architecture bulletin Parks, Pools & Recreation THE LEISURE ISSUE A CENTURY OF ZOO DESIGN Taronga Zoo celebrates its centenary IN CONVERSATION John Choi, Philip Coxall, Nick Wood + Sarah Clift COASTAL LEISURE Reinventing the beach pavilion 01 0PB 03 0PB TUR_FullPageAdvert_ArchitectVictoria_Bulletin_OUT.FA.indd 1 27/01/2016 3:03 pm OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS NSW CHAPTER On the cover: Ballast Point Park (detail) by CHROFI and McGregor Coxall. Photo: Brett Boardman. CONTENTS EDITOR HANNAH MCKISSOCK-DAVIS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE CHAIR ANDREW NIMMO [email protected] EDITORIAL COMMITTEE ACROSS THE CHAPTER NICOLA BALCH [email protected] 02 Editor’s message NONI BOYD 03 President’s message [email protected] 04 Chapter news AMELIA HOLLIDAY [email protected] DAVID TICKLE [email protected] IN FOCUS 06 Leisure in the Age of Technology Andrew Nimmo COPY EDITOR Monique Pasilow 10 A Century of Zoo Design Rachel Couper MANAGING EDITOR 14 A Swimmable City Sarah Clift in conversation with Nicola Balch Audrey Braun NSW Chapter Manager 16 Coastal Leisure Scott Hawken SUBSCRIPTIONS (ANNUAL) 20 Space to Play Philip Coxall + John Choi in conversation with Shaun Carter Five issues $60, students $40 [email protected] 24 Our Central Park David Tickle EDITORIAL OFFICE 26 A Life Aquatic Michelle Tabet Tusculum, 3 Manning Street Potts Point NSW 2011 (02) 9246 4055 28 How Soon is Now? Sam Spurr, Ben Hewett + Cameron Bruhn in conversation with Anthony Burke PATRONS 32 David Lindner Prize Essay: Something Fishy TYP-TOP Architecture Bulletin thanks all its patrons for their 34 In the Shade Nick Wood in conversation with Mark Szczerbicki ongoing support: 37 Patron Case Study: Boheme Philip Vivian MAJOR PATRONS HASSELL Bates Smart Crone Partners fjmt IN MEMORIAM Group GSA 38 Stuart Murray + Ken Woolley Michael Bogle Lend Lease Design Mirvac PATRONS Cox Richardson OBITUARY SUPPORTERS Allen Jack+Cottier 41 Jennifer Taylor (1935 – 2015) Tanner Kibble Denton Architects NSW CORPORATE PARTNER Mitchell Brandtman Gosford Quarries ISSN 0729 08714 Published five times a year, Architecture Bulletin is the journal of the Australian Institute of Architects, NSW Chapter (ACN 000 023 012). Continuously published since 1944. 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This publication is printed using vegetable based PO BOX ASSOCIATE EDITOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT soy inks. 2371, Richmond South VIC 3121 Belinda Smart MANAGER Michael Dolphin 01 EDITOR’S LETTER In celebration of the warmer weather, holiday And Nicola Balch sits down with Sarah Clift and Anthony Burke catches up with the creative season and longer days, Architecture Bulletin has from the Parramatta River Catchment Group to directors of the 2016 National Conference to come to focus on the role architecture plays in discuss making a swimmable river in Sydney’s hear the latest on their plans for Adelaide. And shaping our leisure time. The editorial west. finally we say farewell to Stuart Murray, Ken committee met to ponder - how do we as a Woolley and Jennifer Taylor. profession design for the experience of leisure? Andrew Nimmo reminisces on Brisbane’s Expo 88 and ponders the myth of technology allowing Leisure can encompass many ideas: relaxation, us increased leisure time. Mark Szczerbicki Andrew Nimmo luxury, cultural engagement, distraction and speaks to recent DROGA resident, Nick Wood, Chair of the Editorial Committee wellbeing. There is always a transaction or about his research into the Australian awning. transformation associated with leisure spaces and And Michelle Tabet looks to the 2016 Venice Hannah McKissock-Davis Editor environments; the visitor is transformed – either Architecture Biennale with her reflection on the relaxed and rejuvenated, or inspired and swimming pool. entertained. So how do we create the spaces that inspire these notions? We also take a look at other Institute programming: Andrew Daly from TYP-TOP The legislation of a 40 hour week, paid annual reports on the Lindner Prize research from 2015 leave and long service leave in Australia during the 1940s inspired a new and acceptable form of leisure. With its population’s increased desire to separate from the everyday, working self, NSW increased its parks, pools, beach pavilions, hotels and motels. Leisure continued to become a focus for architectural interpretation, and we were delighted to discover that by coincidence Architecture in Australia had run a leisure-themed issue exactly 50 years ago (see illustrated - January 1966, vol.54 No.4). But how have these early interpretations of leisure developed to adapt to a contemporary audience? In this issue of Architecture Bulletin Scott Hawken looks at the current refurbishment of Sydney’s iconic coastal typology – the beach pavilion – and Rachel Couper takes us on architectural journey of Taronga Zoo it celebrates its 100th birthday. Shaun Carter speaks with John Choi The cover of the Leisure issue - Architecture in Australia, January 1966, Vol.54, No.4. (CHROFI) and Philip Coxall (McGregor Coxall) about their innovative collaborations on park designs. David Tickle continues the park theme, focusing on Sydney’s Central Park development and its take on inner city leisure. 02 CHAPTER NEWS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Australians pride themselves on their laid-back Even more important for us, the appointment of culture; we like to think of ourselves as Institute member Rod Simpson as Environment no-nonsense, practical and straightforward. For Commissioner is an extremely positive move. us the beach and the bush, sporting fields and Rod’s experience and expertise make him the great outdoors are the places we feel most admirably suited for this new role. He led the connected to because they exemplify the values urban design and spatial planning component of of openness, play, freedom and our delight in the the City of Sydney’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 natural environment that we all share. Strategy and has been Director of the Urban Design Program at the University of Sydney for Leisure is the highly appropriate theme for this the last four years. Prior to these achievements summer issue of Architecture Bulletin. When you he developed the Green Olympic Village consider international tourism is the world’s concept, was Manager of Urban Design at the biggest commercial service sector industry it’s Sydney Harbour Federation Trust and was not surprising that much of the work of involved in the development of the ‘City of architects do is in some way related to leisure. Cities’ metropolitan strategy for Sydney. Think of the number of architects involved in restaurant and café designs, as well as hotels, Another esteemed Institute member was airports, parks, retail, zoos and all the other recognised in a major appointment late last year. facilities at the big end of the leisure scale. Helen Lochhead has been appointed Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment at the Our laid back lifestyle helps us to create University of NSW, replacing Professor Alec welcoming, relaxing environments, so leisure is Tzannes in February this year. Helen is moving an area of work in which Australian architects on from her roles as Deputy NSW Government are highly competitive. Architect and Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney. Previously she has also Continuing on the theme of leisure this year, for taught at UTS and internationally at Harvard, the international audience we will see the MIT, Columbia University and the New York realisation of Australia’s pool-themed exhibition Institute of Technology. at the 2016 Venice Biennale - which expresses our love of water and how we relate to it. This Helen is a previous recipient of both Fulbright exhibition is our opportunity to demonstrate to and Churchill Fellowships, and most recently the world the varied and creative ways we have completed a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard integrated and interpreted the pool into some of University interrogating proposals and our best building designs. See the article on Page governance models for more resilient and 26 for more on this major project. liveable cities. She is a Fellow of the Institute and is Honorary Secretary of the National The past year ended well for the Institute’s role Council. in advocating strategic improvements in the