Hasta La Ideas

The new Melbourne home of the Australian Institute of Architects is a 22-storey tower by architecture firm Lyons with a sculptural facade that breaks down into staircases and balconies (+ slideshow).

Australian firm Lyons, whose past projects include a string of colourful university buildings, won a competition to design the building for the Australian Institute of Architects‘ Victoria chapter after proposing a building aimed at helping the institute engage with the public.

Named 41X, the tower sits at a crossroads between Exhibition Street and Flinders Lane. Its facade is covered with angular concrete fins, as a reference to the “chiselled masonry aesthetic” of Melbourne’s public buildings, but they appear to be cut away to make room for elevated public spaces highlighted with bright green accents.

“The design explores the idea of joining together a public and commercial building, by connecting the city street space with Institute occupied levels,” said Lyons director Adrian Stanic. “A major stair, visible from Flinders Lane, facilitates this and makes public engagement a focal point of the building.”

The AIA was the client for the project and occupies five floors of the building, leaving the rest of the floors free for up to 15 commercial tenants.

“This project enables owners or occupiers to create their own identity on whole floors within the building, creating a distinctively vertical business community on this city corner,” added Stanic.

Australian firm Hassell designed the interiors of the AIA’s five floors. These include a first-floor “design haven” containing an architecture and design bookshop named Architext, a cafe serving as a public meeting space and a seminar room.

A terrace is located on the roof, while bicycle storage and changing facilities are contained in the basement.

Photography is by John Gollings.

Here’s the full announcement from the Australian Institute of Architects:

New heights and a new home for architecture as Governor-General opens strata tower in Melbourne

Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce AC CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, has officially opened Victoria’s new home of architecture at 41 Exhibition Street.

Developed by the Australian Institute of Architects, 41X is a 22-storey Five Star Green Star strata-titled commercial tower that accommodates the Institute’s Melbourne offices, including the Victorian Chapter, over five levels. 41X is the first strata commercial office building in Melbourne to target carbon neutrality over its 30 year operating lifespan – accounting for embodied energy, base building operational energy, transport and waste.

“41X successfully shows how private and not-for-profit organisations can have a positive impact on the development of our cities by creating world class, cutting-edge, environmentally responsible commercial buildings,” Her Excellency said.

‘This elegant addition to Melbourne’s CBD makes a bold statement about the value of design. With this building, the Institute is strongly reinforcing the value of architects and architecture to the sustainable growth of our community – tangibly fulfilling its mission of ‘making the world a better place through architecture’.”

Conceived as a hub for architecture, for Institute members and the public alike, 41X is the place for design enthusiasts to meet, with a design haven on level 1, complete with a comprehensive architecture and design bookshop (Architext) and a café run by Axil Coffee Roasters. In addition, the Institute is currently developing a program of public events focusing on architecture and design.

41X is situated on a small footprint block at the corner of Exhibition Street and Flinders Lane and is also home to 15 other purchasers and tenants keen to be part of this exemplar building.

The project’s inception dates back to 2006, when a detailed feasibility study for the site, encompassing a range of potential options for its future including renovation through to relocation, was commissioned.

After extensive consultation, the Institute’s National Council decided that the site would be redeveloped into a small office tower that would set new standards in quality Australian commercial architecture.

In 2008, the Institute held a two-stage design competition. The commission was awarded to Lyons Architects with a concept that explored ideas about the hybrid public/commercial building, the engagement of the Institute with the public and targeting a carbon-neutral outcome.

In 2012, following a rigorous selection process, Hassell was selected as architect for the fit-out of the five Institute-occupied levels.

Paul Berkemeier, National President of the Institute said “We are immensely proud of our new Melbourne home. It is an exemplary, small footprint, commercial building that shows how good design, sustainability and the work of architects can deliver outstanding results.”

The post Australian Institute of Architects moves into
sculptural Melbourne tower by Lyons appeared first on Dezeen.

This science facility in Melbourne by Australian firm Lyons has a tessellated facade based on the hexagonal geometry of a molecular structure (+ slideshow).

Located at the Bundoora campus of La Trobe University, the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science is a six-storey building with hexagonal windows stretching across its front and rear facades.

“The cellular exterior of the building is derived from ideas about expressing the molecular research that is being undertaken within the building,” explains Lyons.

Some of the hexagons are extruded from the facade, creating a series of irregularly shaped meeting spaces, while others are simple windows shaded by overhanging canopies.

Above: photograph is by Nils Koenning

The three lower floors of the building contain student laboratories and teaching rooms, which open out to small terraces and lawns. Research facilities occupy the top three floors and include administrative spaces, a conference room and a staff lounge.

Above: photograph is by Michael Evans

A continuous staircase stretches though the centre of the building, starting from a first-floor foyer. A bridge links this foyer with another university building, while more stairs lead down over a low roof to meet the ground level below.

The architects used a broad colour palette to highlight details both inside and outside the structure. Vivid blues and reds frame the hexagonal windows, while columns and banisters are coloured bright orange and the bridge features a shade of lime green.

Lyons has completed a few university buildings recently, including a bioscience facility with an X-shaped facade and a building covered in brightly coloured scales that was branded “ugly” and “menacing” by Dezeen readers. See more architecture by Lyons.

Photography is by Dianna Snape, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s some more information from Lyons:

The La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS), La Trobe University

The La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS) is a major new building on La Trobe University’s Bundoora Campus, which will meet the University’s long-term needs in terms of student learning and research in the science disciplines.

