Flinders Street Station. A lesson in what not to do." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The bland and anonymous Eastern concourse of Flinders Street Station. A lesson in what not to do.</figcaption></figure>​

R+BA – It would seem that there are competing interest for each of the new stations to have their own identity, for way finding purposes, but also to be considered part of the ‘set’ of stations in this project. Which of these competing requirements should take priority?

JM- Nominating lines as colours is one key strategy. But the user should also be able to tell the difference of each metro station from inside the train which is difficult with the current Melbourne Loop. Paris and Madrid are very successful in the branding of metro entrance signage. London is also quite developed.

Train station names such as Commonwealth in Singapore only highlight the global influence in grey architecture policy and spaces. So yes these new metro stations need diverse reference points and information presented in a way that local people can understand if we are aiming to get the best result.

R+BA- Perhaps bringing a few of these ideas together it could be possible to have the stations provide a chronological Indigenous story which is told through design. I am thinking of the great work by the Pitcha Makin Fellas that was displayed on the Royal Exhibition Building during White Night 2016. We could have a station which is subtly inspired by the season of butterflies followed by a station inspired by the dry season and so forth. What are your thoughts on that?

JM- I was very impressed by that temporary projection on the world heritage site. Story is important. So yes I do agree with you this may be an opportunity to create something special. Maybe even help people understand this story in a more permanent way.

We should however be very cautious about providing surfaces for audio visual content in our metro stations. There is always a risk with flexible mediums and white/glass surfaces that Stations could be inadvertently transformed into a visual bombardment of advertising. There is always a risk of an architect having no control of something placed on their work to the point it is compromised or designed for that purpose.

Regarding Indigenous design I feel Indigenous Architecture and Design Victoria (IADV) needs more resources. I recently attended Reuben Bergs’ talk at the M-Pavillion and would very much like to see them play a more active forward looking role. The Melbourne Metro project could play a key part in advancing the discussion around Indigenous representation in our built environment.

The City Of Melbourne should support the State government in Melaru which is an innovative freedom lookout for the City Of Melbourne with an Indigenous influence located at the Melbourne visitor centre. It will offer a story and interaction and could even be a metro entrance. I believe this is the best chance for reconciliation and public engagement moving forward. It would demonstrate Indigenous people, culture and design are welcome in the most important part of the city. There is a lot to learn here and many stories to be told.

R+BA – Typically with large engineering led projects it is common for a single large architectural practice to be engaged to provide services across the entirety of the project. Whilst this would no doubt have advantages in project management, do you think it restricts diversity in the architectural outcome?

JM –  There is no doubt one practice may produce less risk but the complexity of co-ordinating Melbourne’s underground is not as far reaching as threading needles in London. So I do believe there should be room to move if a genuine collaboration is chosen.

<a href="http://flyvbjerg.plan.aau.dk/HARVARDDESIGN63PRINT.pdf">An Anatomy of Ambition by Bent Flyvbjerg</a> is a worthwhile read which talks about Mega Projects and risk.

R+BA – Are there any particular lessons for this project that we can take from overseas stations?

JM – I have a sense of what commercially will happen between the Grocon CUB site and the space between Melbourne Central. Alameda station in Valencia, Spain by Calatrava which I have visited also does not have the attention to detail as Strogino Station, Moscow which have similar elements. Volokolamskaya station, Moscow  and Strogino demonstrate economic sense in station design given the distance from the central core. Great architecture doesn’t have to cost the earth and architecture should be accessible to everyone.

I do admire Hector Guimard and cast iron entrances in Paris as well as the story of designer Eileen Gray. Glass balustrades break easily. It does take a dedicated team to deliver such projects as Sokol Metro Station in Moscow and the spans of the Pentagon/Metro Centre in Washington.

R+BA – In your view what is the biggest opportunity to be gained through providing high quality architecture at these stations?

JM-  A happier society and people, identity is important. Taking pride in place and feeling a sense of connection and community. I don’t doubt the power of exemplar architecture and design to inspire and motivate people in whatever they want to achieve.

R+BA – Thanks for your time

 

Justin Marden is an emerging designer who has studied architecture. He has an international background in studying transport architecture planning applications. His European metro station design for O’Connell Street in Ireland was published in the European architecture magazine Plan alongside designs by Sir Norman Foster, Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind.

