Who are we?

Architectural practices are often judged by the quality of buildings produced, however in our experience, the reason clients come back is because of the people they work with. With this in mind, we felt it’s important to show who we are as well as what we do.

Our good friend Grace Smith was engaged to capture a series of group and individual images that provide a snapshot of the people behind the work.

Grace did a great job of making us all feel comfortable doing something that makes most of us feel uncomfortable. We are used to creating spaces rather than being the subject of an image. [That is except for Richard, who is now contemplating a side hustle in modelling].

Thanks also to Renee Green who captured some behind the scenes footage of the studio fun.

Farewell to Ys!

Earlier in the year, we said farwell to one of our junior staff, Ysabel. She has been part of the Conwell Architects team for multiple years until she found a fantastic opportunity to move forward in her career. Ysabel started as a student of Cameron’s at QUT, then progressed to a WIL internship where she demonstrated her skillset that resulted in her being brought on board.

Ysabel brought great graphic skills to the team where she worked on many presentations in creative ways. In more recent times, we saw her technical skills develop in the form of detailing on the NCC Early Learners project. As this project comes to completion, we look back and thank Ysabel for her time at Conwell Architects and wish her all the very best for her bright future in architecture.

Half Way

The project team have been busy and InSite have reached the 50% mark on the NCC Early Learners extension. Maintaining safety to the community has been first and foremost in the minds of the building team as the existing centre remains open.

With framing up we can now see the spacial geometries forming. The high spaces are starting to hint of what the resulting soft light to the internal spaces. The roof sheeting and external cladding are well advanced as the team focus on the internal fit out.

We look forward to sharing more photographs as the project continues…

LEA Tour - Hillbrook Anglican

Learning Environments Australasia run a series of events supporting the community of educators and designers to share work and learning opportunities. One such local event was a tour of Hillbrook Anglican Schools recent work in their Upper Campus Precinct. It was great to tour the facilities and talk after about the challenges and opportunities the design team faced when developing a campus over time in a constrained urban context while still remaining operational.

Key to the success of the campus is a masterplan who’s strategies were developed prior to the projects being implemented so each project is working cohesively towards a long term vision. BSPN were key in implementing the vision to push buildings towards the edge of the property to curate pockets of open space thought the campus promoting the inside-outside relationship. In our opinion, this was the highlight of the visit as the landscape was the hero. We look forward to using this as an example to our clients in terms of approach but also an example of a masterplan in action.

BSPN Architecture

Rohrig Group

Vee

AA Unbuilt 2023

Projects not getting built happens all the time for a myriad of reasons. Sometime you shrug your shoulders and move on. Other times projects stay with you as pieces of work that can get re-used or referenced in future ideas.

One such project recently came through our office and we decided the ideas behind it were worth developing after it stopped. It had a second life as a body of work both in terms of design/detailing but also the fundamental urban ideas that it tested.

We are blessed to have a forum to share unbuilt work in the form of the AA Unbuilt program. We entered the project in the 2023 iteration of this awards program and were humbled to be shortlisted. The scale of both work and the offices that produced them vary wildly which is the way it should be. The competition differs from other awards programs where it focuses on robust ideas that add to the body of knowledge of the architectural profession, rather than the budget, scale or quality of representation through architectural photography.

Our project, RoboGranny, tested ideas of increasing densities of our urban fabric in a positive manner. The name RoboGranny was coined in a meeting with our creative clients because early iterations looked a little bit like a cute robot in the backyard… granny came from the grannyflat typology that it is closely related.

Shortlist via the link:

https://architectureau.com/articles/aa-prize-for-unbuilt-work-2023-shortlist-revealed/

ROBOGRANNY

Speculation in urban development alternatives

Robogranny is evolving research into increasing densities of suburban areas whiteout destroying the very qualities that make them desirable places to live.

Robogranny questions the typical approaches to development that are often seen in the suburban landscape of modern Australia.

Our definition of typical family is evolving and perhaps our legislation around site occupancy should change with it. Robogranny could be used by multi-generational families, siblings, friendship groups, WFH facilities or even potential combinations of rental and owner occupiers to the benefit of both. Could this be a more sustainable duplex model?

Australian regional and capital centres are scattered with suburbs under pressure to density.

