Monash Architecture School

This project for Monash University is to house a new architecture department within the Faculty of Art and Design, due for commencement in 2008. The spaces comprise flexible design studios, academic and research offices, administration and meeting rooms, a CAD/CAM laboratory and a series of informal areas for students and staff.

The design developed as an exploration of pedagogical scenarios specific to the study of architecture. These scenarios, translated as varied sectional conditions, are inscribed in the circulation zones of the plan through a series of faceted walls that loft from one scenario to another.

Constructed of hard-wearing rubber sheet and bulletin-board for the display and presentation of student work, these walls also simultaneously function as bench seat, work bench, model stand or projection screen. Photos of the project's up-to-date progress is shown.

Location: Caulfield Campus, Melbourne
Type: Institutional Fitout
Size: 1200 sq m
Status: Under construction
Design: WSH
Design Team: Steve Hatzellis, Andrew Simpson, Owen West, Stephan Bekhor, Dennis Prior, Eugene An, Ellie Farrell, Olena Demyanenko
Collaborators: Dirk Anderson of UFO
Client: Monash University
Project Manager: Sylvia Hadjiantoniou
Advisors: Professor Andrew Benjamin and Karen Burns
Services: Murchie Consulting
Acoustics: Marshall Day
DDA: Blythe-Sanderson
Structural: T.D. & C.

Cape Liptrap

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up" - Pablo Picasso"

This project for a family coastal residence is located on a stunning site in eastern Victoria. The design is an investigation of how an idealised conception of "house" is transformed by its context and use. The site has extraordinary qualities: harsh prevailing winds of the roaring forties; sloping site; and sublime panoramic views from cape liptrap to wilson's promontory. The residence required maximum flexibility as a beach home that could accommodate varying sleeping needs - anything from a single guest to burgeoning family summer holidays.

The sectional character of the design adopts an idealised child-like profile of a gabled house as a point of departure. However this reading of the architecture is subverted by a reorientation of the plan.

The house twists to accommodate framed views and take advantage of the natural fall of the site, with two wings capturing significant views of the landscape to the east and west. These arms of the building are mediated by an ambiguous space that operates as provisional gallery, entry, veranda, storage, dining, lounging and circulation zone. This contested space engages more directly with the landscape and environment and accommodates shifting patterns of use.

Location: Type: Beach House Size: 160 sq m Status: Under Construction Design: WSH Design Team: Andrew Simspon, Owen West, Steve Hatzellis, Dennis Prior, Stephan Bekhor, Eugene An