CHROFI is proud to announce that our very own John Choi has been selected as an independent expert member for the New South Wales (NSW) State Design Review Panel (SDRP) pilot program. John was appointed by the NSW Government Architect (GANSW), Peter Poulet, to the panel of 40 leading urbanists, landscape architects and architects to provide independent and impartial advice on design quality, recommendations and evaluation. The announcement, made today by the NSW Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing, and Special Minister of State, The Hon. Anthony Roberts, is one of the highest honours the GANSW can bestow.

“Having a diverse group of expert and experienced voices guiding the decisions of the Department will not only ensure that we continue to have a strong assessment process, but also ensure the community has an even greater say on the future direction of planning and design.” Mr Roberts said.

CHROFI, together with McGregor Coxall, has been successful in winning an invited competition to design a tourist interchange at Birubi Point, Port Stephens, within the Worimi Conservation Lands.

The Worimi Conservation Lands contain the largest mobile coastal sand dune system in the Southern Hemisphere. Beyond its physical attractions and adventure tourism offerings, it is also the native land of the Worimi people - a site rich in the living cultural history of its original inhabitants and custodians.

We have been working with Berlin based filmmakers Morean to develop a short film capturing what we can expect from the completed Harbord Diggers project. The film is the culmination of weeks of collecting drone footage, intense 3D modelling and the curation of a beautiful score. A nice summary of what this project team is capable of before we unveil the finished product.

We are proud as punch to take home both the Nicholas Murcutt Award for Small Project Architecture for Lizard Log Amenities and a National Urban Design Award for The Goods Line. Go team!

We have just lodged a DA for an exciting new mixed use development in an area of Newcastle ripe for urban renewal. The idea is the project will act as a catalyst to boost street life and community identity in the neighbourhood. Watch this space.

We have compiled a series of images into a gif illustrating the rapid progress of the Harbord Diggers project over the past few months.

If you missed last week's episode of Australia By Design you can click here to watch CHROFI Director John Choi present Lune de Sang, an intergenerational venture that will see the transformation of a former dairy property into a sustainably harvested forest with trees that take up to 300 years to mature.

John's segment begins at 6min 55sec

We're delighted to receive 3 awards at this year's NSW Architecture Awards:

NSW Architecture Awards, Public Architecture
Lizard Log Amenities and Events Pavilion 

NSW Architecture Awards, Steel Architecture
Lizard Log Amenities and Events Pavilion

NSW Architecture Awards, Urban Design
The Goods Line

We now have the first glimpses of Mezzo in Glebe which is currently under construction. CHROFI along with Kann Finch were selected through a City of Sydney Design Excellence Competition for this site in Glebe, Sydney. The project includes 213 new homes including adaptable units, town houses and affordable housing units.

CHROFI's key design moves included the creation of a colonnade that follows the curvature of Wentworth Park Road to strongly reinforce the park edge with four hovering tower forms above. The podium and colonnade of recycled brickwork gives the street level façades a fine material texture, patterning and relationship to surrounding buildings. We are excited to see the completion of Stage 1 within a few months and Stage 2 having now started construction on site.

To see more of the project click here

Work has started on construction of the Maitland Riverlink, a civic project that aims to re-establish a positive relationship between the city and the river. For many years, Maitland’s town centre had turned its back on the Hunter River, disconnecting the main commercial and community activities from the amenity and outlook of the river. CHROFI, working with McGregor Coxall, identified an opportunity to reframe the relationship by attracting tourists and drawing locals back to the river through a dynamic architectural intervention.

The design comprises a brick arch with amenities and a restaurant tucked into its edges. Through the centre, a covered public space connects the High Street to the Hunter River and acts as a sort of ‘public living room’ for the community.

see more of the project here

We are delighted to announce the following new CHROFI appointments; Andrew Lamond (Senior Associate) , Fraser Mudge, Martin Tarnawski, Georgina Blix, Felix Rasch, Joshua Zoeller and Albert Quizon (Associates) who join Associate Jerome Cateaux. These new appointments represent the practice's growing capacity to deliver a diverse range of projects across different scales, complexities and typologies. 

There's a lot happening on site! Check out the latest timelapse of the Harbord Diggers Project!