Underutilised land parcels often lie dormant at the rear of circa 600m2 blocks of detached post war dwellings until land values increase to intensify two options:

·         Alterations and additions to modernise and increase amenity

·         Demolish and develop

This has led to observations around ‘the missing middle’. Where is the in between?

How can we increase housing stocks in our urban areas in a sustainable manner and retain local character?

Option 1:               Demo & rebuild

o    Less sustainable

o    Destroys history

Option 2:               Lift and build under

o    Removes connection

o    Potential Pastiche

Option 3:               Attach / extend

o    Compromised hybrid

o    Potential Facadism

Another option exists to explore vertical independent or semi-independent structures. This model could support many modes of occupation.

Potential outcomes:

·         Allows retention of character structures

·         Allows densification of underutlised space

·         Is a model that can be flexible between multiple modes of occupation

·         Allows daylight and breeze penetration deep into long blocks

·         Retains green buffers around structures

Underway

Years in gestation, our early learning extension project is finally commenced on site. Conwell Architects were commissioned to expand an existing facility to cater to younger age brackets that have different physical and staffing needs. We congratulate our clients f or their commitment and faith to the project. We worked closely with the operator and staff to understand the practical needs required to deliver excellent care, while pushing design principles around natural light and airflow.

The building has been marked out, screw piers placed with a major concrete pour on the horizon. We look forward to sharing both the construction progress and the ideas behind the design.

the importance of detail

Detailing is key in delivering successful buildings. They are the fusion of the design intent, buildability and meeting environmental requirements. Details need to be able to be built, they need to perform in a way that protects the building from the environment; all while maintaining the original design intent. Too often, when the fee is running out, it’s the detailing time that is compromised. In a rush to get the project delivered, details are recycled without individual consideration.

These sketches look at various details from our projects, projects when working in previous practice and revisiting a modern classic. We find it a valuable experience to look back at previous details to unpack what worked well, what could be improved. This results in a catalog of detailing concepts that can be adapted to suit specific building typologies, material and design directions.

LEA Tour - St Rita's College Trinity Building

St Rita’s College - Trinity Centre - m3architecture

Education facilities are complex structures that often require combining existing and new programs, provide efficiency and flexibility, while promoting safety and well-being for all in a single entity. 

Earlier this year, Conwell Architects along with other architects and educators, had the opportunity to attend a learning Environments Queensland site tour which involved a visit and tour St. Rita College and their new Trinity Centre building designed by m3architecture.

The new Trinity Centre was designed to reflect the unique values of the college in its architecture. The event commenced with a debate between students of St Rita and St Joseph’s Nudgee College titled; “What comes first, The Building or the Pedagogy?” The students questioned the importance of architecture in educational experience. St Rita students argued the physical learning environment in which learning occurs is primary to learning outcomes while Nudgee students [while acknowledging the value of the space in which students are taught] put forward arguments to suggest the teacher and by extension pedagogy trump the space in which it is taught.

Both teams had considered and well-constructed arguments. As creators of teaching spaces, the team at Conwell Architects were left to wonder and reflect on our design thinking and priorities. How can we foster this dynamic relationship between architecture and pedagogy? Which comes first, or rather, is the driving force behind the resulting design?

To help answer these questions internally, we chose to look at a project as a case study: The Early Learning Centre at Nambour Christian College. In designing this extension, we were faced with the challenges of integrating the functional aspects of age specific pedagogy with the practical requirements facing built form such site, council constraints and of course, budget.

Through the research and client consultation process, we determined that the services and amenities (blue) should be located between the two classrooms (pink) to efficiently manage and supervise both toddlers and infants, with a connecting corridor (yellow) to the existing building. While the planning is guided by programmatic function, the architecture of the resulting space is pushed and pulled to consider how the occupying students and staff will work and lean in these spaces. This pushing and pulling included designing breakout spaces or pods for individual learning, low height windows for crawling infants fostering curiosity, high level south facing windows for soft indirect light and a constant visual connection to green outdoor learning spaces.

Although learning can exist under a tree and without a building, our role as architects is key in creating the physical built environment in which the pedagogy is delivered. We aim deliver spaces that allow the best possible conditions from which to both teach and learn. As for the question ‘Building or Pedagogy’, we feel neither can be isolated without considering the other. To ignore one is to compromise the overall goal of learning spaces. Which leads to the conclusion that collaboration is needed between teachers and designers to marry and space with teaching as pedagogical delivery evolves.

