Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition

A detailed review of entries from the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition has been completed.

The review suggests a number of options for improving activity and revitalising the area between the Theatre Royal and the Hobart waterfront, with specific approaches for some sites and some suggested priorities and timing.

The review was commissioned by the Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority and was conducted by a three-member panel comprising a nationally renowned architect, landscape architect and urban designer.

"The review does an excellent job of turning hundreds of ideas and concepts generated by the competition into action items for key sites in this neglected and under-utilised part of our city" said Jeff Gilmore, Chief Executive, Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority.

"The report is ideal for anyone interested in the way our city is evolving because it takes broad design concepts and explains how they can be turned into actions through sensible planning and development activities."

The review was led by Professor Geoffrey London, former Chair of the Jury for the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition.

Prof London was joined by former Jury member and leading landscape architect Catherin Bull and Barrie Shelton, a Member of the Sullivans Cove Design Panel and author of the Hobart Waterfront Urban Design Framework 2004.

The report contains an analysis of the broad themes that emerged from the 280 competition entries with particular emphasis on four key locations:

* Wapping Corner - redevelopment of this site will activate the corner of Collins and Campbell streets;

* City Hall and Market Place - redevelopment of this area will increase pedestrian movement and introduce daily activity;

* Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and Dunn Place car park - redevelopment will create a worthy setting for the State's major cultural institution; and

* The Docks - improvement of the area in and around the docks will activate the Cove around the waters edge and improve the visitor experience.

"The Review Panel has done an outstanding job in analysing all the entries from the design competition and considering how the options and ideas can work in this complex and challenging part of the Cove," Mr Gilmore said.

"It is especially pleasing to see that a range of options for development is explored for each of the four key sites - there is more than one way to build a better connection between the city centre and the waters edge.

"Flexibility is the key as we consider the future of this area. Our door is always open to good ideas as long as they are appropriate to the size and scale of the waterfront. We support a design philosophy built around the 3 M's - many minor moves.

"Importantly, the Authority is pleased to see confirmation TMAG will continue to play a vital role at the heart of the Cove's cultural development.

"This review comes at an important time in the ongoing evolution of Sullivans Cove, following the recent announcement that the Railyards is the Government's preferred location for a new Royal Hobart Hospital and the launch of a tender process for redevelopment of a new Brooke St Pier."

The review, titled 'Directions: Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition', is available for public viewing at the offices of the Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority, 5 Franklin Wharf, Hobart, from Monday 23 July 2007 for six weeks (10am to 4pm Monday - Friday).

Copies of the report are available free of charge on CD or can be purchased in hard copy for $50 (inclusive of GST). The report will also be available from the Authority's website at www.waterfront.tas.gov.au.

Three entries have shared first prize in the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition - the biggest architectural competition in the world in 2006.

The winners are:
* Jeppe Aagaard Andersen, Helsingor, Denmark;
* Tony Caro Architecture, Sydney, Australia; and
* Preston Lane Architects with James Whitten Architect, Hobart, Australia.

Announcing the winners in Hobart, the Premier Paul Lennon said the success of the competition sends a strong message that Tasmania is at the forefront of building great cities based on community and social balance.

"The competition generated hundreds of brilliant ideas for improving connections between the city centre and the waterfront and has led to significant international publicity for Hobart with 280 entries from 51 countries," Mr Lennon said.

Ideas generated by the competition will be scrutinised by the Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority, the planning authority responsible for Sullivans Cove, as the Authority considers future redevelopment of those parts of the waterfront that need improving and revitalising.

"The Jury were unanimous in their view that there was no single entry that met all the challenges and obstacles of the competition area," said Jeff Gilmore, Chief Executive of the Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority.

"This reflects the complexity and importance of the area in creating a waterfront that meets all community needs. It includes improving connections between the city centre and the waterfront, improving the balance between people and cars, increasing activity around City Hall and ensuring access to the waters edge.

"Importantly, the Jury said they gave greater weight to those entries that provided ideas for an extension and enhancement of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery as a focus of cultural activity on the waterfront.