Michael Smith is a principal at Ateiler Red+Black. This interview was originally published on the <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/2016/03/21/the-opportunities-of-melbourne-metro-rail-a-discussion-with-justin-marden/">Red and Black architect blog</a>. Michael also operates the <a href="https://ratemybuilding.com.au/">Rate My Building website</a>.
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The opportunities of Melbourne Metro Rail: a discussion with Justin Marden

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From November 2010 through to March 2013, Victoria had Ted Baillieu, an architect, as Premier. This post is the final part of a four part interview with Mr Baillieu discussing a broad range of built environment issues.

<a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/ted-baillieu-the-architect-premier-part-1/">To read from the beginning click here to go back to Part 1</a>

<h2>Melbourne Architecture</h2>

R+BA –  In terms of Melbourne and the architecture of Melbourne do you have a favorite building or favorite space?

TB –  I always talk about Marcus Barlow’s building Manchester Unity which is extraordinary.  I did a design thesis at university on art deco and International Style stuff, about 200 years ago.  I love all of that and Manchester Unity is a beautiful building in its own right and then you look at the construction story. 

It was started in January and finished in December. It was the first building to broach the 132 foot height limit, the location.  It has all the aspirational soaring architecture of the skyscraper style.  Beyond that I’ve long talked about the extraordinary civic legacy we have in Victoria which distinguishes us from other places in Australia.  It’s a product of gold, but it’s also a product of wise decision making because you can take gold and spend it on nonsense. but if you look at our civic architecture the Parliament building, Old Treasury, the cathedrals, town halls, Masonic lodges, court houses right across the state. 

You drive around Sydney, New South Wales, Queensland, you don’t see that same civic legacy.  It’s a distinguishing feature and the other distinguishing feature of that is who made the decisions? Who were the designers? What characteristics do they have? And so many of them by definition were aspirational people who came here from other parts of the world.  They had a focus on the future and on quality.  They had gold in their pockets, but in the vast majority of cases they were young architects. 

You look at this building (Old Treasury), JJ Clarke arrived here at the age of 13 with 5 siblings and his parents.  He went to work at the age of 13 attached to the government architect’s office of the day and designed this building at the age of 19.   You look at the output of Joseph Reed and others and Wardell and you think ‘how did they actually do it?’

The Parliament building is an extraordinary thing to think of, it was designed when there were only 70 or 80 thousand people living in Melbourne.  There are more members of the Collingwood footy club now that there were living in Melbourne when the Impala building was designed.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/manchester-unity-tower.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Image source: www.manchesterunitybuilding.com.au"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="879" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/manchester-unity-tower.jpg?itok=a55gSaz5" title="Image source: www.manchesterunitybuilding.com.au" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Image source: www.manchesterunitybuilding.com.au</figcaption></figure>R+BA – Do you think that building will ever have the Parliament dome added or do you think it is what it is now?

TB –  No, that’s not going to happen.  Personally I don’t think the dome would have ever worked, overbalanced I thought.  Every aspect of that building is beautiful, the accommodation’s pretty ordinary for pollies out the back, but that’s bound to be.

R+BA –  They’re working on that [<a href="http://architectureau.com/articles/40m-vic-parliament-house-project-by-peter-elliott-and-tcl-revealed/">see the ArchitectureAU news piece here</a>].

TB –  That’s about the third or fourth scheme to do that, so hopefully that’ll come off.  I just go around and look at that legacy and think wow, the essential essence of Victoria is about aspiration and about the pursuit of the best and that’s what was happening from the 1850s on.  Yeah there were all sorts of problems, questions about the Chinese and about democracy. 

There was all sorts of stuff, but essentially there is a core character of Victoria where pursuing the best possible outcome was what drove the state.  The Royal Exhibition Building is 125 years old and it’s world heritage listed.

R+BA –  The first world heritage listed building in Australia

TB –  How did they source the product, source the material, source the tradesmen?  It took a few years to build.  Then Marcus Barlow put together Manchester Unity and did that in 12 months.  Couldn’t do that now.  Why couldn’t we do that now?

R+BA –  Thinking about architecture dynasties, there was a lot happening at that point in time.  The modern day example I suppose is the Jeff Kennett era with the various DCM buildings – the Melbourne Museum, the Exhibition Centre, the Melbourne Gateway.  I look at that period and from a city building point of view and Melbourne did extraordinary things in that time.

