Swanbury Penglase

SA AIA Awards 2010

Emma — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:28:22 +0000

This year’s awards were held on July 2nd with Swanbury Penglase receiving two prizes. In the Residential Architecture category our Glen Osmond Residence received the John S Chappel award, the jury comments in the citation ‘If architecture needs a champion for sensitive, compact and space efficient, environmentally responsible appropriate suburban residential design, this house has got its gloves on’. As winner of the named award, this project goes into the National AIA Awards program with winners to be announced in late October.

In addition, University College London received a Commendation in the hotly contested Interior Architecture category.

Congratulations to those involved and thanks for all your efforts.

Swanbury Penglase turns 21!

Emma — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:27:09 +0000

Swanbury Penglase officially celebrated their 21^st year with a birthday bash held recently at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre’s new Theatre B. Guests were treated to great food and wine and special guest comedian Claire Hooper got everyone laughing before official cake cutting business. A great evening was had by all with an opportunity to reflect on the past achievements and the relationships built along the way.

Thanks to the party team and for our friends and colleagues for attending.

Sitenotes Update

Emma — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:59:38 +0000

The latest Sitenote has just been issued, with details of recently completed projects, achievements and more. Here are a few highlights…

Swanbury Penglase continues its involvement in the development of an international university precinct in Victoria Square, with the opening of the University College of London. The interior design team worked through the challenges and constraints of working within a heritage building, resulting in a bold and sophisticated interior for the prestigious London based university.

The Swanbury Penglase architecture and landscape teams joined together, in collaboration with Aecom and art consultant Groundplay, to create the recently completed Glenelg tram overpass, which recently received an Excellence Award from the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia.

Collaboration between Swanbury Penglase and Monsoon Architects in WA, saw the development and official opening of a new student hostel in Kununurra by (now) Prime Minister Julia Gillard on the 29^th of May, 2010. The hostel provides students from smaller communities in the Kimberly region the opportunity to complete their high school education at Kununurra District High.

For a copy of the current issue of Sitenotes please contact Swanbury Penglase space@swanburypenglase.com or telephone 8 8212 2679.

website updates

Andrew — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:39:00 +0000

We have recently announced a new Senior Associate team along with Matt Raven, Jason Timberlake, Kon Michael, Nathan Purdie and Brett Grimm being elevated to Associate status. More project pages have also been added into the educational, residential and interiors sections, along with the updated newsletter section with past and present issues as promised.

SA Health & Medical Research Institute

Andrew — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:46:53 +0000

In 2008, Swanbury Penglase was engaged by Ernst and Young on behalf of the SA Department of Health to provide a conceptual building design and site feasibility for the South Australian Health and Medical Research Facility (SAHMRI) on North Terrace, directly adjacent the proposed new Royal Adelaide Hospital site. The building is proposed to house up to 650 biomedical researchers as well as other administrative staff.

As a major component of E&Y’s Full Business Case, the exercise involved the detailed preparation of a project brief, floor plans, elevations and input into a detailed costing. Working closely with specialist laboratory architects S2F, the key laboratory spaces were developed to a high level of detail. Impacts relating to local services infrastructure throughout the north western precinct of the CBD and other site implications including tram and train networks and philosophical and physical connections to the Hospital and the nearby University precinct were comprehensively explored.

The preparation of concept elevations and a media-ready fly-through presentation concluded the exercise.

244 Gilbert Street Offices

Andrew — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:04:26 +0000

The award winning architecture of the building has created a light and open internal volume. Arranged over two levels the ground floor houses the administration hub and client areas including meeting rooms divided by an operable wall for maximum flexibility.

Upstairs houses a single studio space, divided only by the two level void to the entry and foyer. A ‘runway’ space along one side provides circulation for the studio and access to all supporting areas such as the break room, print hub, small meeting room and toilet facilities.

Like the building, internal finishes and fixtures have been selected for their sustainable properties. Recycled timber parquetry is a feature of the foyer, stairs and ‘runway’. Woven 100% wool broadloom carpet finishes the meeting spaces, while remaining areas are finished with carpet tiles that contain recycled content. Workstations are constructed from low emission board and finished with a powdercoat finish. Upholstery fabric to task seating is Eco Wool from sustainably managed wool farmers.

