News

The new Materials and Minerals Science building at the Mawson Lakes Campus of the University of South Australia was officially opened on Monday August 6 by Senator Chris Evans, Federal Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research.

Architects in Association John Wardle and Swanbury Penglase were in attendance to share in the festivities in launching the new facility which brings together the work of the Mawson and Ian Wark Research Institutes.

Congratulations to all involved and thanks to UniSA for a fantastic launch event. Click here for more information.

Last Thursday night we celebrated the opening of our photography exhibition as part of the 2012 SALA Festival. The exhibition features both collaborative work and individual photographic pieces by our team, inspired by the theme ‘Architect’s of Human Space’. The exhibition will be available to view till the end of the SALA festival on the 26^th of August, please drop in and enjoy!

Architects and designers filled Adelaide’s Bonython Hall on Saturday night for the 2012 South Australian Architecture Awards. SPA was among them and was thrilled to take home three awards! John Wardle and Swanbury Penglase Architects in Association was awarded the Jack McConnell Award for Public Architecture for University of South Australia’s M²  Building. In the Archicentre Renovations Category we won a commendation for the Trengove Residence, and we were awarded the People’s Choice Award run by the Adelaide Review for Interior Architecture for CBC Junior Campus. Congratulations to the design teams, to all the winners on the night and those who voted for us in the People’s Choice competition.

This year we are excited to have three projects up for the Adelaide Review ‘People’s Choice Award’ as part of the 2012 South Australian Architecture Awards. The Regent Blood Donor Centre and CBC Junior Campus have both been entered in the Interior Architecture category, and the Meehan Residence is up for the Residential Award. The online competition will run until midnight Sunday the third of July. Click here to vote and be in the running for a chance to win an accommodation prize at the InterContinental on behalf of The Adelaide Review. The winning projects will be announced at this year’s Architecture Awards.

On May 31^st at the Annual CEFPI Regional Conference on the Gold Coast, winners of the 2012 CEFPI Australasia Region Educational Facilities Awards were announced. Our recently completed Christian Brothers College Junior School was awarded a National Commendation Award, one of only twelve awards for sixty four entries! Congratulations to the design team and CBC for such a significant achievement.

We were thrilled to be asked by Adelaide’s largest leisure and recreation precinct, Adelaide Shores, to be the main sponsor of this year’s SA Seniors Professional Golfers’ Association Championship. The event was held on May the 4th at the Adelaide Shores Golf Park, Patawalonga Course. Pro golfers Peter Fowler, Rodger Davis and Ossie Moore headed up the three competing teams, which included SPA Director Andrew Phillips, Senior Landscape Architect Peter Semple and Senior Architect Paul Clohesy. The event raised an impressive $12,000 to be divided between Westward Ho Junior Foundation, Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Carers Association.

Swanbury Penglase is taking part in Adelaide’s ‘Open House Day’ event, on the 19^th and 20^th of May as part of South Australia’s History Festival ‘About Time’. Open House Day will showcase Adelaide’s best in heritage, working and cutting edge design. On Saturday the 19^th we would love to see you at Flinders University, 182 Victoria Square, where SPA designers will be conducting tours of the educational facility and discussing the challenges of working within a heritage listed building. Click here for more information about the event.

SPA were engaged by DPTI to document and oversee conservation works to one of Adelaide’s oldest institutions and most significant heritage sites, the Adelaide Gaol. The scope included seismic bracing to a series of brick chimneys, the cleaning, rebuilding, stabilisation, consolidation and repointing of the Yard 3 & 4 Cell Block south wall, the South East Tower & the famous Hanging Tower. The lantern over the Remand Cell Block has been restored and repainted. The internal walls of the towers have been repainted and sections of deteriorated stone window sills and reveals have been replaced. A few previously bricked-up windows on the South East Tower have been reinstated, dramatically enhancing the internal space of what used to be a residence for the overnight guards. The project recently reached practical completion.

As part of South Australia’s History Festival, Adelaide Gaol will be open to the public for self guided tours throughout May, Sunday to Friday, 10am to 5pm.

Team Swanbury Penglase was shortlisted as one of the four finalists in the ‘Zero Carbon Challenge’, a competition run by the Land Management Corporation (LMC) in partnership with the Integrated Design Commission (IDC) to design a family home for a small site in Lochiel Park. For details on our entry click here.

SPA are the proud winners of the South Australian 2012 Red Cross ‘Battle of the Suits Challenge’! The challenge was to have the highest percentage of staff donate blood against other organisations of a similar size between February 14^th and March 13^th. 14% of SPA’s staff are registered blood donors. Together, South Australian organisations made 109 donations during this challenge – saving over 300 lives. Click here for information about how and where to donate blood.

In July/August this year the South Australian Blood Service will move to a new state of the art donor centre in the Regent Arcade. The centre, designed by SPA’s interior team, will be the largest in the country and will provide a convenient location, longer opening hours and an improved experience for South Australian blood donors. Watch this space for more details about the upcoming opening of the Regent Donor Centre.

It’s hard to believe that we are almost a quarter of the way through 2012! The end of March sees Adelaide slow down as the festival season comes to an end but it’s not all bad news – it also means that Issue 45 of Sitenotes is out!

The latest issue takes a look at the University of South Australia’s new iconic Materials and Minerals Science building ‘m2’ and a sneak peek at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service’s new and yet to be opened Donor Centre in the heart (pardon the pun) of the CBD.

To get the full stories, photos and the latest office and staff news contact the office for a copy on (08) 8212 2679.

Issue 43 of Sitenotes is out! The latest release provides some insight into the education infrastructure ‘revolution’ and some great snaps of our BER projects. Senior Architect Dion Byas reflects on the CEFPI Conference 2011 (The Council of Education Facility Planners International) and fills us in on the latest philosophies in learning and their influence on the built environment in educational facilities. For the full story and to catch up on other office news and staff notes, contact the office for a copy of Sitenotes on (08) 8212 2679.