Late last month, we celebrated another milestone in our history at the inaugural Gresley Abas 2012 Rooftop movie function…. Alex, Lisa and Tanya have recently become part owners and Associate Directors of Gresley Abas.  This is a very exciting point in our ongoing journey and we  were thrilled to share this with many of our supporters and collaborators.

A big thank you to all those of you who were able to join & celebrate with us on this fine night, we hope there are many more to come!

On the night, we were lucky enough to have Hans Bruechle of Handbrake Surf and Skate to make this fabulous video memento.

Click here to see the video on youtube

We are very very pleased and proud to announce that we have been awarded at the 2012 AIA Awards on friday past.

We took out an architecture award for public architecture with the Belmont Trade Training Centre and an award in the Residential category of Alterations and Additions for the Gresley Monk House

We want to thank all involved in these projects. I think its fair to say that they have been highly rewarding for all involved – from conception through to completion. Thanks!

Matt Huxtable from Newforms Landscape Archiecture and his band have put together a tidy collection of songs for triple j’s uneathered competition.

Check them out here.

Head to soundcloud for even more tracks.

Wilkhahn at Atlas Iron

Atlas Iron’s new fitout is the work of Perth design firm Design Monkee, with furniture from Wilkhahn.

Rapidly expanding junior miner Atlas Iron needed a new workspace that would accommodate the company’s growth.

The 1600sqm space required a speedy turnaround – just 4 months from briefing to final handover.

The designers took inspiration from the location of Atlas Iron’s iron ore mines, in the north of Western Australia where the horizon, land and sky dominate. Natural materials were used for feature floor finishes, and the sky is represented through light blue feature ceiling panels with construction mesh panelling through the reception area.

Metallic elements in the furniture and lighting and horizon and striation lines in the wall and cabinet work detailing reference the natural metallic striation in the ore.

Furniture from Wilkhahn, with its inspired functionality and light ambience, creates a professional but at once relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.

A mix of offices and workstations, meeting rooms, quiet rooms and breakout areas create a flexible and multi-functional space.

Here is what happens when you add a few corporate dollars to 3D building projections….

Adidas France – 3D Mapping Projection from The Cool Hunter on Vimeo.

its going mainstream.

This Article points out the increasing complexity in determining exactly how developing “one off” green  housing typolgies actually is. Architects and builders are often conveniently justifying a range of emerging building methodologies as being eco friendly, but are not capturing the holistic processes required to obtain a truly green outcome. The truth is that that significant “green wash” needs to be cut through on all levels to really achieve a quality outcome.

Furthermore, the limitations on the architects ability to create a demonstrated result can be limited by how we currently operate in the marketplace.

I was drawn to prefab not because of green, but because of design. The conventional architect model of business does not work for housing; only the ultra rich can afford great architects, the very rich can afford one of the many hack architects, and everyone else just gets whatever crap the developers want to put on the table. Unlike industrial design, houses don’t get prototyped; every one is a one-off, and many just don’t work very well. As Frank Lloyd Wright said, “Doctors are lucky, they get to bury their mistakes. Architects can only plant vines” Prefab is a way to distribute the work of a talented architect over a larger number of units and give them an opportunity to get it right.

Worth a read…

It has been a long while between project updates for Gresley Abas, but rest assured its not for lack of work. Here are some projects currently underway in the office:

Ballajura and Armadale Trade Training Centres -  Under Construction/ Tender Awarded

Darling Range Sports College – Tender Awarded

Capel Sports Pavillion – Under Construction

Donnybrook Medical Centre – Contract Documentation

Holmes Residence – Nearing Completion

Champion Lakes – Under Construction

Northam Tafe – Contract Documentation

Yanget House Bunbury – Schematic Design

Redesign Your Farmers’ Market, asked for design solutions that would help food grown by local farmers to be more effectively delivered and distributed to urban residents.

check out Redesign Your Farmers’ Market Winners | GOOD.

Here’s one example : Farmlink by Josephine Chan, Blanket Collaborative in San Francisco.

Copenhagen architects beat Foster and Hadid with ‘modern and rational’ library

Invited as one of five pre-selected architect led teams, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was awarded first prize in an open international design competition which included 19 entrants amongst others Lord Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid.

via National Library, Bjarke Ingels Group, world architecture news, architecture jobs.

On a night enjoyed by all, we were proud to accept the Sustainable Architecture Award for our Ellenbrook Affordable and Sustainable Housing project.

Gresley Abas took out the sustainable architecture prize for a Department of Housing and Works demonstration home in Ellenbrook.

“The idea of this house is bigger than the house itself,” judges said…  Link

See photos of the houses above…