Jun 19 2009
The University of Sydney's newest building and landscape projects collected four awards and a commendation in the 2009 NSW Architecture Awards.
The law building designed by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp
The recently opened Law School building, and the new hub of student services the Jane Foss Russell Building, both took out awards for best public buildings.
The judges praised the law building, by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp, for the way it "transforms the relationship of the university mall to Victoria Park and the city".
The building, "divided vertically into a podium and floating superstructure", creates "an urban-scaled opening to the city when viewed from within the campus, and a shimmering gateway to the campus when seen from the park that connects to the historic Wilkinson axis," the judges said.
The law building also took out an award in the sustainable architecture category, and received a commendation in the urban design category for its public domain development, by fjmt with Jeppe Aagaard Andersen, Tinka Sack. The Jane Foss Russell Building received an award for Interior Architecture.
The public domain around the law buildings was praised for the way in which it opened up to the adjacent Victoria Park. "With a strong pedestrian focus and the virtual elimination of cars and at-grade parking from the precinct, the area now provides a more open and inviting entrance to the campus."
The Jane Foss Russell building was designed by John Wardle Architects in association with Wilson Architects and GHD and is located on City Road. The judges said the building "responds dynamically to the pedestrian flows, level changes and urban scale around the site in a chameleon-like, sculptural response."
"The public plaza, crossed by diagonal pedestrian routes, is inspired by the 1920s Wilkinson master plan. Pedestrians feed into it from City Road, the overhead bridge and the Maze Green connection; this busy route will become a lively node when the cafe and retail spaces are tenanted."
The judges made particular mention of the building's library in the Interior award category. "It is generally arranged with coloured book stacks towards the road and a variety of spaces overlooking the gardens and each other," they said.
"A consistent language of brightly coloured banquettes, strange forms wrapped in marmoleum and luminous obscured green-glazed screens separate its different zones, which vary from noisy group spaces to more contemplative, private study areas."
More information about the awards is available on the Australian Institute of Architects' website.