Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 162 i Architectural Review Asia Pacific

This issue is being published to coincide with BoAD, the inaugural Business of Architecture and Design conference, which is produced by the publisher of this magazine, Niche Media. One of the events being held in said conference is a seminar on the Male Champions of Change – the excellent group formed to help redress the balance of power gender-wise, across multiple industries. There have been a number of forward-thinking architectural practices that have signed up to the initiative. One is Hayball, with long-time director Richard Leonard revealing in a Business of Architecture and Design podcast (yes, another Niche production) that if Hayball architects are invited onto panels they will no longer participate unless, or until, the panels have gender parity. Cracking stuff and hooray for Hayball. But with all this…

In the previous issue of AR, we examined the benefits of being responsive and not reactive, and how the ability to pause and process before making a decision or taking action is a highly desirable trait to develop. This issue, we look at the big picture. HABIT 2 – BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything. I’m sure you have heard this modern exhortative statement used in political discussion. However, have you considered its implication in the world of architecture? If you don’t build for something, be that a greater reason or core value, you will build for anything. For example, reduced fees, low quality outcomes or simply outside of your business’ target market. Basically, you’ll be working to create outcomes…

The architecture and design industry is one filled with creativity, imagination and hard work, but it is also an industry that is incredibly fluid and ever-changing with many hiring contractors or working as contractors. The industry can often be unpredictable and dealing with anxiety and stress has become a reality for many architects. While this may sound quite doom and gloom, the silver lining is that there are practical and real solutions to dealing with the unpredictable nature of the industry. Simon Rountree is the Founder of Change Ready and an expert in change leadership and workplace wellness. He has provided some top tips on how to navigate challenges such as redundancy, contract work and the need for a career change. UNPREDICTABLE NATURE OF CONTRACT WORK Creating routines are an…

AR: Can you talk about the foundation of Karakusevic Carson Architects? When I formed the practice, public housing design was not really a subject in the UK; however, we persevered and our first housing brief was for a small community housing trust in East London. This was approximately 15 years ago and the challenge of making the best housing with a limited budget was fascinating. This experience gave us a track record in affordable housing and we won a national pilot program for council house building when Gordon Brown, then the new UK Prime Minister, announced new funding for local government housing programs in 2007. This commission was career changing. The first projects were in Barking and Dagenham and the brief allowed us to investigate the idea of what public…

AR: In simple terms what does WillowDigital do? Tom White: Willow is the digital twin for the built world. We are a technology company revolutionising the way we design, build, operate and interact with the built environment. Through our software and services, we are converting bricks-and-mortar assets into living, learning, evolving digital twins. From the outset, we’ve had an entire arm of our business, WillowDigital, which works at the design and construction phase of a building’s life to enable its digital twin. This expertise in architecture, digital engineering and information structuring allows Willow to introduce digital twins to the building owner very early in the project. This allows Willow to shape the customer’s digital and technical requirements prior to the general contractor being appointed; we work with the supply chain…

Specialist healthcare design is a rapidly growing sector for many architecture firms. According to Healthcare Design magazine’s 2018 Architecture/ Engineering and Construction (A/E/C) Survey1 , while working in the healthcare sector has its challenges, more firms than ever are entering this arena. It should be noted that the typology/ definition of specialist healthcare design is extremely diverse. It incorporates a wide range of health-related architecture including: acute and non-acute hospitals (including independent living and retirement villages), ambulatory services (including day procedure centres), integrated and community care centres, as well as medical clinical teaching facilities, and scientific and educational laboratories. “IT IS A CONSTANT LEARNING CURVE AS MEDICAL PRACTICES ARE EVOLVING AT A GREAT RATE.” – PETER TIMMINS, HSPC While many larger firms have some experience working in the healthcare sector,…

When trying to predict the future it is always important to reflect on the past and take stock of the present. Innovations in architecture and transformations in its practices have always been closely linked to technological change and practices of representation. For example, inventions such as the drawing compass, the perspective drawing and the computer have had a direct impact on architectural practices, including our discipline’s conceptual vocabulary, assumptions and understanding of space and form; our practices of representation; our practices of design and making; our educational curriculum; the organisation of the office and the designed and built object. A key difference to technological innovations of the past is the present exponential rate of change. We are in the age of the Anthropocene and as a society we are facing…

Late paying clients are one of the biggest frustrations for small business owners in the architecture industry. They have a detrimental effect on your business’ cash flow, causing you not only unnecessary stress and worry, but some serious financial concerns. If late paying clients are the bugbear of your business, you’re not alone. On average, half of all Australian small businesses report that 40 percent of their invoices are paid late. To save yourself the stress and worry, putting systems and processes in place to ensure you get paid on time should be a key priority. By taking the time to implement these, you will find your cash flow becomes more consistent and reliable, in turn helping your business run smoothly all year round. Here are some quick and simple…

