JUDGING is underway for the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2015 ACT Architecture Awards, to be announced at an exhibition and presentation dinner in QT Canberra on June 20.
![By rchitects Daryl Jackson and Alastair Swayn, The Snow Centre for Education in the Asian Century, Canberra Grammar School, photo Joh nGollings]()
By architects Daryl Jackson and Alastair Swayn, The Snow Centre for Education in the Asian Century, Canberra Grammar School, photo John Gollings
According to prominent Australian architect and Jury Chair, Hal Guida, the 48 entries in the awards reveal “a new Canberra emerging”. Guida said: “This year confirms Canberra as a growing and dynamic place with initiatives such as the light rail, the new Canberra International Airport terminal [his firm designed it, so he should know], and coming developments along Constitution Avenue.”
![By architects Fender Katsalidis, NewActon Nishi buliding, photo JohnGollings]()
Architects Fender Katsalidis, NewActon Nishi buliding, photo John Gollings
In his view, Canberra is revealed as “a dynamic global city with serious depth in what it offers.” The entries, he said, had a combined construction value of more than a billion dollars completed within the last 3-4 years, providing evidence of a vibrant construction industry that represented around 5.4 per cent of GDP in Canberra in 2013/2014.
![AXIS Hair Braddon. Sugar Designs + PELLE Architects. Photographer Luis Power]()
AXIS Hair Braddon. Sugar Designs + PELLE Architects. Photographer Luis Power
Entries this year range from small projects such as shading devices and home additions, to new terrace housing, apartment buildings, a new urban centre and a new swimming pool at the Chinese Embassy, completed to coincide with the visit by Chinese President Xi Jinxing in 2014.
But Guida believes the annual awards have a serious side to them. “These award entries always show Canberra’s best side,” he concedes, ‘they also reveal how far we have to go.”
ACT Chapter President, Andrew Wilson agrees, saying “The ACT Government is making a solid investment in better transport choice, and a suite of bold policies are needed…Architects, their clients and contractors are the ones who make this planning real so we look forward to making this reform agenda a reality too.’
![Tait Waddington, Drakeford Drive Pedestrian Bridge, photo Tait Waddington]()
Tait Waddington, Drakeford Drive Pedestrian Bridge, photo Tait Waddington
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