"In addition, the Jury were impressed by ideas to improve the quality of public spaces, especially if this was done through minor enhancements rather than relying on major changes.

"The Jury were adamant that the waterfront must remain a place accessible to all - art students and visitors, locals and tourists, pedestrians and cars, boats of all varieties. They told us very strongly that this characteristic should never be lost."

Entries can be viewed on the web at www.hwidc.tas.gov.au and a public exhibition of winners and short-listed submissions is on display at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery until 18 February.

"The designs are on display for people to discuss, debate and even argue about," Mr Gilmore said. "This is a unique display that celebrates creativity as we continue to enhance a waterfront that is the envy of the world."

Mr Gilmore thanked the entrants who in many cases spent hundreds of hours on these submissions.

"The City Hall Axis is a crucial part of the Hobart waterfront but it doesn't have a strong identity like Salamanca Place, or even the growing popularity of Hunter Street," Mr Gilmore said.

"In the past the City Hall area was a busy market with large crowds and this attracted other activities and encouraged people to move between the city centre and the waterfront. Today, however, this area sits alone as the least successful connection between the city and the waterfront. It is cold, lonely, windy and isolated ... it is used by cars, but not by people.

"The response from the worldwide community of creative people to solving this challenge has been phenomenal. Their efforts are most appreciated by all Tasmanians."

Apart from the $150,000 shared by three winners, an additional $10,000 student prize was divided between teams from Adelaide, France, Italy and Slovenia. Each team will receive $2,500.

Entries were judged by an international Jury comprising Professor Geoffrey London (Perth, Western Australia), Carme Pinos (Barcelona, Spain), Wiel Arets (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Cathrin Bull (Melbourne, Victoria).

Major Findings of the Jury
* Support for an extension and enhancement of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery as a focus of cultural activity on the waterfront.

* Improve the quality of public spaces.

* Improve the balance towards people away from cars.

* Increase activity in and around City Hall.

* There is no one scheme that addresses all the issues - the Hobart waterfront is unique.

* Strong preference for minor improvements rather than relying on major buildings.

* The waterfront must remain a place accessible to all - art students and visitors, locals and tourists, pedestrians and cars, boats of all varieties. This characteristic should never be lost.

* We can learn from the past but not be afraid of the future.

Major Winners (equal share of $150,000 prize - $50,000 each)

Jeppe Aagaard Andersen, Helsingor, Denmark.
Team members: Jeppe Aagaard Andersen, Claire Broun, Hannah James, Sarah May, Sara Padgett, Michael Rowlands.

Contribution and support: Annabel Craig, Cian Davies, Jon Everett, Pippa Eyres.

Jeppe Aagaard Andersen's collaboration with his Western Australian team was developed over a number of weeks and many late nights. The combination of creative young University of Western Australia graduates and the experience of the Danish firm has resulted in an exciting approach to this challenging brief.

Danish landscape architect Aagaard Andersen moves seamlessly between the world of fine art and his design. He takes a classical approach towards completely free interpretations of space, form, nature and culture, often using deep knowledge about the past with visionary feelings of what will be appreciated by posterity.

Recently Aagaard Andersen won a first prize in an international competition for the University Campus at Sydney University, Australia. The project is now under construction. The design intent is to create a unified plan bringing clarity to an eclectic and complex university setting. The design, inspired by parts of Barcelona and Havana, creates a continuous processional granite paving under a bold alley of native trees.

Aagaard Andersen was trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1980. He established his own landscape architecture company in 1987. Andersen has carried out landscape design for hotel and conference centres, public administration buildings, museums, churches, castles, palaces and manors, industrial buildings, housing, private gardens and public parks in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. He has participated and received awards in a large number of Danish, Scandinavian and international competitions.

For his entry in the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition, Aagaard Andersen was joined by a team of talented, emerging landscape architects from Perth, Western Australia, including Claire Broun, Hannah James, Sarah May, Sara Padgett and Michael Rowlands.

Quotes:

"It was a fantastic brief - an inspiring challenge involving a city, water and mountain. It cried out to be done."

