Editorial by Simon Sellars:
While composing this, my final editor’s letter, Federation Square’s 10-year anniversary rolled around. As Scott McQuire and Nikos Papastergiadis recall (p92), Fed Square overcame significant opposition to deliver something Melbourne sorely lacked — a true civic space, a place to meet, to connect with one other, to relax; something for the community to celebrate and identify with. Fittingly, given that success, civic space is the thread binding this issue.
Our cover project is ARM’s Wanangkura Stadium in Port Hedland (p52), part of a wide-ranging plan to restore public pride to a remote town ravaged by industry. In Tokyo, Kengo Kuma’s Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center (p72) weaves tradition from the surrounding neighbourhood to create a forward-facing civic building. In Geelong, Six Degrees’ work for Deakin University allows students to reconnect with both the landscape and their own learning (p78).
Our other featured projects, while not exactly ‘public’, are resolutely community-minded in the way they create better conditions for living. teaching and playing: Formwork’s innovative Lime Street crisis accommodation for homeless people (p66); Spark Architecture’s Fai-Fah Prachautis (p60), a colourful education centre for Bangkok’s underprivileged children; and the Lakeside Stadium (p86), H2o’s refurbishment of an iconic Melbourne sporting ground.
Much of my planning around this theme was informed by an eye-opening trip I took to the Australian North West, visiting Derby, Broome and Port Hedland (p44). As an urbanist at heart, I’ve always believed architects should deploy their considerable holistic skills to create better communities and healthier cities. I found concrete realisations of that belief on my travels, and, now, within these pages. Finishing on public space and civic building is a great way to end my tenure at AR.
Before I leave, I’d like to thank AR’s readers for ongoing support, and all the architects, writers, photographers and artists I’ve worked with over the past seven issues. Collaborating with such talent is the ultimate reward for any editor. I’d also like to thank my colleagues Leanne Amodeo and Alexa Kempton for their trusted friendship and advice, and AR art directors Sabine Selbach and Michael Bojkowski for their brilliant redesign of the magazine to international standards, an immensely satisfying process to be part of.
Finally, special thanks to Mat Ward. After my new career called me away, Mat skilfully took this issue through production after the commissioning phase had concluded. This brings matters full circle. On AR 122, the first issue I worked on, Mat, the outgoing editor, handed over the reigns to me as production started.
Nice — I like symmetry.
In this issue:
- On the cover: Wanangkura Stadium in Port Hedland, by ARM
Project reviews:
- ‘Solid Mirage’: Wanangkura Stadium in Port Hedland, by ARM Architecture (review: Simon Sellars)
- ‘Light Energy’: Fai Fah in Bangkok, by Spark Architecture (review: Will Wiles)
- ‘Filling the Void’: Lime Street in Perth, by Formworks (review: Tahmina Maskinyar)
- ‘Regerminating the City’: Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Centre in Tokyo, by Kengo Kuma & Associates (review: Christopher Kaltenbach)
- ‘New Connections’: Waurn Ponds Central Campus Precinct in Geelong, by Six Degrees (review: Maitiu Ward)
- ‘Pattern Language’: Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne, by H2o (review: Darragh O’Brien)
Features:
- ‘The Case for Fiction Architecture’ by Simon Thornton
- ‘Intimate Metamorphosis: Film and Architectural Space’ by Adrian Martin
- ‘Toxic Ruins: The Political and Economic Cost of “Ruin Porn”‘ by Agata Pyzik
- ‘Manifesto of Urban Cannibalism’ by Wietkse Maas and Matteo Pasquinelli
- ‘Road Trip: Red-dirt Voodoo’ by Simon Sellars
Interviews:
- Parlour’s Justine Clark and Karen Burns, interviewed by Anna Tweeddale
Plus: Andrew Burns is ‘One to Watch’; Sibling on DesignWall; Federation Square, by Scott McQuire and Nikos Papastergiadis; and Manhole Covers in Japan