TB –  There are various phases but the civic architecture has always been pretty high quality and for a young jurisdiction with not too much in the way of resources apart from some money and people who have come from all over the world.  We’ve got this core character essence which is the pursuit of excellence and a multicultural base because those people came from all over the world. 

Look at the tile work up at the parliament and you say somebody designed that tile work and then someone implemented it and they had to have exceptional skills.  Where did they come from, how did they get here?  There are all sorts of stories still to be told.  And they were young.

R+BA –  I suppose there’s the young aspect to it and they also took a lot of risks and were bold in what they did.  Do you think we need to allow the emerging architects more scope?

TB –  Unfortunately, the general answer to that question is yes, but our architects today have been beaten in to submission over the last 20 to 30 years.  Pushed down the food chain of development.  If there is a challenge to the architects of Victoria it’s communication. The profession has been very shy. To some extent registration conflicts with the Institute, both conflict with the notion of the degree. 

If you were to ask 99% of people in Melbourne who’s the go to commentator among architects in Victoria at the moment they probably wouldn’t know and there’s not much general media. That’s why what you’re doing is fantastic.

R+BA –  Thank you, I totally agree with you that public engagement on these issues is essential.

TB –  I grew up with the ARM guys and transition magazine which I even once wrote for . I used to write for Landscape Architecture and Architecture magazine years ago.  In an ideal world architects should be pushing much much harder.  That’s why when I got to Premiership I said I want architects back in to decision making.  We tried to get as many architects on to government boards as possible.  At the same time the profession is still inward looking and it’s still squabbling amongst itself.  You go to an awards night and the slide show still falters. 

The profession needs some really strong vocal champions who can push a point.  I thought Geoffrey London was doing a good job and I think Jill Garner will do a fantastic job.  I said to Geoffrey when we got there that I want you to be as strident as you want to be.  As far as I’m concerned you can say whatever you want.  I want you to protect the morphology of the city and I want you to aspire. 

I don’t want you just doing pedestrian things such as  putting out brochures.  They completed  quite a nice book with a very nice foreword by somebody at the start of the book.  I hope Jill feels confident to do that as well, but we’ve succumbed to project developers as a profession.  We’ve succumbed to negative clients.  We’ve succumbed to low fees.  Along the way governments have compromised the profession a bit by throwing out projects like the BER project in education which was build a box. 

In the early 2000’s we had what I call the ‘TAFE r tecture’ in Victoria where we built matchboxes and painted them and they hadn’t actually addressed the strategic issues around both TAFEs and post secondary education.  I think there’s room for much a more mature discussion about architecture, absolutely.  Which is another reason why I was disappointed about the Flinders Street thing because the thinking that had gone in there was really sophisticated and it wasn’t allowed to be heard.

R+BA –  One of the things I wrote about it shortly after that was the perception that it was somehow a waste of money because we weren’t receiving the money of the million dollars it cost.  You crunch the numbers on the number of hours across the number of teams doing the work and you add in the fact that you have 30,000 responses to it which is a massive community consultation as well. 

It was also being in the general psyche as to what the future of that site is.  It was an absolute bargain.

TB –  Well the staging that Hassell and Herzog &amp; De Meuron proposed is very sophisticated and still implementable and I’ll be surprised in the future if some of those stages don’t get implemented.

R+BA – Thanks for agreeing to do this interview and being so generous with your time.

This concludes the four part interview series with Ted Baillieu. I hope you have enjoyed reading.

Ted Baillieu, The Architect Premier.

 

Architecture is for Everyone

 

Michael Smith is a principal at Ateiler Red+Black. This article and previous installments of the Ted Bailleau interview can be seen on the <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/">Red and Black architect blog</a>. Michael also operates the <a href="https://ratemybuilding.com.au/">Rate My Building website</a>.
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Ted Baillieu, The Architect Premier - Melbourne Architecture

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Editor's note: This is the first part of a wide-ranging interview that Michael Smith, a.k.a. The Red and Black Architect, has conducted with former Premier Ted Baillieu. Follow the links at the end of this article to read parts 2 and 3 on the Red And Black Architect's blog.

From November 2010 through to March 2013, Victoria had an architect as Premier. Ted Baillieu was responsible for bringing White Night to Melbourne as well as instigating the Flinders Street Station design competition in 2012. From his experience in politics and his background for architecture, he has a unique insight into Victoria’s built environment. Recently he sat down in the magnificent Old Treasury Building, to talk at length with The Red+Black Architect on a broad range of issues.

