A koala sanctuary and old beer factory: Australian architects punching above their weight
By Julie Power
Koalas and beer. It doesn’t get more Australian.
The country’s first facility for breeding and releasing koalas back into the wild and the adaptive reuse of the old Carlton and United Brewery Yard on Sydney’s Broadway are among a wide range of Australian projects shortlisted for this year’s World Architecture Festival.
The 20-year transformation of the 6.7-hectare CUB site into The Brewery Yard near Central Station ushered in a new era of high-density city life in Sydney, said architect Alexander Tzannes, the principal of Tzannes.
Guulabaa – Place of Koala, by Gensler, has been shortlisted in the World Architecture Festival. Credit: Forestry Corporation of NSW
The last stage of the project, the adaptive reuse of CUB’s disused Kent Brewery in Chippendale, was shortlisted in two award categories.
“What was a brownfield industrial site is now one of the city’s most significant mixed-use neighbourhoods,” Tzannes said.
When the idea was floated, there was no precedent for such projects, said Tzannes, whose architectural practice, together with Cox Richardson Architecture, won the original design competition to create the area’s master plan.
The Brewery Yard near Central Station by Tzannes has been shortlisted in two categories of the World Architecture Festival. Credit: The Guthrie Project
Today its density is close to Manhattan’s. Back then, it was a battle to win approval.
“It is on Broadway, near Central, near UTS and other campuses, near Victoria Park and shopping centres … It is not a village. I remember saying, if you can’t put density here, where can you put it?” he said. “There was also a feeling nobody was interested in occupying the old brewery.”
Australian architects are over-represented in a global short list that includes a New York film studio, a noodle bar, the interior design of a rainforest hotel in Singapore, a plaza in London’s Canary Wharf and a wildlife eco-park.
Alex Tzannes, principal of Tzannes.Credit: Toby Burrows
Of 468 projects, the US had the most on the shortlist with 52, followed by the UK (50), Australia (37), China (35) and India (23).
The World Architecture Festival is the largest and most hyped of international architecture competitions, featuring live judging sessions that could be called “Architects’ Got Talent”.
“Only at WAF are you judged by your peers, your heroes and the industry’s power players, all live at the festival,” says the pitch.
In contrast with many of the big projects shortlisted, Ken McBryde, design director at the architecture firm Gensler Australia, said Guulabaa (the place of koala) was “almost an austere project, bare bones, but made in a grand way”.
McBryde said the Forestry Corporation of NSW project near Wauchope included a “bush chapel” made of seven-metre telegraph poles and fire-resistant Australian hardwoods.
Yallamundie Library in Liverpool, designed by fjcstudio, is a finalist in the World Architecture Festival. Credit: Brett Boardman
It is designed for Indigenous educational programs and can also host weddings.
The area was devastated by the 2019-20 bushfires, which killed millions of native animals, including koalas. The work by Gensler includes an Aboriginal cafe and a gallery and is located next to a koala conservation centre by AJC Architects.
The Wild Koala Breeding facility, operated by Koala Conservation Australia, is a world-first conservation project to save koalas from extinction. McBryde said it would set a global benchmark for conservation-led development. He said the precinct would raise awareness that “koalas and the harvesting of trees can go hand in hand”.
Other Australian projects include the new Yellamundie library at Liverpool by fjcstudio, the high-rise One Sydney Harbour by Renzo Piano, the adaptation of Rosebery Engine Yards by Group GSA, Pyrmont Community Centre by Welsh + Major, the interior of Shell House by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects and the Sirius Redevelopment by BVN.
Two metro stations were also shortlisted, including Martin Place by Grimshaw, and Central by Woods Bagot with John McAslan + Partners.
The World Architecture Festival will take place at Miami Beach Convention Centre from November 12 to 14. worldarchitecturefestival.com
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.