"We worked very hard and went through hundreds of ideas. I personally flew to Hobart to walk the streets around the City Hall, as did every member of my team."

"We came here to look and walk, and also to listen to the seagulls."

"Our proposal was made to fit Hobart - we do want it to make it look like Nice or Cannes because that is not the style of this place."

"I wanted to design a place that works in all seasons and moods, a place that works for one person as well as large groups coming together for special events."


Tony Caro Architecture, Sydney, Australia.
Team members: Tony Caro, Simon Swain, Ewan Saunders, Simon Mather, Jason Fraser, Louise Chapman.

Tony Caro is a highly decorated Australian architect who graduated from the New South Wales Institute of Technology with Honours and the University Medal in 1980. He completed postgraduate studies (M.B.Env.) at the University of Technology Sydney in 1995.

Caro was an associate in the internationally renowned practice Harry Seidler and Associates for 12 years, being involved in the design of many major city and urban architectural projects.

In 1995 he established a new design practice in Sydney, to focus upon a wider range of architectural and urban design projects driven by the dual contexts of urbanism and environmentally responsible design as key determinants of form.

The practice has emerged as a focussed, design-oriented team with a track record of delivering diverse, quality outcomes to a wide range of clients. Recent achievements in both architectural and urban design awards programs and competitions attest to this capability.

Caro is an advocate of continuing education and mentoring. He completed a Masters of the Built Environment at UTS in 1993 and continues to teach architectural design at the University in a part-time capacity.


Preston Lane Architects with James Whitten Architect, Hobart, Australia.
Team members: Nathanael Preston, Daniel Lane, Phil Ackerley, James Whitten.

Nathanael Preston, 31, and Daniel Lane, 31, studied environmental design at the University of Tasmania before Nathanael moved to Melbourne to complete his architecture studies at Deakin University while Daniel stayed in Tasmania at the School of Architecture, Launceston.

Previously, Nathanael had attended Emmanuel Christian School and Rosny College, while Daniel had attended New Town High and Elizabeth College.

They formed Preston Lane Architects in 2004 with offices in two states - Nathanael in Melbourne and Daniel in Hobart. Phil Ackerley is a graduate architect based in the Hobart office.

James Whitten, 30, graduated in architecture from the University of Melbourne in 2002. He runs a one-man firm in Melbourne, where he shares a building with Nathanael Preston.

Quotes:
"Our entry for the competition took hundreds of hours, which is difficult to manage when you have a small practice and you're juggling many clients and projects."

"It was a tight deadline and we only lodged our entry with one hour to spare."

"We nearly gave in a couple of times because of the time required and the sheer challenge of working through the creative differences of the team members."

"As a small practice, we don't have surplus staff - the directors had to jump right in and do everything."


Student winners (equal share of $10,000 prize - $2,500 each)

* Travis Wright, School of Architecture, Adelaide University, Australia.

* Loic Cendrier and Suzie Delhay, School of Architecture of Marseille, France.

* Verde Alberto, Michele D'Ariano, Matteo Ferrari, Anna Malaguti, Federica Pennacchini, Giulia Tardini, Francesco Tosi and Dario Varotti, Faculty of Achitecture, University of Ferrara, Bologna, Italy.

* Mojca Langerholc, Anja Hlade, Vita Zlender, Mojca Mezek, Andrejka Sorli, and Claudia Concalves, Landscape Architecture Program, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Judging has started for the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition.

After two days of intensive briefings and orientation sessions from local organisers, international judges Carme Pinos (Spain) and Wiel Arets (The Netherlands) and their Australian colleagues Geoffrey London (chair) and Catherin Bull have launched into scrutiny of the entries.

The exhaustive, three-day process of choosing the competition winners from 280 entries from 51 countries is taking place at the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery's Bond Store space.

"The first thing to say is that the spread of entries, ranging from the conservative to the left-of-centre, is exceptional," Professor London said.

"It's a fantastic achievement to generate this number of entries and shows the level of interest in Tasmania and its waterfront among the international design community."

