news05.qxd 4/19/01 12:51 PM Page 1 Construction of the major new volume was a complex engineering feat, as the site is all sand, and the existing building and garden walls were not structurally robust In the process of the redevel- Woollahra Municipal Council Offices opment, increased public access to all parts of the garden has been achieved , and the very significant garden setting has been re- instated The new building was designed to maintain a number of mature trees on the site - in particular, one bay of the new office area has a suspended slab above the ground and has been aligned around a large brushbox to minimise root disturbance Special drainage and feeding provisions ensure their long term preserva- tion All visitors to Redleaf can enter through the original front door Civic functions take place in the historic house, while corporate activities occur in the new office accessed by a downward exten- photographer - nic bailey sion of the main staircase The public counter area overlooks the harbour as do all offices and staff amenities A new approach to office design has developed a healthy work space moulded into a striking architectural form The new Redleaf was officially opened by His Excellency, Hon Gordon Samuels AC, CVO, Governor of New South Wales on February 22, 2001 AJ+C Project team Keith Cottier, Michael Heenan, Mark Corbet, Ross Chalmers, Tom Dash, Belinda Falsone, Berit Lode, Kathlyn Loseby, Michele Reid, Bernard Rowe, Daniel Staebe, Jayne Whitford, John Whittingham# Consultants Builder Buildcorp Structural Engineers Taylor Thomson Whitting Quantity Surveyors Page Kirkland Partnership Electrical Engineers Lincoln Scott Mechanical Engineers Advanced Environmental Concepts Landscape Architects Terragram Heritage Architects Design 5 photographer - liz cotter photographer - liz cotter edleaf is one of the few surviving mid nineteenth century grand attributes this house to the architect George Allen Mansfield, who By 1997 the Council staff were inefficiently cramped into every Rmansions that once dominated the eastern foreshore of Sydney learnt his trade at Hillys office, and was in partnership with Hilly nook and cranny of Redleaf, and the Councillors of the day Harbour The Victorian Italianate style building was constructed in up until 1859 Burringurroolong was built in 1880, but may have embarked upon much soul searching to determine whether they 1863 as the residence of William Benjamin Walker, a son of the suc- been designed earlier So, the architect of Redleaf remains a mys- should quit the site or seek to reorganise and provide additional cessful merchant who had founded William Walker & Co tery, but almost certainly both buildings are by the one, or the accommodation at Redleaf They chose to stay, and AJ+C were other, or both! ultimately selected to plan the reorganisation, with Design 5 as The design of Redleaf has previously been ascribed to the architect associated conservation architects John Frederick Hilly, but no documentary evidence has been found Woollahra Municipal Council purchased the property in 1940, as part of the improvements to Seven Shillings Beach For a short to verify his authorship The AJ+C solution stripped away all the additions to the north, time it was leased to Caroline Eliza Hall for the business of home east and west (leaving only the courtyard infill section), restored In the course of Allen Jack + Cottiers recent involvement as archi- entertaining, and from 1941 to 1947 was occupied by the RAAF In the significant external elements such as the original verandah, and tects for the buildings refurbishment, another almost identical 1961 additions were made to the north and east of the building and created a new 2000 m2 office space below the level of a new garden building was discovered Named Burringurroolong and, situated the Council moved in Further additions took place in 1965, 68 and area to the north Once again the villa sits in a landscaped setting, outside Goulburn, it has a remarkably similar plan and many iden- 69, seriously blurring the relationship of the original building with overlooking the harbour tical details In his book Australian Country Houses, Clive Lucas its spectacular setting news05.qxd 4/19/01 12:53 PM Page 2 Fitness First - Wollongong KLCC Luxury condominiums (Formerly Healthland International) In 1996, AJ+C won a limited competition Precincts 4 & 5 188 Oxford Street The Fitness First health group engaged for the design of twin 45 storey residential Bovis Lend Lease and AJ+C to help expand towers in Kuala Lumpur These towers its chain of clubs into the South Coast were to sit on the opposite side of the new region Opened in February 2001, the Central Park to Cesar Pelli's Petronas Wollongong Health Club represents a Towers $2 5m