All water fixtures are water saving and when possible toilets use water harvested from the roof and stored in our rainwater tank onsite. Light fittings are electronically ballasted so lighting can be dimmed, but the extensive glazing and light ceiling mean lights are rarely used in the studio space. Operable windows and user operated shades and awnings allow occupants a great deal of control over the internal space and provide a comfortable office environment.

Flinders University Victoria Square

Andrew — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:45:49 +0000

Flinders University chose this historically significant 1963 office building to establish a city presence that would provide a ‘shop front’ for the University in the former banking chamber on the ground floor. The spaces have a strong existing character that instilled a level of sophistication to the brief before we had commenced.

Close attention was paid to the Conservation Management Plan in dealing with the remaining significant fabric. The plan itself was partially derived from a desire to maximize the impact of the Victorian Harcourt granite as a feature. Contrasting stone is used to infill missing strips of the granite flooring, emphasising the former plan of the banking chamber. Perforated metal acoustic elements mimic the ceiling finish while required structural components were made to match the proportion of existing elements so as not to interrupt the space or affect the remaining areas of heritage fabric.

By understanding the cultural significance and architectural qualities of the building, the space can be enlivened for new occupants, inviting another generation into the building. This then is truly the intent of heritage projects to demonstrate value of these assets by allowing the spaces to continue to function in a purposeful way.

University College London

Andrew — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:06:08 +0000

Enhancing SA’s initiative to attract world leading international universities, University College London (UCL) has arrived in Adelaide. UCL is currently ranked fourth in the world and its School of Energy and Resources has been established in the State Heritage Torrens Building, Victoria Square. The design team embraced the opportunity to create a refreshing and bold statement challenging UCL’s previous interior design ideals to create their first international campus with a presence of its own in South Australia.

Working within the constraints of the heritage fabric, the concept explores the notion of ‘the old’ (the Torrens Building itself) and ‘the new’ (UCL’s first International Campus). New walls and joinery are detailed to be independent and easily removed and are designed to appear more as art installations within the spaces.

The fitout is unexpected, bold and sophisticated consisting of seminar and teaching rooms, student study and recreational areas, executive and administrative suites, intermingled with facilities for visiting staff and researchers. The alliance between UCL and Adelaide is visually celebrated throughout the spaces, expressed within graphics and art installations.

This quality project was delivered on time and under budget resulting in a rewarding and successful outcome for both the design team and the client.

Glen Osmond House

Andrew — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:47:58 +0000

A contemporary home designed and equipped to provide the current and future needs of the owners, the residence has a sophisticated open plan form which is highly functional and efficient, expressed via a series of light and airy spaces.

On a small block, the site planning allows for a range of external spaces and locates carparking and workshop functions to the rear to maximise north facing windows and present a considered street presence.

A warm and earthy external palette is expressed with the use of Tasmanian sandstone, cream brick and zinc cladding. The stone continues internally as a feature of the two storey void and complements a blackbutt timber floor which continues throughout the living areas.

Environmental considerations were focused on reducing energy and water usage, whilst delivering on comfort. The building shell is well insulated with shaded double glazed, high efficiency windows and a central thermal mass spine wall to moderate temperature within the house.

Active systems include geothermal air conditioning, photovoltaic panels, solar hot water service, grey water recycling, stormwater reuse and motorised blinds to shade exposed sections of wall elevations. The energy consumption of the house is 40% of that required for a similarly sized residence.

Science Innovation Learning Centre

Andrew — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:18:48 +0000

The project addresses a number of objectives, with a primary focus on the retention of Science and Mathematics students and the creation of a stimulating and innovative series of internal and external study environments. The building form has been designed to reflect aspects of both science and mathematics.

The southern ridge of the Flinders University Campus is the home of the Science and Engineering faculties and is geographically separated from the student campus facilities on the north ridge.

The SILC project provides a student focused facility adjacent to the major teaching areas at the heart of the south ridge, providing casual social spaces, lounges, IT facilities and a flexible project/function/formal teaching facility.

The facilities haven been designed to serve the needs of first year students in particular and allow designed to increase retention rates for students involved in undergraduate academic courses.

The building acts as a focal point in the context of the surrounding buildings and is an ecologically responsible contribution to the overall environment.