Do you have an interesting case study, or an idea for new pedagogy that needs an equally responsive architectural solution? Reach out, we’d love to be involved.

Ysabel Usabal

St Rita’s College - Trinity Centre - m3architecture

NCC Early Learners - Functional Planning

NCC Early Learners - Breakout wall

NCC Early Learners - Natural light study

School Incursion - Glasshouse Christian College

Glasshouse Christian College recently invited Conwell Architects to speak to their year 9 students taking part in a Interior Design and Architecture Incursion run by Primrose Kombanie. Kirsty Newell spoke about interior design and Cameron on architecture to provide an overview of the profession and examples of principles and elements of design. Question time followed where the students we able to ask all their burning questions on the industry.

The students then presented their work which involved elements on group work and individual presentation. The class were required to work as a team to develop an overall theme for a fictitious residential client, then create a physical maquette for individual rooms to demonstrate their design intent.

After a short refreshment break, Kirsty, Primrose and Cameron deliberated on the strengths of the work presented before awarding winners of both group and individual projects.

We congratulate all the students and look forward to seeing them develop into the designers of tomorrow.

Shot on site

The time came to record and document one of our completed residential projects. It’s a key moment in time that reflects and summarises a massive amount of work from the entire team - from trades to the designer; from suppliers to image creators.

Residential projects can differ slightly in that [generally speaking] they are only able to be seen and used by private clients; a small group of people inclusive of their friends family and guests. Photography is an opportunity to capture the space in order to share the experience of being there to those who would not normally have access. Architectural photography is a celebration of work, but also a deeply personal peekaboo into someone’s personal space.

For this task, we assembled a trusted team who work together without ego or hierarchy to capture the design in the way it is lived in. Kirsty as the designer, Cathy behind the lens, Alice styling and Lara assisting. Each member of the team added their thoughts from their area of knowledge to capture the best possible outcome.

We look forward to sharing the finished images.

Site Progress - Normanton

Construction has continued on the Gulf Christian College - Stage 9.0 project in Normanton. Building in remote areas of the country has many challenges in , only to have consistent rain, supply shortages and staff challenges thrown into the mix. We work closely with our builders to strike a balance between achieving the designed building and feasible build-ability practices to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved for the client and end users - the students. This working relationship becomes closer when operating in remote locations where communication and quick problem solving is key.

The build has progressed well given the challenges, with steel up thanks to Richardsons Building Service.

More updates to follow…

Staff news

We are very pleased to share the news of our staff members - Richard and Ysabel, who have graduated from the Bachelor of Architecture at QUT. It may only be in the form a piece of paper, but represents the hard work and professional growth over four years. Qualifying as an architect is a long arduous road and this is a critical first step in the process. Conwell Architects regularly involves students and education as part of our practice as we feel it benefits the individual, practice and the wider architectural community. Richard and Ysabel are currently working towards their masters qualifications at QUT.

Underway in the North

Despite the many challenges of building in remote areas, our building partners at Richardsons have commenced construction of our education facility in Normanton. Inclement weather, staff and material shortages and sheer distance are all factors to overcome and success is often determined by all parties understanding these constraints.

We look forward to watching the building form develop from the comfort of the air-condition office.

Isometric Exploration

At Conwell Architects, we generally produce drawings for the communication of concepts to clients, or to describe technical information to builders and/or consultants. With the assistance of QUT Work Integrated Learning students, we have been exploring drawing typologies that aim to consistently catalog our work for internal review, and external presentation. Here is an isometric drawing produced by Baikun Goa of an as yet un-built project. This project explores ideas around increasing density in urban Brisbane settings. We look forward to sharing more about this project as it unfolds.

Administration - 12 months on

We are sharing an update on one of recent projects - NCC administration extension. Construction commenced back in April of 2020 and practical completion was reached 12 months ago. The project went through a lengthy design phase as we wrested with spatial efficiencies, meeting desired budget and making best use of a constrained site. Many lessons were learnt through this process and we were very interesting in monitoring the outcomes - financial of course, but also the feedback from users of the space.

With the defects liability period complete, we will share some thoughts and analysis in future posts in order to asses the success of these various design concepts we explored in the project.

