The construction of the Separate Prison based on the Pentonville system was strategically placed with the dominant structure on a rise for all to see from outside the imposing walls. The system that was enforced within the walls was that of a machine – a silent one in which those who were sentenced in the Separate Prison spent their time in solitude and silence.

After the prison was closed many of the buildings were gutted by large bushfires that raged through the site in 1895. During the twentieth century Wing A and C and the Chapel had been re-roofed and repaired, culminating in the most recent professional conservation and interpretation works.

B Wing has remained as a ruin, untouched in over 100 years.

The Separate Prison works conservation and reconstruction project was designed in stages by a team led by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects (TZG).

Working to the staged concept plan and in consultation with TZG, JAWSARCHITECTS have documented B Wing as the final stage.

With many parts of the Port Arthur Site being restored and reconstructed there is a place for the retention of parts in ruin.

B Wing will be sheltered by a new steel framed translucent roof following the profile of the original, protecting the stonework and intact elements of the building.

A raised central walkway with railing limits public access to reduce damage to fragile building fabric.

Enlarged early interior images at both ends of the corridor aid interpretation of original prison use, while the translucent roofing continues the experience of the structure as ruin.

ARCHITECTS IN ASSOCIATION:

Tonkin Zulaikha Greer

STATUS:

Construction Due 2012

The Devonport Maritime Museum is a major cultural asset for the city, housed in a heritage-listed building which was originally the Harbour Master’s residence.

JAWSARCHITECTS was engaged to enhance this facility through provision of additional display space and storage for the numerous artifacts and exhibits which the museum holds. A purpose-built interpretation space was also required to enable the many stories of Bass Strait to be told, including revealing the Julie Burgess, a restored ketch which plied the local waters, as the ‘last of its kind’.

The design of the interpretation wing preserves the natural setting in which the existing museum is placed, the grass of the parkland allowed to gently fold up and over the new addition. The insulative qualities of the green roof will provide a thermally efficient building, working in tandem with the natural ventilation strategy utilised to minimise purchased energy costs.

The low building edges soften the outlook to the museum from the adjacent houses and provide a viewing platform which offers a direct connection with Bass Strait not available from ground level. Drawing on boatbuilding craftsmanship, the fluid form and timber cladding evoke an experience of being within the hull of a ship; the building literally becomes a vessel for story-telling, forming part of that narrative.

The clear span space within provides flexibility for multiple configurations, opening onto an external terrace to allow views of the existing museum and signal station to become integral components of the interpretation experience.

The distinct form provides a strong vehicle for re-branding the museum, strengthening its position as a cultural tourism destination.

STATUS:

Concept Design 2012

The Tasmanian Government has resolved to retain and upgrade the Royal Hobart Hospital on its current site, maintaining the Heritage-listed Liverpool Street Forecourt and 1938 former Acute Wing as the primary public entrance to the hospital.

The design of the new Access and Patient Flow Unit extends the hospital footprint into the Forecourt, consolidating a number of dislocated administration functions into one unit which will be responsible for the admission and discharge of patients.

The new work has been respectful of and sympathetic to the character of the existing building with its strong symmetry, streamlined styling and horizontal emphasis, the curved form of the addition taking its cues from the layout of the original forecourt driveway.

The building is articulated as two symmetrical wings which highlight the existing central entry point as a contrasting vertical element. The existing canopy will be removed and relocated to increase the visibility of the Ola Cohn sandstone statues.
A new semi-circular steel and glass canopy extends over the kerb-side car spaces to allow patients to be dropped off or collected under shelter.

The leading edge of the main roof draws on the strong horizontal aesthetic of the balcony edge on the existing building, wrapping down at the sides to book-end the new additions.

Internally, the new work creates a warm and nurturing environment for both staff and patients whilst also providing a contemporary orientation space befitting of its status as the State’s leading public hospital.

Patient waiting areas and kiosk are placed within the continuous, transparent outer edge of the development to provide an external connection and promote a sense of wellbeing.

ARCHITECTS IN ASSOCIATION:

Vincent Chrisp Architects

STATUS:

Concept Design 2011

The Wellington Centre is a major mixed-use development seamlessly stitched into the heart of Hobart. The centre comprises specialty shops, a supermarket, car park and over 4,500 square metres of office space.

The design maintains the proportion of the surrounding streetscapes, creating a cohesive development by carefully incorporating new insertions adjacent to significant heritage buildings as a consistently scaled podium. Timber beams from an existing warehouse are envisaged to be recycled for incorporation into the new façade treatment.

The ground level retail arcade has a high degree of permeability, with three separate entrances providing pedestrian connections to surrounding streets, open spaces and two adjacent hospitals. The new arcades will provide a range of specialty retail tenancies and convenient access down to a basement supermarket.

