Innholdsfortegnelse for March - April 2018 i Architectural Review Asia Pacific

I had a lovely moment at a recent industry event when a respected and accomplished member of the profession perked up as I mentioned this magazine. “I had a pile of magazines to read over the summer,” she said, “and this is the only one I read completely.” ‘Hmmm, she must be blowing smoke up my proverbial,’ I thought, but no, she then mentioned the photos on the previous two cover stories, so clearly wasn’t just being kind. This issue you’re holding in your hands is the ninth since we undertook our fundamental change in direction to cover the business of architecture rather than the creative discipline per se. And that arbitrary figure seems as good a one as any to take stock and have a moment’s reflection on the…

THE BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE DESIGN OF ARCHITECTURE ARE TWO FUNDAMENTALLY CONNECTED ELEMENTS, AND THERE’S TOO MUCH ARCHITECTURE THAT ENDS UP IN DRAWERS… WHEREAS IT NEEDS TO BE BUILT… AND THAT INVOLVES AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD.” GAVIN KAIN “EVERYTHING WE DO ON OUR SYSTEMS HAS THIS UNDERLYING FOCUS – TO MAKE TIME FOR MORE ARCHITECTURE AND LESS ‘CLERKITECTURE’.” SALLY BRINCAT “AS THE INDUSTRY, AND PARTICULARLY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, BECOMES MORE RISK AVERSE, ARCHITECTS ARE HAVING LESS INFLUENCE OVER PROJECTS DUE TO NOVATED CONTRACTS AND POORLY DESIGNED PROCUREMENT PROCESSES.” SIMON KNOTT “I FELT A SUBCONSCIOUS DUTY AS A WOMAN IN THE DISCIPLINE TO DEMOGRAPHICALLY IMPROVE THE GENDER-IMBALANCED POOL OF LICENCE-HOLDERS, TO BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN WOMEN AS GRADUATES AND WOMEN AS SUCCESSFUL REGISTRANTS.” AMELYN NG…

Hailing from the small yet culturally rich location of Tasmania, Poppy Taylor and Mat Hinds are the architects behind the state’s award-winning practice Taylor + Hinds. Both come from strong backgrounds in the industry, bringing with them a plethora of passion and experience. Hinds developed an interest in architecture in his formative years and knew, quite young, that this was the career in which he pictured himself – indeed, he remembers the exact moment when he came to this realisation. He followed this childhood dream into his education, obtaining a Bachelor of Environmental Design and a Bachelor of Architecture (First Class Honours). Taylor, on the other hand, took a shine to design and the environment, and – not unlike Hinds – pursued this interest at the University of Tasmania (UTAS)…

WHEN SPECIFYING FOR A COMMERCIAL OFFICE BUILDING, FOR EXAMPLE, IT’S NECESSARY TO CONSIDER DOOR SIZE, DOOR WEIGHT AND THE NUMBER OF CYCLES THAT THE DOOR WILL BE REASONABLY EXPECTED TO COMPLETE. If your only response to the words ‘sliding doors’ is ‘isn’t that a movie with Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah?’ you’re genuinely missing out. There is much more to this particular portal than its association with an implausible romantic comedy starring the creator of Goop. When do you think the first sliding door was constructed? Have a guess. The 1800s? Tudor times? Try the first century CE, according to archaeological evidence unearthed in earthquake struck Pompeii, Italy. Of course it was a somewhat rudimentary affair, but the basic technology was all in place way back then. Unsurprisingly, the technology…

SALLY MATTHEWS DIRECTOR, MATTHEWS AND SCAVALLI ARCHITECTS I love Western Australia’s stunning beaches, mysterious forests and human friendly climate. I was reminded of this while having a camping holiday with my girls in a very well named spot, Peaceful Bay. Time away from the ‘big smoke’ and work is essential for me to take a sense of ‘peaceful’ into practice for the 2018 work year. While WA experiences the final whip in the tail of the economic downturn, our practice approach is to have a lithe, agile business, ably multitasking across many areas of industry: residential, multi-residential, commercial and institutional to ride out this out. We are hearing murmurings of once shelved large state projects coming back on line and hope that the economic cycle heads up the curve this…

dormakaba’s Kevin Blacow Kevin Blacow is the product marketing manager Entrance Systems and Export, dormakaba. GLOSSARY: Throughout this issue of AR you will notice icons that indicate the relevant article has material on the website, which may be text, further images and/or video. The icons’ meanings are: Image gallery Video Text Additional text…

