Swanbury Penglase

sitenotes update

Emma — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:38:30 +0000

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.

Parking Day 2011

Emma — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:01:05 +0000

PARK(ing) Day is an annual, worldwide event that invites citizens everywhere to transform metered parking spots into temporary parks for the public good. Started 6 years ago by Rebar Studio in San Francisco, the event has been getting bigger and bigger every year. With strong endorsement and support from Adelaide City Council and growing public support, the Adelaide event is going from strength to strength.

Last year, Adelaide took part for the first time in which Swanbury Penglase and 11 other ‘PARKers’ took part in which we tied as the winner of the Adelaide Review’s People’s Choice Award. This year Daniel Fighera of SPA’s architecture team played an important role in co-organising the event and office was one of 34 ‘PARKers’ to take part.

This year the aim was create our PARK from waste materials that could be recycled afterwards. ‘SPArk’, the title of the PARK, constituted three stool seats, a tree with origami birds and flowers and a paper mache full size bicycle positioned on borrowed faux grass.

Sustainable house day 2011

Emma — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 05:54:53 +0000

Swanbury Penglase is pleased to again be part of Sustainable House Day, a national initiative which sees sustainable homes around Australia opened up to the public, it provides a real demonstration of sustainable practices and principles at work.

Our contribution this year is the Glen Osmond residence, winner of the 2010 AIA John S Chappel Award for outstanding residential architecture.

Please come along and visit between 10am and 4pm, we’ll have people there to show you through and answer any questions you may have. The address is 16 Fowlers Road, Glen Osmond.

For more information on the house visit www.swanburypenglase.com/projects/glen-osmond-house

For more information on sustainable house day go to www.sustainablehouseday.com.

We look forward to seeing you there.

SALA Opening

Emma — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:40:37 +0000

SPA and friends enjoyed the opening of Carly Snowell’s installation for the SALA festival last Friday night. ‘Epical Space’ can be viewed in the SPA office till the 28th of August.

Dialysis Clinics

Andrew — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:04:50 +0000

Swanbury Penglase have for over 20 years provided architectural services for International Health Services provider Fresenius Medical Care in relation to dialysis clinic development in Australia and New Zealand.

For persons receiving dialysis it is generally a regular long term treatment which has a significant impact on their quality of life. Designing facilities which provide both the technical/clinical requirements, and provide attractive, warm, comforting and friendly enviroments are core considerations.

These considerations are further enhanced where facilities are located in areas where the majority of patients are indegenous Australians whose way of life and culture are in many ways at odds with the ‘chemical atmosphere’ and requirments necessary for the treatment delivery.

Swanbury Penglase has undertaken work in the following locations in Australia and New Zealand, Auckland, Alice Springs, Lismore, Newcastle, North Sydney, Norwest in Sydney, Forrest Hill in Melbourne, Malvern in Melbourne, Modbury in Adelaide, Harley in Adelaide, Allamanda in Southport, Warwick North Perth, Coolbellup South Perth, Spearwood in Perth, Chermside in Brisbane and Calvary Hospital in Bruce. These projects range from a purpose built, stand-alone facility in Alice Springs, to refurbishment and fitouts of existing buildings or parts of hospitals to clinics for ‘Home Therapy’ training.

St. Andrews Multipurpose Hall

Andrew — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 02:21:15 +0000

This project presented some significant design challenges, involving a highly constrained site, a prominent location, and the heritage listed Old School building.

The façade of the building has been divided up into a series of conjoined pods, moderating the bulk of the building and setting up rhythms relating to some of the musical, dance and sporting activities that take place inside.

The precast concrete structure of the gymnasium sits boldly within the school grounds at the corner of Smith Street and Church Terrace. Slices of full height glazing provide the interior with an abundance of natural light while aesthetically moderating the building mass.

Splashes of bright paint colours hint at the vibrant spaces within. Paying homage to the school’s beginnings, the original schoolhouse, opened in 1850, has been restored to its former glory. Careful attention was paid to setting back the new building work from the Old School to ensure that the heritage integrity of the Old School building is preserved.

We worked closely with acoustic consultants AECOM to ensure sound quality within the building use and acoustic containment to avoid sound intrusion to neighbouring residences. The project was fast tracked to avoid getting caught in the peak of BER projects; this was successfully achieved through close collaboration with the construction manager Collaroy during the design and documentation process.

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat

Andrew — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:32:53 +0000

Work for this project involved a detailed feasibility and master planning exercise for the Ballarat City Council on Her Majesty’s Theatre, a significant heritage listed building in the heart of Ballarat. The preparation of a Conservation Management Plan in association with McDougall & Vines enabled us to understand clearly the degree of significance associated with the development and subsequent adaptation of the original theatre. It was possible to develop a policy framework for conservation and adaptation to meet the increasing operational demands, whilst maintaining the integrity of this significant asset.

We were then able to develop and test issues of conformance, compliance and operational imperatives for the theatre. This involved managing consultations with the theatre management, multiple stakeholders and the city council on the competing demands; including facilitating public forum to test the theatre management’s understanding of ‘needs’.

The brief was then tested via a series of options for adaptation and enhancement, and an agreed staged proposal endorsed.

The project is now being reviewed by the client and moves into the financial modelling and funding stage prior to implimentation.

Findon Library

Andrew — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:05:37 +0000

This compact branch library, conveniently located within the Shopping Centre, caters to a diverse group of people of all ages and backgrounds.

Along with traditional lending services, the library is home to internet access, gaming consoles and music listening points, providing users with facilities for both study and leisure activities.

A vibrant colour scheme of charcoal, green and teal provides a dynamic feel and is at home in this retail context. The design provides a wide variety of settings to cater for both groups and individuals.

A large meeting space is available for after hours use and can be separated from the rest of the library if required. A new cafe is situated adjacent and is available for library patrons to further encourage people to spend time in the space.

Barr Smith Library L3

Andrew — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:39:39 +0000

A temporary refurbishment of underutilized space on Level 3 provided a space for collaborative student work away from areas for quiet study.

Deliberately non institutional, the space is designed to feel like a home away from home, particularly for international students who rely most heavily on the University for places to meet and study.

A raised platform to the centre provides structure and interest to the large open space which is filled with a variety of mobile furniture to allow students to reconfigure the space to suit. Additional power and data is provided throughout to facilitiate the growing use of laptops.

The main circulation area was refurbished at the same time with the service desks also mobile and modular to allow for relocation when further library changes came online. The space has been well received and has reinforced the University’s decision to provide more social and flexible spaces within the library itself.

Pharmaceutical Engineering PC2 Lab

Andrew — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:52:28 +0000

Designed to support and promote new programs that form part of the Pharmaceutical Engineering course now offered at The University of Adelaide, this new PC2 laboratory is a tangible form of contact with real world science, set up to mimic commercial laboratories and introduce students to commercial laboratory practice. It also provides Post Graduate and Honours students with facilities of an appropriate standard to suit the research being undertaken.

The higher level of containment (PC2) enables the laboratory to undertake a wide variety of activities and will enable AQIS (Australian Quarantine Inspection Service) certification, ensuring compliance with OGTR (Office of Gene Technology Regulator) requirements.

The lab facility consists of two air locked ante spaces, one for personnel (staff and students), the other for deliveries and waste, a tissue culture room with a clean room classification D, equipment area, process area and wash-up/decontamination area. A cool room serves the process areas to store perishable consumables. Outside the personnel ante room is a teaching space, with locker storage for students and movable furniture to allow student write-up and briefings before and after laboratory sessions.