CHROFI worked with the Government Architect's Office, NSW Public Works and Parramatta Park Trust on the alterations and additions to the Queen's Road Gatehouse at Parramatta Park. 

The original Queens Road gatehouse was erected in 1873. In response to the form of the existing cottage a simple gabled form extruded to accommodate the required floor space was developed. Physically separated by an entry path, the simplicity of the new form acknowledges and reflects the simplicity and humility of the existing gatehouse.

The new form’s gabled silhouette and lack of expressive detailing is intended to create a comfortable dialogue with the old structure whilst clearly and unambiguously defining itself as a contemporary layer to the site. The existing gatehouse is retained as the larger of the two dwelling-like structures and is anchored as the primary focal point of the composition. The new form and integrated landscape strategy knits together the diverse layers of the site, resulting in a pair of small, cottage-like buildings nestled within a garden, surveying the parklands beyond.

Work has begun on site on the Balmoral House. The house hugs the landscape, its form following the natural contours of the site and wrapping around to establish a secluded courtyard. Generous expanses of glass create light filled living while bringing the garden experience inside. The design was strategic in minimising privacy and view impacts on neigbours while maximising use of a constrained site and capturing glimpse views towards Balmoral Beach. 

The tender has been awarded and work has begun preparing a detailed BIM model for the complex steelwork to the vaulted roof canopy to the community pavilion. 

CHROFI have been working with the Laurelbank Masonic Centre to deliver a new form of community-oriented seniors housing that would be sensitively knitted into the local context and be closely integrated with the heritage-listed Laurelbank Cottage, a new Masonic Hall and the rich garden setting which characterises much of the site.

Following a successful community information session we are working towards an imminent DA submission 

See the project here.

The finishing touches are being applied to the Lune de Sang Pavilion. We are looking forward to testing out the pool! 

See the project here.

Jury Citation
"The Jury was impressed by the crafted relationship between the architectural form, identity and choreographed displays. From the outside the building presents as a translucent box of varying transparency that entices the visitor toward it in the manner of a landmark object sculpting out space. On arrival a glint of green slices through the form providing a tantalising hint of the verdant splendour of plants within. Entering at ground level the visitor is transported into a secret and fertile tropical world of exhibits that ultimately winds upwards through the internal void towards the sky-lit roof. At night the container glows softly as a mesmerising reminder of the rich story of all of Australia’s diverse species exhibited throughout the gardens." 

See the competition entry here.

Work on the Queen's Road Gatehouse has been progressing on site. The project is due for completion at the end of 2016

Following on from our winning design competition entry we have been working with Lend Lease and Fleetwood Urban on the realisation of 'The Beacon'. 

As an object The Beacon seeks to create a sense of urban significance through scale and materiality. The Beacon sits at a highly visible juncture between major desire lines at Barangaroo's Transport Place, calling for a civic marker that is memorable and sits comfortably within its high intensity urban context.

The fifth architectural structure on the Lune De Sang site, a multi-generational family pavilion, is nearing completion on site 

Jury Citation:
"The Goods Line has proven to be a critical piece of social infrastructure in our city through the provision of high quality open space, active transport and recreation all from the adaptive reuse of a defunct rail line. Its true excellence lies in the demonstration of the role the of the landscape in delivering a new generation of urban connectivity. The repurposed rail line completes a missing link in a piece of green infrastructure connecting Central Park, Darling Harbour and Circular Quay. It is also an enjoyable and very popular destination in its own right with shaded performance spaces, fun play areas and spots for quiet reflection." 

The first two shelters for the revitalised Parramatta Parklands has been completed and opened to the public. These structures are part of a larger suite of pavilions that are currently under construction.

The original Queens Road gatehouse was erected in 1873. In response to the form of the existing cottage a simple gabled form extruded to accommodate the required floor space was developed. Physically separated by an entry path, the simplicity of the new form acknowledges and reflects the simplicity and humility of the existing gatehouse.

The new form’s gabled silhouette and lack of expressive detailing is intended to create a comfortable dialogue with the old structure whilst clearly and unambiguously defining itself as a contemporary layer to the site. The existing gatehouse is retained as the larger of the two dwelling-like structures and is anchored as the primary focal point of the composition. The new form and integrated landscape strategy knits together the diverse layers of the site, resulting in a pair of small, cottage-like buildings nestled within a garden, surveying the parklands beyond.