Viridian Villas – A difficult site at Noosa Heads

The small and very private Waterfall Chapel, secreted away on a farm estate in the Northland region of New Zealand, has been the subject of international attention following a highly commended rating in the prestigious Italian Dedalo Minosse Award.

The design of this farmhouse located on the Edward River near Deniliquin in New South Wales explores an interpretation of historic, timber-framed and corrugated iron-clad farm buildings in the local area.

The Central Precinct project at Deakin University in Burwood, Victoria was created by H20 architects as a simple, practical and affordable sustainable design. Complex technology and sophisticated outcomes were avoided to reduce costs and benefit building management

It swept the board at the 2006 UK Wood Awards in London, winning two major categories out of four, a feat never achieved before, and took the Gold Award.

The significant contribution to Australia’s carbon balance that the forest and wood products industry makes could be further harnessed to mitigate climate change, according to the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation (FWPRDC) and the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting (CRCGA).

Architecture in Australia is in for a revolution if the momentum matches the passion of the disciple of ‘coolth’ and inside-out design – principal architect of Environa Studio, Tone Wheeler.

It is reasonable to assume that most architects and designers would say they only use timber from sustainable sources. However, if asked to produce the environmental credentials of the timber components in a given project, it is just as likely they would be unable to deliver the verifying documentation that is now mandatory for public and many corporate building projects in Europe. Elizabeth Howarth reports.

By definition, The Wedge – an award-winning design by Melling:Morse Architects of Wellington – is on a site that is tight vertically and horizontally. It also makes considerable use of timber as a structural, cladding and finishing material.