Professor London, a Life Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and the Government Architect of Western Australia, said the Jury's first task is to prune the list of candidates to about 30-40 reflecting the key themes.

"Some entries propose walkways and others suggest removal of reclaimed parts of Sullivans Cove to restore the original shoreline, and yet others see a series of buildings running from the Theatre Royal to the waterfront.

"The one thing they have in common is a desire to bring new life and energy to a part of the city that feels lonely and isolated, based around a City Hall that is empty much of the year."

Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority CEO Jeff Gilmore said the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition had attracted more entries than competitions for the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne's Federation Square.

"When we first launched the competition, we were unsure as to the extent of the response we would receive, so to receive 280 entries means this is now the biggest ever competition in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest architecture competition in the world in 2006," Mr Gilmore said.

"We asked the world's best designers to give us their ideas - architects, landscape architects, town planners - and they have done so in enormous numbers."

Professor London repeated that the response to the competition has been overwhelming.

"The competition has generated significant international publicity for Hobart while attracting hundreds of brilliant ideas for improving connections between the city centre and the waterfront," Professor London said.

"What often happens is that we find five or six outstanding proposals, with dozens of good ideas sprinkled throughout the other entries. That's exactly how this competition looks like unfolding."

The Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition focuses on the area between Theatre Royal and Sullivans Cove, including landmark sites such as the Wapping Corner (the vacant land next to the Theatre Royal), City Hall, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Dunn Place, Franklin Wharf and Kings Pier Marina.

The prize pool is $150,000, plus an additional $10,000 for the winning tertiary student entry.

The competition brief asked entrants to consider and acknowledge the structure and scale of Hobart and explain how their ideas will reinvent the area to:

* create a major focus for Hobart that enriches the cultural life of the city with new activities, buildings and spaces (both commercial and public);

* create effective and innovative connections between the city centre and Sullivans Cove;

* interpret and embrace the Cove's rich cultural heritage; and

* attract and extend activity across Sullivans Cove.

The winners will be announced on 25 January and an exhibition of entries will open at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery on 26 January until 18 February.

Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition milestones -
* January 15: Judging starts
* January 18: Judging completed
* January 25: Winners announced
* January 26: Public exhibition begins.

Competition adviser Professor Tom Heneghan has praised the standard of entries for the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition.

Prof. Heneghan, on a visit from his post at the University of Sydney to review the entries along with the Competition Registrar and a probity auditor, was amazed at the quality of the 280 submissions received from 50 countries.

"As entries were opened, two things became evident - that the quality of the entries was exceptional, and that some of the world's most internationally esteemed designers had entered," Prof. Heneghan said.

"Within the first few hours of reviewing entries, I saw at least 8 to 10 entries that would be viable and creditable winners.

"As the quality continued over the next few days, I realised that the judges will have a difficult task."

Prof. Heneghan praised the work of all stakeholders in the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition - the richest and now the best-supported contest of its kind in the world in 2006.

"A lot of people at the Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority have worked non-stop for more than a year to make this competition a success," Prof. Heneghan said.

"I think that everyone will find the entries fascinating, challenging and exciting."

Prof. Heneghan, an experienced judge in multiple design competitions worldwide, continued to be excited about the ideas generated in response to the Tasmanian challenge.

"It's like looking at portraits of Hobart's waterfront painted by a huge number of different artists. Like portrait painters, each designer has found a different characteristic of Hobart which they want to respond to, or a different interpretation of this city which we all know so very well," Prof. Heneghan said.

"Many of these interpretations are entirely unexpected - and offer visions of the city which I had never anticipated, but which are thrilling.

I'm sure that Hobartians will be absolutely fascinated to see the ways in which all these international and local designers have interpreted their city."

The Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition focuses on the area between Theatre Royal and Sullivans Cove, including landmark sites such as the Wapping Corner (the vacant land next to the Theatre Royal), City Hall, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Dunn Place, Franklin Wharf and Kings Pier Marina.

Entries will be judged next month by an international jury, including two architects renowned worldwide for their work on complex waterfront projects: Carme Pinos, of Spain, and Wiel Arets, of The Netherlands.