Work Integrated Learning

Conwell Architects continue to partner with QUT in their WIL [Work Integrated Learning] program. The WIL program gives students in the Creative Industries a chance to experience the profession during their studies in architecture. This semester we welcome two students, Guy Brunel and Baikun Gao at Conwell Architects to gain experience and insight into various aspects of the profession. Guy has been busy modelling a detailed renovation project and Kun has been developing graphic methods of representing projects. We look forward to sharing some of the work Guy and Kun have been developing.

Guy Brunel

Baikun Gao

Fresh Blood

Conwell Architects would like to welcome two members to the team; Ysabel and Richard. We have been blessed with a busy period and these new recruits are here to assist with producing the work required to service our clients. They both are 4th years students at QUT and are a direct result of our ongoing relationship with teaching institutions having been tutored by Cameron in second year. Ysabel and Richard bring with them the freshness of ideas and an adaptable skill set that go with early career architects. We look forward to seeing them integrate into the practice and produce work as they grow and learn in the industry.

QUT Architectural Design 4: Museum of the Moving Image

Conwell Architects enjoys regular connection with architectural education with Cameron often participating in tutoring B.Arch courses. It’s a great chance to help the next generation of architects, see fresh new designs and the faces behind them. In an effort to share this talent, here are some snapshots of work from the students this semester.

Simone Brott has lead the unit over the past years and the principles featured are particularly relevant to masterplanning, as architects push beyond building material knowledge and embrace, respond and enhance the wider environment to design for place. Many College campuses grow without planning but require the same long term vison often seen in city design.

We wish all the students a well earned break and look forward to seeing them progress into practice.

Practical Completion - NCC Admin

We are pleased to report the milestone of Practical Completion has been achieved on the extension to NCC Administration. Staff have watched the build progress with interest and we look forward to them moving in and occupying their new working environment.

This project investigated various models of office spaces as we sought to find a balance between open plan working and closed office environs. We are planning a post-occupancy evaluation process to investigate / measure the success of this and other design initiatives undertaken in this project.

Sylvan Street

Retirement means different things for each of us. Some revel in the peace and quiet of non-professional life and seek out physically active hobbies like yoga or fishing; others seek mental stimulation though activities reflected in their careers. Ian Conwell, of Conwell Architects falls into the latter category. Not satisfied with the quiet life, Ian sought a project to design and build a piece of architecture on the Sunshine coast.

Along with his wife Linda, Ian found an existing residence on Sylvan Street located on the northern slope of Buderim with views East, North and West from Point Cartwright, Mt Coolum, Mt Ninderry to Pomona. The existing structure was built circa 1990 although was dated in appearance, the primarily blockwork structure was in good condition.

The team at Conwell Architects each have their various skillset and the project was very much a result of the combination of skills and experience coming together to create a cohesive result fit for place. Analysis of the layout indicated some inefficient use of space. Many designs were considered, however the focus of the new arrangement was to add a new master suite extension towards the street, reconfigure the existing master to allow for a family area and refocus the downstairs living areas to embrace external living and take advantage of the generous views.

The design was a team effort, with Cameron being involved in early stage planning, Kirsty executing the interior design and Ian produced the working drawings / managed the project through construction. Each drawing from 1:500 to 1:5 was hand drafted by Ian using techniques he knows all too well. Eckersley's needed to go into storage to supply a set of rotring pens. This project was very much a sum of the people involved with the design and delivery of the project.

A particular feature of the build was the relationship with the builder. After years of working with traditional tender, a cost plus contract was chosen despite it normally being avoided due to the risks involved. This resulted in a productive relationship where the architect attended site most days to solve problems, value manage and detail along side the builder. The normal paperwork involved with variation approvals dissolved the process became a collaboration between designer/client and builder.

The end result implements light timber tones to reflect the seaside location, balanced against darker earthing tones for the wet areas. A double height living space adds a new dynamic with an elevated link to the master suite creating a sense of privacy and seclusion.

The external  form follows the slope of the land and reaches out towards the view. Play between dark and light tones express form and provide special hierarchy. Deep overhangs protect from the sun while allowing glazing to fill the internal spaces with light and sea views.

We are pleased to share the following imagery of the completed project.

Architect:            Conwell Architects

Builder:                Joshua Underwood

Photography:    Cathy Schusler

Styling:                 Alice Duffield Styling