Part 1 – The Architect Premier

Red +Black Architect – It’s perhaps not widely known that before you entered politics you were an architect. How would you describe your architectural career before entering politics.

Ted Baillieu – I certainly didn’t hide it. I guess people don’t focus on other people’s professions.

I wouldn’t pretend to be the greatest architect in the world although I may physically be one of the biggest! We had a small practice, the practice ran from 1981 to around 2006 and my architectural partner died in 2005. For the last few years he was obviously pretty much on his own and I was just a token partner, there for moral support. Prior to that I worked for McGlashan Everist, they had a notable track record. I worked on school projects and some civic projects. We were the first architects on the transformation of the Bourke St Mall many years ago, and I was the project architect for that. Along the way I’ve done some other bits and pieces, but we were residential, we worked some small commercial projects. We did a ski lodge in New Zealand which got a fair bit of attention I still love architecture and I’ve still stayed in touch with most of my colleagues and stay in touch with the faculty. I’ve now got an honorary job with the University of Melbourne helping the faculty.

R+BA – Did your background as an architect assist you in your role as premier?

TB – One of the reasons why I got in to politics was because I was looking at architecture, in the long term, particularly in school work. We did strategic thinking and master planning for schools which was 20-25 years out, and the decisions that are made now affect things long term. That was one of the reasons I got involved. Another reason I got involved was I didn’t like the no ticket no start mentality and I didn’t like an authoritarian approach to the issues of the day that were happening in Tasmania in the early 80s, so they’re pretty much the reasons I got involved. There are very few architects who have been politicians. It’s actually a very good education for a politician, to be able to think about the future, to be able to plan for the future, to be able to read drawings, to talk a language with those who are dealing with long term projects, it’s an asset.

R+BA – I imagine that the broad nature of architecture, knowing a little bit about a wide variety of areas helps?

TB – I think architects have a sense of place, a sense of environment, a sense of footprint, a sense of relationships to other buildings, a sense of the spaces between, a sense of generations, all that is important. And you get a very acute sense of cost.

R+BA – One of the best things, I think, to come out of your premiership was the genuine discussion around the possible futures for Flinders Street Station. Do you regard that competition as a success?

TB – Yes, I absolutely do. The conclusion of the competition took place after I had stepped down, but I thought it was an incredibly valuable exercise and I think the winners<a href="http://www.hassellstudio.com/en/cms-projects/detail/flinders-street-station-/" target="_blank">[Hassell with Herzog &amp; De Meuron]</a> didn’t get the credit they deserved. Anybody who actually saw their presentation rather than just the superficial photograph in the paper was just blown away. I spent quite a bit of time with Hassell afterwards trying to promote their scheme to other people. Those we took it to were blown away. In the end, the current government made their decision, and I think that’s a shame because they had set up a design process which saw the final product staged, implementable in stages, and you could graft on or graft off various aspects of it. It was an incredibly compelling piece of work that they had done. Unfortunately it got reduced to one picture and there were a few in the public arena who didn’t want go there. It will eventually need a brave solution. Just the sheer volume of traffic that will go through Flinders Street Station will require a brave solution, and it can’t be a piecemeal fix the ballroom approach. It wasn’t about the ballroom, it’s about the long term future. They took a bold approach to it.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fssdc2-by-hassell-and-herzog-de-meuron1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Winning Flinders Street Station Design Competition proposal by Hassell and Herzog De Meuron"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="274" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fssdc2-by-hassell-and-herzog-de-meuron1.jpg?itok=E0_lWQfO" title="Winning Flinders Street Station Design Competition proposal by Hassell and Herzog De Meuron" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Winning Flinders Street Station Design Competition proposal by Hassell and Herzog De Meuron</figcaption></figure>R+BA – Do you think there’s any possibility that that could be brought out of mothballs?

TB – Well it certainly lends itself to that. There’s nothing happening now that would prevent it, or parts of it, being adopted in the future. They took a design approach which dealt with the transport issues as well. People think it’s just a building, there are transport issues to be dealt with, there’s retail issues, there’s building use, maintenance, there’s everything that goes with it and one of the challenges that we have in Victoria is to accommodate the freight task in this state. Freight and logistics drives our economy in Victoria and a lot of it obviously takes place on the roads and on the rail system. Where those two meet, priority needs to be given to the freight task. I’m not sure that’s happening, and I was continually pressing the need to put the freight logistics exercise first.