Travelling to South Africa and India while studying at university, HY William Chan met with vulnerable slum communities on the very fringes of urban sprawl. “That helped me to really understand the skillsets of an architect, and how to apply those skills to solve real problems on the ground,” he says. “Seeing first-hand how different solutions can come about when you work with people and they become your partners.” A safe, secure home is vitally important, and imbuing communities with a sense of ownership is transformative. “We sometimes forget that for people who don’t have much, where they live and what that looks like is everything they have,” Chan adds. “If they can create better environments for themselves by taking on the skills I know, well, that’s incredibly rewarding.” Chan…

Igloo designs, develops and delivers immersive 360-degree domes, cylinders and all of the enabling technologies. Stepping inside one of its immersive spaces is a bit like stepping inside a giant VR headset. And, because anything up to 750 people can get inside, it is always a shared experience. For any AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) companies that create three-dimensional, CAD, CGI or BIM content, use 360-degree films or fly-throughs, or want to show clients or stakeholders how finished concepts will look and feel, Igloo provides a fully-immersive visualisation platform. Typical applications include: CAD and BIM visualisations, sales and bid support, community and stakeholder engagement, open days and events, virtual site visits, collaborative design reviews, site monitoring and contractor education, and asset and facilities management briefings. THE AEC LIFE CYCLE Igloo…

AR: What do you think MPavilion means for the city? Glenn Murcutt: This is the fifth MPavilion and, as time has gone on, it’s become more significant as an event rather than the pavilion. The pavilion represents the vehicle in which things take place, but to have a structure for them to take place is a great opportunity for an architect. And the great risk, of course, is not to produce a fandango; you need to produce a work that has serenity, a quietness about it, an elegance. And for it to be something that will last out the 20 years, not only in the material sense, but also in its design. Now, a lot of architecture produced today is not architecture; it’s essentially merchandise. I’m interested in simplicity, and…

In the past, Australian architecture joint ventures (JVs) have typically involved bringing together interstate peers to provide complementary expertise and/or proximity, or practices joining forces to deliver specialised buildings, or collaborations between different-sized firms to enhance capacity and upscale their projects. But a new trend is emerging: Australian firms are partnering with international practices to deliver large-scale projects. This trend is driven largely by clients, especially state government clients that stipulate the use of international firms in design competitions, such as the WA Museum project (currently in construction, by OMA and HASSELL), the Adelaide Contemporary International Design Competition (won by Diller Scofidio and Renfro and Woods Bagot, currently shelved) and the Sydney Fish Market (won by 3XN with BVN and Aspect Studios). Another good example is the current relocation of…

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when producing video content is thinking that the job is done once the video is uploaded to their website. In actuality, that is only the beginning of your video asset generating some return on your investment. And, like all assets, you should make it sweat. Here are some top tips on how to increase the exposure of your video: PLACEMENT – AIM HIGH! If you have taken the time and put in the effort and cost of producing a video, then invest a bit more time and talk to your developers about having it visible within your site. The better positioned your video, the higher play rate it’s going to have and the better results you’re going to get from it.…

ABOUT THE CLIENT Lanes Group is the UK’s largest independent drainage and utilities specialist. One of its most important contracts is to unblock, clean and repair drains and sewers for 15 million Thames Water customers. With a commitment to health, well-being and employee safety, Lanes has received the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Gold Award for 10 consecutive years. SHARED VR As part of a full program of innovative and linked training and well-being initiatives, Lanes co-invested in an Igloo Shared VR system with Thames Water, in the form of a seven-metre Igloo Vision projection cylinder, which was installed at its Customer Solutions Centre in Berkshire. THE STRATEGY The Shared VR system had several components: A 360-degree high impact video complete with spatial-surround sound – this introduced the…

Cosh Living Tao table and Tosca armchairs by Tribu The elegant Tribu Tao table is a lesson in perfectly balanced contrasts – bold sculptural pedestals and slim table tops that are pleasing to the touch. Italian designer Monica Armani has used refined concrete to give a look of elegant solidity to this dining and coffee table. The dining table has a central pedestal, which supports a finely milled round table top. The Tao tables come in warm, natural linen and wengé tones to create striking centrepieces for any setting. Pictured here with the Tosca armchairs. www.coshliving.com.au Laufen VAL by Konstantin Grcic The extraordinary design potential of Laufen’s revolutionary SaphirKeramik reveals itself in the new bathroom collection VAL designed by Konstantin Grcic. The stunning VAL washbasin collection includes a rectangular and…

Earlier this year, I sat for registration. In my interview I was asked why a client should hire an architect, in place of a building designer or the like. I replied a prescribed and studied statement, but in actuality, I honestly do not know. As a young architect I frequently ponder my relevance. What is my value in the changing landscape of the built environment? And ultimately is this career worth it if I can do everything within my power as an architect but circumstances prevail, and I am still found liable within a failing system? The title of ‘architect’ projects romantic connotations of authority and artistry, but for a creative field the architectural process is particularly monotonous. We put our faith in design innovation and are neglecting change in…