At the upper levels, the larger office components are set back, articulated by a contemporary composition of intersecting volumes and externally expressed circulation elements. This approach seeks to minimise the impact of a significant extension to an existing car park which is absorbed within the complex.

The Hobart City Council will own the seven new levels of car spaces which connect to the Council’s Argyle Street Car Park and are accessed via the existing vehicle entrance and ramps. The car park is constructed of flat concrete floor plates to allow for future adaptation to alternate uses without major structural intervention.

An aerial linkway to the Royal Hobart Hospital was incorporated into the development to facilitate Department of Health and Human Services offices and medical consulting services within the office spaces.

STATUS:

Construction 2012

The oldest part of Hollydene dates from the mid 1820s when earlier huts gave way to more substantial dwellings. Between 1910 and 1925 the original house disappeared behind several additions and a new façade, becoming the largest boarding house in Hobart.

Set to become an integral component of the new Medical Science research and teaching facility, Hollydene had become neglected when the site was purchased by the University of Tasmania.

The conservation and adaptation of Hollydene to provide a variety of student spaces was undertaken cautiously, doing as much as necessary, but as little as possible within a limited budget.

This approach involved judicious removal of some later additions, reconstruction of exterior rubble walls and application of a new lime-based render; the interior serving its new use through simply rewiring, patching, painting and laying new carpet.

Two paint schemes are used: the 1825 portions in colours used for its earliest coatings, and the 1910 buildings in colours of that era. The front veranda is a reconstruction based on a detailed 1910 photograph which also informed the selection of plants for the front garden.

The rejuvenated Hollydene highlights the contrasting eras of craftsmanship between old and new.

ARCHITECTS IN ASSOCIATION:

Lyons

STATUS:

Completion 2010

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Jonathan Wherrett

In a city celebrated for its river and mountain views, lifestyle and wealth of heritage buildings, it is unusual to be involved in a project that celebrates all on such a grand scale.

The redevelopment of the 1913 Albuera Street Schoolhouse, once playground to Tasmania’s most famous export, Errol Flynn, provided a wonderful opportunity to bring these themes together. Peeling away layers of unsympathetic additions and alterations has revealed a beautiful shell.

This spectacular canvas has created an opportunity to highlight and contrast the existing fabric through an exploration of minimalist and refined architectural insertions within the original classroom volumes.

The resulting four contemporary apartments are dramatic and beautiful, the new paying reverence to the old. The created spatial experience has become an interplay of compressed and expansive volumes, light and shadow, texture and material, new and old.

STATUS:

Completion January 2004

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Richard Eastwood

The Tower Road Nurses' Home was constructed in the mid 1950s with a powerful horizontal aesthetic, positioned on high ground on the northern edge of New Town, an inner suburb of Hobart.

By the end of the century, the building had outlived its original purpose and languished empty and neglected.

A small development group purchased the unwanted building and broke new ground for Hobart by converting it to suburban apartments.

A typical floor which once accommodated 32 nurses now comprises 5 or 6 apartments – 23 in all. The design emphasis is on liveability rather than overt luxury.

While new architectural elements such as balconies and canopies signal the new use, the raw strength and lines of the building continue to assert its original character.

STATUS:

Completion November 2005

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Richard Eastwood

17-21 Hunter Street is a four- storey sandstone building built between 1830 and 1840 and for much of its life was part of the Henry Jones IXL jam manufacturing complex.

In more recent years, the ground floor has become a Hobart institution as the 'Drunken Admiral' restaurant, while the upper floors have generally remained derelict and unoccupied.

The building is highly significant to the history and evolution of the Hunter Street precinct. To respect this significance, no changes have been made to the external walls, whilst a new lift, stair and five contemporary apartments have been inserted into the existing building shell.

Planning of the new spaces minimizes contact of new walls and fitments with the original building fabric and enabled the modern apartment installations to sit comfortably within the old stone walls.

STATUS:

Completion August 2005

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Richard Eastwood

Designers JAWS2 worked collaboratively with Curator Julia Clark and Graphic Designer Lynda Warner to create an evocative interpretation experience that draws on the imagery of 'grinding rogues into free'.

In a darkened room, cases frame a single glowing object. This is the theme for each unit. On walking into the viewing space a background panoramic image reinforces the object theme and opens out to display an array of thematically linked artifacts.

This installation is all about new ways of learning how to interpret our past in our own manner.

Barrington Lodge is an aged care facility owned and operated by the Salvation Army in New Town, Tasmania.

This project comprised a major redevelopment which increased the accommodation from around 10 to 60 beds, in the process raising the standards to contemporary levels.