investment into the revitalized cen- Work on the project was curtailed by the photographer - liz cotter tre of the city 'Asian crisis' but has recently been revived photographer - kate mountstephens utting the new offices below the garden has with a slightly amended brief AJ+C, Pachieved a number of environmental benefits together with Peter Monckton, are now of Sydney in the catchment area of AJ+C, in conjunction with Advanced reworking the proposal with a Warragamba Dam Environmental Concepts, have capitalised on the Development Application equivalent to be passive design techniques for natural ventilation submitted in March this year and construc- Sydney Catchment Authority engaged and day-lighting, putting it at the forefront of photographer - kerry dundas photographer - ltony spragg photographer - assassi tion programmed to commence in January AJ+C and Mainstay Pty Ltd to undertake green technology 2002 the works to St Senan's Church, the former Natural Ventilation and Solar Control Police Station and the former Courthouse, A combination of north-facing facade, horizon- all of which are soon to be listed on the tal light shelves and vertical fin projecting from photographer - tony spragg photographer -tony spragg State Heritage Register The works include each bay controls overheating from summer landscaping of the surroundings to the sun Enthusiasm, interpretative skills, design talent and a genuine interest in making a better world make Thermal chimneys at the back of the office buildings and initial stabilisation of the her- space will use the natural stack effect to expel tocklands chose Allen Jack + Cottier to design gle storey has a skillion roof pitching up to the Keith a rare treasure and wonderful role model for architects everywhere itage fabric photographer - nic bailey hot air from the top of the office space while Stwo of the seven residential precincts in their north, the high point of the roof thus providing drawing in fresh air from the front which is nat- Paddington Green Development on the for- visual privacy for the courtyard from the adjacent Ken Maher Master Builders Awards urally cooled by plants and harbour breezes mer Royal Womens Hospital Facing onto units behind, and providing good solar access Located in a former carpark the new flag- The surrounding earth, exposed concrete beams the new street, Flinton Terrace, precincts 4 This arrangement involved a ship 2600sqm health club includes a café, Our Lady of Fatima Church, Caringbah, and insulated ceiling slabs provide thermal mass and 5 are tucked away in the centre of the change to the master plan, gymnasium and weights, circuit, aerobics won the Best Use of Timber in any build- which moderates temperature variations in both site which tumbles down the hill from but the logic was soon and spin studios The club can service 250 ing (NSW) category and the Best Public winter and summer Oxford Street to Glenmore Road realised and these par- members during peak times and utilizes Building under $2 5m (NSW) category at The thermal mass absorbs excess summer heat ticular houses were eith Cottier has been awarded the Gold Medal for 2001 because the Heritage Council of New South Wales for three years In recent Precinct 4 is a row of thirteen terrace state-of-the-art exercise equipment the 2000 Master Builders Awards during the day, helping to keep the office cool houses which sit above a semi-base- immediately popular, Kof his outstanding contribution to the art and practice of archi- years he has been director in charge of the Wylies Baths Congratulations to the builders Co-Wyn At night the stack effect is used to purge the ment parking level After a lengthy five selling within the For dramatic effect in the design AJ+C used stored heat by drawing cool night air through first month of market- tecture He, with his firm Allen Jack + Cottier, has consistently Restoration, winner of the Greenway Award for conservation, and Building Contractors Pty Ltd community consultation, AJ+C insti- specialty lighting, mirrored walls and the space This is automatically controlled by ing produced buildings of exceptionally high standard over a long peri- the Penfolds Magill Estate Redevelopment in Adelaide, winner of gated a change to the previous master intense colours further accentuating the thermostats inside and out, with sensors to pro- plan lot widths allowing these ter- Both these precincts od of time to the acclaim of clients and peers alike National Architectural and Building Awards He is currently a tect against excessive wind or rain penetration various exercise functions that occur with- races to respond to the scale and have terra firma rear Keith Cottier is one of the most respected architects in Australia member of the Sydney Harbour Design Review