The winners will be announced on 25 January 2007 and all entries go on public exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from Australia Day for three weeks.

Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority Chief Executive Jeff Gilmore said the prize pool is $160,000, with $10,000 for the winning tertiary student entry.

Mr Gilmore said he had been immensely pleased at the level of interest from the international design community and the efforts they made to be involved.

"As deadline day approached, we had courier deliveries every couple of hours. Then, on the last day, we had entrants personally delivering their submissions because they wanted to be absolutely certain they made the deadline," Mr Gilmore said.

"We believe one architect flew from Japan to deliver his entry and we had people flying in from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. We even had one entrant arrive from Perth on the red-eye special to drop off his entry, and then he rushed to eat a scallop pie and drink a beer before heading right back to the airport for his return flight."

The competition brief asked entrants to consider and acknowledge the structure and scale of Hobart and explain how their ideas will reinvent the area to:

* create a major focus for Hobart that enriches the cultural life of the city with new activities, buildings and spaces (both commercial and public);

* create effective and innovative connections between the city centre and Sullivans Cove;

* interpret and embrace the Cove's rich cultural heritage; and

* attract and extend activity across Sullivans Cove.

The competition's specially designed web site is at: www.hwidc.tas.gov.au.

New York, London, Vienna, Beijing, Santiago - just some of the global locations from where architects, urban designers and landscape architects have registered for the Hobart Waterfront International Design Competition.

Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority Chief Executive Jeff Gilmore said more than 450 registrations from 62 countries worldwide have been logged on to the competition web site since the event was launched four weeks ago.

"To get this response - from more than one-quarter of all the countries in the world - in the first month of the competition launch is extremely heartening," Mr Gilmore said.

"And the advertising in the international design journals is only beginning to kick in.

"The bulk of the registrations have come from Australia, understandably, with 150, but also serious numbers from the United States, the United Kingdom and throughout all the continents - from as far afield as Ethiopia, Morocco, Colombia and Siberia.

"As we hoped, the world has come to Hobart, because the world has a keen interest in the design and development of our waterfront."

Mr Gilmore said 21 registrations have been logged from Tasmanian designers.

The Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority foyer now carries a world map marking all the countries and registrations.

"We want everyone who shares our love of the waterfront to see how this beautiful patch of Tasmania has captured the imagination of the world's design community," Mr Gilmore said.

The international design competition - 'Floating New Ideas for the Hobart Waterfront' - will be judged by an international jury, including two architects renowned worldwide for their work on complex waterfront projects: Carme Pinos, of Spain, and Wiel Arets, of the Netherlands.

The competition closes on 1 December 2006. All entries will be put on public display at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in January and February next year.

The prize pool is $160,000, with $10,000 for the winning tertiary student entry.

"Everything will be considered - nothing is off limits," Mr Gilmore said.

"We're looking for great ideas and world-class concepts for this magnificent site, from architects, urban planners, landscape architects and engineers everywhere - within Tasmania and Australia, as well as overseas."

The competition area includes landmark sites such as the Wapping Corner (the vacant land next to Theatre Royal), City Hall, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Dunn Place, Franklin Wharf and Kings Pier Marina.

"The creative challenge is to embrace the area's rich history and design a contemporary cultural hub to revitalise the space," Mr Gilmore said.

In the competition brief, entrants are asked to consider and acknowledge the structure and scale of Hobart and explain how their ideas will reinvent the area to:

* create a major focus for Hobart that enriches the cultural life of the city with new activities, buildings and spaces (both commercial and public);

* create effective and innovative connections between the city centre and Sullivans Cove;

* interpret and embrace the Cove's rich cultural heritage; and

* attract and extend activity across Sullivans Cove.

The Competition Adviser is the internationally recognised and respected Professor Tom Heneghan, from the University of Sydney.

The Chair of the jury is Geoffrey London, the Government Architect of Western Australia and Professor of Architecture at the University of Western Australia. Prof London is also a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne and a Life Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Other members of the jury are Melbourne-based landscape architect Catherin Bull and Professor Daryl le Grew, of Hobart.