R+BA – Stepping back to the Flinders Street Station conversation, there was a substantial community engagement website where you could see videos and you could have your say . Did you have a favourite entry? Was the Hassell and Herzog &amp; De Meuron entry your favourite or was there another one that you thought ‘if it was up to me I’d choose one of the other six’?

TB – Well I deliberately chose not to look at them in advance of the decision being made. I stayed right out of it. And when it was made, I sought a briefing from Hassell, I was blown away by what they did and I noted that it was a unanimous decision. I think that if you see the whole presentation you can understand why it was unanimous. The level of thinking in terms of the engineering, the transport, the service involved, the building itself, the opportunities, the relationship to neighbouring buildings, the other major project tasks that the city faces in terms of the gallery development, the indigenous gallery , the contemporary art space, all of that stuff. They had gone way way beyond the brief to look at the future of Melbourne. I think probably the only thing that featured in people’s eye was the barrel vaults over the tracks themselves and that tended to dominate the discussion.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fssdc1-by-hassell-and-herzog-de-meuron.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Winning Flinders Street Station Design Competition proposal by Hassell and Herzog De Meuron"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="327" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fssdc1-by-hassell-and-herzog-de-meuron.jpg?itok=QZreF404" title="Winning Flinders Street Station Design Competition proposal by Hassell and Herzog De Meuron" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Winning Flinders Street Station Design Competition proposal by Hassell and Herzog De Meuron</figcaption></figure>R+BA – For me, one of the strongest elements of that proposal was the way that the Swanston Street interface worked and how it related to Federation Square. Obviously the corner is very iconic and beautiful, but going towards the Yarra, I see that relationship between Federation Square and Flinders Street Station as critical.

TB – It’s a difficult in between space actually, with all of those rather clunky tram stops which interrupt the traffic itself and the pedestrian traffic, but I thought they’d done a good job opening up that Eastern face, and the barrel forms actually resonated with the original plans and they’d done a lot with thinking about the history of the building as well. Unfortunately the discussion gravitates to what’s happening to the ballroom, which was operable 50 years ago, and what does it look like from above. They are probably two of the least significant things about the station itself.

R+BA – Is part of the problem with that site that one it needs an awful lot of money to do the brave gesture, but two in some quarters it’s seen only as public transport infrastructure. It does have an important public transport role, but I think more importantly, it really is the heart and soul of Melbourne’s cultural identity.

TB – Yes, and I think that’s what Hassell’s tried to bring in to it, to actually reinforce that. Their effort was to turn it in to more than a train station, because it plays a bigger role that that. It has to grow in terms of its capacity, so at the same time it has to grow in terms of its cultural significance and it would be very easy to spend $200 million or $300 million on the station now and not notice the difference, in fact I think the current government have set aside $100 million to effectively do some repair work. And at the end of that I presume we’ll be able to walk around the ballroom and say “hey, the ballroom’s fixed”

R+BA – My understanding is that it doesn’t even stretch as far as the ballroom.

Well if it doesn’t go as far as the ballroom, then the ballroom will remain the standard bearer of the need to do something. The ballroom is an interesting space in itself but it’s a very small part of it. I tell you what, there’s nothing like being up inside the tower, I’m a complete sucker for towers, and to be up inside the clock-face, and then to be above the clock-face and open the windows and look down Elizabeth St.

R+BA – Well to see the photos inside the clock tower when the competition was launched I thought was extraordinary, because you know psychologically that space must exist, but what is it actually like to be in that space?

TB – There’s a beautiful book called <a href="http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-publications/capital-melbourne-when-it-was-capital-city-australia" target="_blank">Capital</a> which tells the story of Melbourne from 1901 to 1927 when Melbourne was the capital of Australia, before Canberra was put together and Burley Griffin’s vision emerged. Melbourne was the centre of all the action and the photo on the front cover is that view from that tower down Elizabeth St and it’s just beautiful.

<a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/ted-baillieu-the-architect-premier-part-2/">Part 2</a>

<a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/ted-baillieu-the-architect-premier-part-3/">Part 3</a>

Michael Smith is a principal at Ateiler Red+Black. This article originally appeared on the <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/ted-baillieu-the-architect-premier-part-1/">Red and Black architect blog</a>. Michael also operates the <a href="https://ratemybuilding.com.au/">Rate My Building website</a>.
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