Although situated on a large site, the design constraints were considerable: after excluding a steep portion of the site and taking into account high voltage cables, existing buildings, access issues and heritage constraints, the available site area proved to be very tight.

The original Barrington building has been retained, its setting and approach enhanced and its visibility form the street preserved. Barrington has been carefully integrated into the overall design and the many new building elements are respectful in their relationship to the heritage building.

Internally the planning layout has wide, well lit circulation areas, carefully positioned sitting and lounge spaces, enclosed gardens and generous common facilities - a pleasant environment for the residents and staff alike.

STATUS:

Completion 2005

The original Clarence Campus buildings were constructed as Warrane High School in the early 1960's and passed to TAFE Tasmania in the 1980's. After twenty years under TAFE operations, the buildings had become under-utilised, poorly configured for contemporary Vocational Education and Training programs and contained finishes, fittings and building services that had reached the end of their life cycle.

A five-stage redevelopment program was undertaken to address these shortcomings. The sequence of work takes into account the relocation of groups to either vacate accommodation for redevelopment or occupy redeveloped spaces.

Apart from addressing the tangible inadequacies, the design approach has been to retain and highlight the framework and features of the original structures, with the addition a new layer of design elements.

The new works have consolidated the disparate buildings to create a new first point of contact and a social focus for the campus. The way-finding within the campus benefits from a unique address for each building and a completely accessible circulation path between all levels, including provision of a new lift to upper floors.

New external building elements allows for selective inclusion of natural light, modification of the internal environmental conditions and incorporate a passive approach to glare and heat control.

All the buildings are to have their own identity, linked by a common design philosophy. The key objective has been to transform the campus into an exciting and vibrant learning environment by employing light, colour and movement as design devices.

The planning of the new campus allows a greater interaction between the internal and external environments, both in the sense of direct physical access or in the form of views out to the surrounds. Feature lighting throughout the campus is individual to space and function. Sometimes colour is linked in, sometimes scale is manipulated, and sometimes distance. Variation and interest is the key.

Colour is used as a tool for creating character and identity. A common base palette will run continuously through the campus as a whole, not only to tie the campus together, but also for flexibility and ease of adaptability in the future. However, individual buildings display a distinctive interior colour palette, the purpose of which to provide a distinctive address for zones within the campus and its associated user groups.

Pattern is a tool employed to create movement and link the distinct components of the campus together; particularly in the selection and layout of carpets, but also in the design of the signage and building graphics.

STATUS:

Completion January 2006

ARTISTS:

Kieran Bradley, Gerhard Murtz

GRAPHIC DESIGNER:

James Newitt

The Coalmines Historic Site was Tasmania’s first operating mine, established as a much needed local source of coal, but also as a place of punishment for the “worst class” of convicts.

Along with the Port Arthur Historic Site, the Coalmines Site has recently been included in the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property.

In collaboration with a team of landscape planners and interpretation designers, providing access and interpretation infrastructure over the whole site, JAWSARCHITECTS created structures for the separate apartment ruins.


Once a large brick building containing 108 separate convict apartments the building was demolished after the end of convict occupation.

The few remaining underground tunnels now have grated walkways to protect the ground level fabric and a series of steel hoops to shore the brick tunnel structure.

Above ground the corners of the original brick walls are identified by red steel markers and fencing growing out of the rubble.

The Penitentiary Chapel was designed by colonial architect and civil engineer John Lee Archer, and is recognized as one of the very finest examples of Georgian ecclesiastical architecture in Australia. Building of the chapel commenced in 1831.

In 1860 two wings of the chapel were converted into courtrooms by the removal of the tiered pews and the erection of subdivision walls, removal of underground cells and digging of underground tunnels to enable prisoners to be brought directly from the gaol into the two docks, and the erection of court offices on the Campbell Street frontage.

The Gallows, last used in 1946, were deliberately burnt when the old gaol was demolished. The building continued on in use as Magistrate’s Courts until 1983.

A staged conservation program was undertaken over a period of some 7 years. The staging was necessary to enable the works to be undertaken within well established guidelines, but had to accommodate the vagaries of funding from various State and Federal Government Agencies.
Arguably the most exciting in technical and philosophical terms, a decision was made to retain the 1960’s caged walkway which revealed the brutal destruction of the vaulted brick cells beneath the sloping 1830’s chapel floor.

The conservation and reconstruction of the execution yard and scaffold posed some difficult moral and technical problems. The conservation team was strongly of the view that abhorrent though this execution yard was, it is fundamentally important to portray all aspects of history: good and bad.

ARCHITECTS IN ASSOCIATION:

Forward Viney Woolan Architects