Viridian Glass Case Studies 2011
Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort
Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort was awarded the overall winner in the MBA Excellence in Construction Awards 2010. Understated but effective design, a palette of natural building materials and extensive Viridian glazing are a few key elements of Emirates Hotels’ first foray into the sustainable luxury resort market here in Australia.
Canberra Girls Grammar
Re-development of Canberra Girls Grammar is a contemporary education showcase and demonstration by example of lively design connections. A strong, architecture based program has resulted in a highly transparent, responsive solution fully connected to its natural environment.
St Patrick's Cathederal
The newly rebuilt St Patrick’s Cathedral in the Western Australian port city of Bunbury was consecrated on 17 March 2011, more than six years after its predecessor was destroyed by a tornado. Designed by WA based architect Marcus Collins, one of the most eye-catching aspects of the Cathedral’s design is the biblical inspired artwork that fills the Cathedral’s walls of windows. Used in place of stained glass windows, the artwork was reproduced using DigiGlass.
Callignee Two
Chris and Jackie Clarke of Callignee, near Traralgon, some 150 kms east of Melbourne are amongst Victoria's Black Saturday bushfire survivors. Just two weeks before the fires struck, the couple moved into their brand new steel and glasshouse surrounded by the bush they love. It was a short-lived dream. Their idyll was virtually destroyed in the carnage. Determined to resurrect the original house, Chris Clarke went into overdrive and directed his resources to the design and building of Callignee two on the existing footings of the original.
Sea Life
Maximising views from each of the residences was one of the key objectives for a four house development in Collaroy, a beachside suburb just north of Sydney. With the prominent site offering panoramic views across Collaroy beach out to sea and south to Long Reef, this is hardly surprising. Due to the number of windows and doors installed in the development to take in the breathtaking views, energy efficient glass was specified so as not to detrimentally impact on the thermal comfort of the homes. .
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Smith House
Big budgets do not always successfully translate to the big idea. The much maligned MacMansion is proof enough. The catalogue house on a steroid fuelled diet is driven by aspiration rather than inspiration. Quantity is never a substitute for quality and evidence of this abounds where overwrought houses sit cheek by jowl, as profligate energy burners. There’s no doubt ‘big’ is a problem in terms of energy use but, occasionally, it can also
impress unexpectedly. Building designer James Couper delivered far more than 90sq of living space with his design for the Smith House at Wheelers Hill, 15km south east of Melbourne’s CBD.
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Central Institute of Technology
WA’s mining boom has exposed the nation’s skill shortage. The recently opened Central Institute of Technology in Perth demonstrates the level of intent to redress this problem. Light-filled studios, classrooms and communal spaces are central to the creation of unusually bespoke learning spaces. The architecture celebrates a collegiate informality and the State’s vast horizons. High performance Viridian glass and a matching design program create this highly functional answer to the need for skilled training.
St Andrews Beach House
The mid-20th century ushered in a brave new world of residential design that took occupants from their living rooms and connected them deep into the natural environment. Steve Hatzellis’ of HATZ Architects follows this grand tradition that began with Mies van Der Rohe’s Farnsworth House at Fox River, Illinois in 1947. Architecture as lantern and observation deck continues apace. Hatzellis’ design for this St. Andrews Beach house, Victoria contributes to this architectural lineage of vivid connection to place.
St Hilda's Anglican School
As one of Perth’s most prestigious private girls’ schools, St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls wanted to build a swimming pool that would provide its students with first class facilities at which to train and compete. For Carl Payne at Donovan Payne Architects it was a pretty straightforward brief with a relatively simple starting point.
Manly Apartments
Giles Tribe Architects and Urban Planners is the winner of Viridian’s 2011 Vision Award for Best Residential Interiors. In an era of gap fillers and cover strips there is always room for architecture that makes an artwork of high precision. A pair of beachside houses in postcard Manly, on Sydney’s north-shore, also immerse themselves in the hedonistic spirit of place. A restrained palette of concrete, stone, steel and Viridian high performance glass creates a bold, tactile luxury; rock solid yet ephemeral. The project recalls the great modernist visions of luminosity and flowing space.
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Jean De La Valette
Built last year by ship builder Austal Ships, the Jean De La Valette is one of the largest catamarans to have been built by the company here in Australia. The world’s leading builder of fast ferries made the vessel to order for Mediterranean based operator, Virtu Ferries. Since its launch, the 107m long vehicle passenger catamaran runs between Malta and Italy, joining the existing 86m Maria Dolores that was delivered by Austal Ships in 2006. Able to carry up to 800 passengers and 156 cars, at a speed of approximately 38 knots, the Jean De La Valette is the biggest vessel of its type in the Mediterranean.
Top Ryde
A holiday in Croatia 2004 sparked the big idea for Lend Lease architect Graham Jones. The historic waterfront retail and promenade precinct known as The Stradum in Dubrovnik triggered an idea that would eventually resonate in Sydney’s Top Ryde City re-development. The original Top Ryde shopping centre opened in 1957, following Brisbane’s Chermside Drive-in shopping complex, a new paradigm of open-air retail mall-type complexes in Australia. Lend Lease and Graham Jones began the herculean task of Top Ryde’s reinvention in 2004. Completion of the masterplan and construction is due next year. All up around 3,500sqm of Viridian glass was used to help deliver the design response that would enliven shop-fronts and the main body of the building.
A Look at Learning
Swinburne University of Technology’s Advanced Technologies Centre (ATC) is the university’s single largest investment in its 100 year history. Designed by Melbourne based architects H2o architects, the ATC provides a new public face for Swinburne that is representative of its technological focus.
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Giant Steps
Mury Architects is winner of Viridian’s 2011 Vision Award for Best Commercial Interior. Creating a stimulating learning environment is always front of mind when designing schools and similar learning institutions, but Mury Architects faced a far more specific challenge when they were commissioned to extend the teaching space at Giant Steps, a Sydney school for children with autism.
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Mash House
Melbourne architect Andrew Maynard was a finalist in Viridian’s 2011 Vision Award for Residential Energy Efficiency. Plugged to the rear of an inner-city bungalow, the Mash House winks at the recent past yet appears ultra modern. Maynard’s work is enough to make Austin Powers shriek ‘Groovy Baby’. Super transparency, vibrant colours, organic forms and shagpile carpet are all part of the design equation. Fragmented, discrete zones allow the Mash house to effortlessly open or close down. Colour and light are central to this assembly of dynamic living spaces. Viridian double glazed units are a key to removing the usual barriers between inside and out.
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