“THE BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE DESIGN OF ARCHITECTURE ARE TWO FUNDAMENTALLY CONNECTED ELEMENTS AND THERE’S TOO MUCH ARCHITECTURE THAT ENDS UP IN DRAWERS.“ There are many architects who discover their love for design and the built environment in childhood and Gavin Kain is no exception. But his interests were always diverse and much more far-reaching than architecture alone. He goes so far as to describe himself as something of a nerd in his passion for reading books about history, geography, society, economics and environmental issues. But certainly architecture was included in that list early on. “Architecture was always a dream,” he recalls. “At about 11 years of age there was a development on the coast in Adelaide and for some reason I had a particular interest in it. I…

How important is it for architects to speak a language other than English when collaborating with overseas-based clients or from your own firm’s branch offices and design studios based in other countries? The 'Airport Economist’ Tim Harcourt, in discussing local and global work (AR151), bluntly says, “Being a good operator is more important than having language skills, especially as you will be working with local teams.” But it is rash to dismiss language versatility. “For practices that work extensively for overseas clients, the ability to speak another language would be an asset,” says Nicolette Di Lernia, executive director and national education manager at the South Australian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA). “The level of overseas investment in different parts of Australia would make the benefits of speaking…

From houses to ships, furniture to floors, timber has been used in the construction industry – and thus our everyday lives – for centuries. In the realm of modern architecture, it fell out of favour for a period of time, as new materials and technologies infiltrated the space for their day in the sun. Recent times, however, have seen a resurgence in the use of this reliable and aesthetically pleasing material in architecture. There are a plethora of materials available to architects and builders, and with such a bountiful choice available to them, their selections speak volumes. Timber and hardwoods are experiencing unprecedented levels of popularity in the current market, and there is no denying the visual beauty and sustainability benefits of wood. Australian Sustainable Hardwood (ASH) is an established…

This is not your classic story with the concluding mandate to ‘get registered’. This is also by no means a representative or aggregative picture of architectural registration in Australia. Instead, this is a retrospective incursion into the thoughts of one such recently registered architect – an honest narrative that, while ultimately nothing more than personal opinion, I hope may resonate with other emerging professionals pondering a similar conundrum, and foster new discussions on approaching it. Having only very recently transitioned from an architectural graduate to a registered Victorian architect, it was important for me to reflect on the six dense months of intensive revision preceding the national exam and interview, and the preceding years of accrued architectural experience, and properly examine my underlying ambitions for such an undertaking. This dilemma,…

Advice for young practices starting out. Seek advice from people who have been there before. You don’t quite understand that benefit at the time; it can sometimes feel like it’s not mentoring but instruction, but it’s actually very valuable. How to be successful. Most successful design practices, most successful businesses, if you ask them what was the core of that success, they’ll be able to find a moment… when they chose risk and ambition over safety. How to future proof a practice. The future is ultimately about providing a platform for the next generation. When you come across organisations where largely older people were planning for the future, you know it’s doomed to failure. Not through any lack of skill set or expertise… the world is changing so rapidly now…

Members’ corner. Michael Gay – ACA and AIA member, two-architect practice On ACA : Members have access to tools they can immediately use, particularly the fee calculator, which gives cost estimates based on national research and practice data. This is not something you are taught as a student. The tool gives peace of mind. Other attractions: ■ ACA’s short-form client agreement is perfect for small practice. (The Institute agreement can be a bit cumbersome for what we need.) And there was a webinar to explain it. ■ The Association can focus on business without other burdens like running awards programs. ■ Membership fees cover most benefits. On AIA : The Institute is the profession’s main advocate; i.e. with government, so it is important to support it, even though its benefits…

Architect’s statement. How did the project krakani lumi come to you and how did it evolve? Our involvement in krakani lumi (‘place of rest’) began in early 2012. We approached the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania (ALCT), on hearing that the chair Clyde Mansell, had proposed the idea of an Aboriginal owned and operated guided cultural walk in the area of wukalina and larapuna. We called Clyde the next day and offered our services to the project. At the time we were teaching in the Masters program at the School of Architecture and Design at UTAS – as a way of supplementing our income from practice. We proposed a Design Studio for the following year, in which we set up the project as a speculative brief for the fourth year…