Lyons were appointed following a design competition sponsored by the Australian Institute of Architects. An integral part of the brief was for the project to have a ‘transformative’ effect in terms of the architecture and identity of the campus, which had previously been built within the strict guidelines for materials and heights.

Above: photograph is by the architects

The building is designed around the University’s specific model for creating a pathway for students in science; an environment where students can develop into student researchers and ultimately into lead researchers.

Above: photograph is by Michael Evans

The lower levels of the building accommodate first to third year undergraduate learning spaces – with large open flexible labs (accommodating teaching cohorts for 160 students) connected with ‘dry’ learning spaces. This allows students to move between laboratory based project work, to digital and collaborative learning activities within the adjacent spaces. At ground level, these learning spaces breakout to new landscaped spaces, extending the idea of placing students at the centre of outside social and learning areas.

The upper three levels of the building are research focused and based around a highly collaborative model. All laboratories are large open flexible spaces where teams are able to work together, or expand and contract according to research funds. These large ‘super labs’ are located immediately adjacent to write-up spaces, allowing a very direct physical and visual connection between all research work areas.

A series of further shared spaces, including a major conference room, staff ‘college’ lounge and informal meeting spaces, are also located on the research levels. The design is fully integrated with the adjacent existing building, which accommodates a number of other LIMS research staff and laboratories.

The project design also responds to the unique attributes of the University’s Bundoora Campus, with its elevated ‘concourse’ at the first level. The primary reception to the building is, in fact, located at this concourse level at a ‘cross roads’ of the campus circulation in a north/south direction.

A major stairway rises through the centre of the building, connecting the student and research levels – as a form of representation of the ‘pathway’. The cellular exterior of the building is derived from ideas about expressing the molecular research that is being undertaken within the building, and is adjusted via the materiality of the building itself.

The walls are primarily precast concrete, with the cells providing a ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ window into the various spaces, aiding the penetration of daylight. The cellular concept also creates a framework for a number of distinctive spaces for students to occupy or for research staff to meet and collaborate.

Above: long section – click for larger image

The post The La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science
by Lyons appeared first on Dezeen.

A louvred wooden X-shape filled with staircases connects the two laboratory wings of this scientific research centre by architects Lyons at the Australian National University in Canberra (+ slideshow).

Located on the university’s Acton campus, the building brings together two existing biological research schools into a single facility with hexagonal windows and splashes of bright green on its facade.

“Both of the existing schools had very successful research and teaching programmes and the challenge was to bring those programmes together in the one building, maintaining their separate identities while forming a new entity,” said architect Carey Lyons. “The building’s two wings provide the separate identities, while the cross-stair with its meeting rooms binds them together.”

The wonky cross stretches across the west facade of the U-shaped building, creating two overlapping staircases that screen collaborative working areas and meeting spaces.

In the two wings, laboratories are arranged in rows and filled with modular furniture and equipment, allowing them to be easily reorganised.

Offices are positioned opposite the laboratories and each floor has two rows of windows; one row at desk height and a second row at ceiling level.

Lyons has worked on a number of educational and research buildings, including an institute of technology, a medical school and a college administration building.

See more architecture by Lyons or more projects in Australia.

Photography is by Dianna Snape.

Here’s a project description from Lyons:

Biosciences Research Building
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

Constructing Collaboration

The primary idea for this Bioscience Research building is to join together the super-performative needs of a contemporary laboratory research building, with a conceptual expression of collaboration.

The site for the building is at the centre of the Australian National University, a research focused campus located within Australia’s capital city Canberra. The purpose of the building is to bring together two previous disparate research schools into a single integrated and collaborative environment.

The two laboratory wings are joined together by a broad scissor or ‘X’ stair, which also forms the primary approach and address to the building. This X stair functionally connects the schools together across the three levels of the building, and is also an expressive architectural figure of collaboration and connectivity. The form of the stair is also derived from design operations on the X chromosome, which is a key focus for the research disciplines working within the building.

Internally the X stair, through a series of spatial inflections, creates social and collaborative space within its figure. At its lower levels it contains spaces for collaboration between staff and research students, at the centre of the X is located a tea room and informal seating, and at the top of the stairs is located spaces for collaborative work between researchers. The stair figure is clad in timber shading devices, which ameliorate the late afternoon sun.

The two laboratory wings contain a series of high performance and flexible laboratory environments which can be readily adapted to meet rapidly changing research needs.

All laboratory furniture and equipment is both modular and ‘loose fit’ allowing scientists to adapt their laboratories to suit their current activities. Offices and work areas for researchers are located immediately adjacent to the laboratories within high ceiling spaces that operate as either air conditioned or fully naturally ventilated spaces depending on the external environmental conditions.

The researcher spaces are contained within a building envelope constructed out of a modular precast concrete system, based on the idea of a cellular structure. This system creates a ‘field’ of windows both externally and internally, with the interior having two windows per level – one at desk height for views, and one at a higher level for bringing natural light deeply into the work area.

The plan figure of the building has been developed within the context of an overall precinct masterplan, with a number of other buildings currently under construction. The diagonal geometry of the plan articulates a key pedestrian route through the centre of the campus, and also creates a courtyard space within the building form that inflects outwards towards the campus. At the end of the courtyard is another expressed staircase, interconnecting each of the bio-containment laboratory levels.

Site plan – click above for larger image

Ground floor plan – click above for larger image

First floor plan – click above for larger image

West elevation – click above for larger image

North elevation – click above for larger image

East elevation – click above for larger image

South elevation – click above for larger image

The post Biosciences Research Building
by Lyons appeared first on Dezeen.