The Tasmanian Architecture Awards celebrates design excellence in architecture in Tasmania.
Held on Saturday 1 July 2023 at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (another project that Design 5 worked in collaboration with fjmt, now fjcstudio), Design 5 – Architects with fjcstudio, JPDC and Years Months Days, have won the Roy Sharrington Smith Award for Heritage.
Parliament Square Project
The project involved substantial conservation and adaptive reuse of a group of former government buildings dating from 1840 to the 1940s, immediately behind Parliament House for a luxury hotel (The Tasman) and a public plaza.
Jury citation:
“The redevelopment of a city block to create Parliament Square is arguably the largest urban-scale conservation project undertaken in Tasmania since colonisation. The process of archival research and careful uncovering of original historical building fabric speaks to the sustained dedication by the architectural heritage team over many years.
Adaptive reuse of the original colonial-era buildings, some dating back to the early 1800s, reflects a desire to let the ‘existing colonial buildings drive the work’. The result is a labyrinth of materially rich interior spaces that work hard commercially, but still manage to evoke a sense of past lives in each of these buildings.
Sophisticated glazed facades step in dialogue with the topography of the site to read as a ‘hill-town’ of elements. This approach has allowed the heritage buildings to remain the dominant expression when viewed from the street.
Hobart’s heritage buildings, especially those from the colonial era, are amongst the finest in Australia and it is astonishing that so many have survived virtually intact to this day. Their value is amply demonstrated in this exemplary project and it provides a timely reminder that Hobart’s historical building fabric—from all eras —should not only be treasured, but we should seek ways to breathe new life into them.”
See the announcement here: