Projects

Civic

Townsville Civic Theatre Extensions
Townsville Civic Theatre Extensions
Theatre management identified the need for new and expanded facilities at the Townsville Civic Theatre precinct including:

Ground level administration offices, ticket shop, lobby, increased public space in existing foyer and amenities.

Mid-level technical offices, workshop, stores, rehearsal space with catwalks, lighting grids, lift access to other levels of the auditorium and amenities.

Upper-level function spaces, commercial kitchen, bar and amenities.

The Project comprises:

Two storey facility in excess of 2,500 m2, adjacent the full length of the east side of the existing theatre, extending 25 metres past the loading dock.

Expansion and refurbishment of the theatre’s existing foyer.

External works included upgrades of air-conditioning systems, electrical transformers, hydrant booster and fire ring main, sewerage system, driveways, car parking, landscaping and signage.

Design precedence determined the new facility’s floor levels to closely relate to various floor levels in the existing theatre auditorium and stage areas:

Public entry to the new lobby, courtyard, administration spaces was set at the same floor level as the existing foyer.

Technical and rehearsal spaces match the existing stage level allowing smooth transition between zones.

Function spaces and upper lobby align with the upper side auditorium level at Door 6.

A mid-level bridge with lift and stair access, provides direct access to mid–auditorium level at Door 4.
Cloncurry Community Precinct
Cloncurry Community Precinct
The Cloncurry Community Precinct is constructed on a cleared site in the town centre, adjacent to the historic Shire Hall. It comprises a series of single storey connecting pavilions, totalling in excess of 3400m2 of enclosed floor space and over 500m2 of covered external spaces.

The new facilities facing Scarr Street form the Community Precinct linking to the existing Shire Hall to it’s east and the new Council Administration offices to its north, and includes:

Library with a central open book stack space and high coffered ceiling surrounded by defined alcoves and activity spaces. Staff spaces adjacent have preparation, storage and amenities areas. Entry to the Library and Gallery is by way of a spacious lobby, controlled by library staff at the reception counter.

Gallery with large artwork display space and high facetted coffered ceiling together with an adjacent gallery store and touring exhibition preparation space.

Function Centre divided by acoustic rated operable walls into either 1, 2, 3 or 4 multi-use rooms of various sizes with break-out spaces on each side. Timber acoustic panelling and high vaulted ceilings feature in the interiors.

Community Open Space accessed from the street via a square concrete arch, is an external covered multi-use area located centrally off the Gallery, Bar, Function Centre and Shire Hall and forms part of the public avenue through the site from Scarr Street to Daintree Street.

Bar, kitchen and public amenities with a large fully equipped commercial kitchen to cater for functions of all sizes occurring in the Shire Hall, Function Centre, Gallery or Community Open Space.

The roof forms follow the existing roof forms of the existing Shire Hall and the masonry parapet modules at external corners reflect the proportions and compliment similar features on the adjacent hall. Extensive use of natural stone and recycled timber reflect the ‘Cloncurry Character’.

Upper level spaces which house air conditioning plantrooms add height to the building forms, counteracting the horizontal nature of the single storey design.
Cairns Airport International Temrinal Building
Townsville Airport Domestic Terminal Building
Mount Isa Airport Domestic Terminal Building
Dance North School of Arts Refurbishment Townsville
Perc Tucker Gallery Refurbishment Townsville

Commercial

Queensland Country Credit Union - Deeragun

Queensland Country Credit Union - Deeragun

The new QCCU Deeragun branch in Townsville’s growth belt to the city’s north, was briefed as needing to introduce a less formal, more personable retail approach to its engagement with members to carry banking from selling cashier transactions, into selling service and linking into the wider community.

The branch is laid out to provide stepped degrees of interaction with staff, from a greeting guide at the entry, through casual cafe style seating with its “Community Matters” wall and on to meeting spaces that become progressively more formal and private, as may be desired.

Materials and detail are manipulated to express the high tech nature of modern banking processes, while simultaneously drawing on the warmth of natural timber finishes, and elements of Queensland’s traditional built character.
Sun Metals Office Building Townsville Zinc Refinery

Sun Metals Office Building Townsville Zinc Refinery

The office building site is situated at the entrance of the Townsville Zinc Refinery with a 360° outlook, a northerly aspect and backdrop of surrounding hills. It is a desirable location on gently rising ground, but is exposed to seasonal cyclonic conditions.

The building is positioned 50 metres from the entrance road which enhances the elevation above the road and provides a buffer to the traffic and allows room for driveways and visitor parking.

The building has been designed with a double corridor system to enable offices and work spaces to be positioned in the desirable locations around the external window walls with support facilities and service areas located in the central zone.

The building has been split and lapped where the major services and support facilities are located. The north and south faces are provided with verandahs which typify a tropical building, and provide the necessary shade on the glazed walls for enhanced working conditions and reduction of the heat load on the building.

The verandahs run as three spines east-west across the faces and through the office building, and are purposely designed as two-storey high spaces with metal screening in the top sections which gives the building scale when viewed against the backdrop of the tall refinery structures.

The building has been designed for the Korean clients using Feng Shui principles, and the large granite clad square arch at the main entrance is a testament to attracting positive energy to flow through the building.

The design allows flexibility for change of the internal office layout and for future extension by length and by further wings lapping existing. The form, being low-rise generally reflects the North Queensland vernacular with verandahs sheltering the walls and windows from the sun and rain.

Accessibility for people with disabilities was an important consideration in this project.
Cloncurry Shire Council Administration Building

Cloncurry Shire Council Administration Building

The Cloncurry Community Precinct is constructed on a cleared site in the town centre, adjacent to the historic Shire Hall. It comprises a series of single storey connecting pavilions, totalling in excess of 3400m2 of enclosed floor space and over 500m2 of covered external spaces.

The new Council Administration Centre on Daintree Street is constructed behind the existing Shire Hall and linked to it and the new Cloncurry Community Precinct facilities. The access verandah along the west side of the building, adjacent the car park and service driveway, forms part of the public avenue through the Precinct, linking Daintree Street and Scarr Street.

The new offices, specifically designed for council administration operations, house all council administration staff in one central location to serve the needs of the community. The open planned technology-enabled flexible work spaces for admin staff encompass the internal managerial staff offices, providing an excellent working environment with good natural light, visibility and access. The Mayoral/CEO suite closely links to the public reception area.
Steel Pacific Office Building Aitkenvale

Steel Pacific Office Building Aitkenvale

The Steel Pacific office building is constructed on a cleared, former residential site, one allotment back along Aitken Street from the very busy Ross River Road in the suburb of Aitkenvale.

The design response to the site resulted in an angled facade, parrallel to the street, with a simple functional floor plan layout located under a rectangular pitched skillion roof form. The modern open planned office area at the cenre of the building is provided with good natural light from the large full height shopfront windows at the front and rear of the building, as well as filtered light provided through the glazed internal partitions of the enclosed offices along the northern side.

A small visitor and disabled parking area is located at the front of the site, while the main staff parking area is located behind the building. The site is fully landscaped and is provided with an automatic irrigation system.
Abigroup Office Fitout Townsville
QCCU Branch Fitouts Queensland
NAB Branch Fitouts Queensland
SES Administration and Amenities Building Townsville
Bi Lo Supermarket Charters Towers
Mercy Meals Commercial Kitchen Townsville
State Govt Office Building Townsville
Commonwealth Govt Office Building Townsville

Defence / Industrial

Defence Housing Australia Office Reburbishment

Defence Housing Australia Office Reburbishment

Defence Housing Australia (DHA) approached RPA Architects to refurbish existing office and call centre. The brief was to create a space that encourages employees to enjoy being at work whilst recognising where the office was located within the world, tropical North Queensland. The general office space and call centre had to be separate but still contained in the existing open plan office space. The green wall and timber battening was used to tie the office to the tropical North Queensland links whilst dividing the office as briefed. There are alcoves off the open office space for informal meetings with staff. These alcoves are lined with acoustic fabric to help balance the sound of the large space. The amenities and staff room including kitchen were refurbished as part of this project.
Sun Metals Gatehouse and Change Rooms

Sun Metals Gatehouse and Change Rooms

The Sun Metals Gatehouse and Change Rooms are located just inside the Townsville Zinc Refinery perimeter security fence and together with the nearby Administrative Office building form a set of structures at the main entry to the plant that complement one another as a group, coupled together by similarities in elements, materials, details and colours. They have a scale that is defined by their people-orientated functions, that set them apart from the massive bulk of the refinery’s industrial structures behind.

The change rooms building is divided into two halves dedicated proportionally to males and females, with a service corridor along the divide line. The lockers and dressing areas on each side are glazed full height, naturally ventilated, with adjustable louvres that look out into intensively landscaped private courtyards. These courtyards are surrounded by an arrangement of continuous aerofoil blades that scoop any available breezes into the interior. The raised central spine is designed to create zones of lowered air pressure that induce cross ventilating air flow from the cool tropical courtyards, in through the full height louvred walls of the change rooms, and out through the high level louvres in the walls of the central spine. For breezeless days a mechanical exhaust system is utilised to create air flow.

The Gatehouse plan form and layout was strongly influenced by need for visibility in both directions along the main entry and exit roads of the refinery. The control room is tucked back in under long overhanging ends to shelter from the sun and to make it difficult for a thrown object to reach the windows.

Both buildings are heavily equipped with building services and building materials have expensive robust finishes to resist corrosion caused by the local acidic conditions and marine environment.
11th Brigade Facilities, Lavarack Barracks

11th Brigade Facilities, Lavarack Barracks

The project involved the relocation of the Townsville based 11th Brigade (11BDE) Army Reserve Units, previously occupying Jezzine Barracks and buildings in the Combat Support Regiment (3CSR) Lines at Lavarack Barracks, to the western end of Lavarack Barracks in existing accommodation and facilities of the former Headquarters of the 3rd Brigade (HQ 3BDE), providing permanent facilities in one consolidated location at Lavarack Barracks for all elements of 11 BDE in Townsville.

The facilities constructed for 11 BDE units included office accommodation, storage space, training rooms and workshops, as well as shelters and compounds for vehicles and equipment. The project plan allowed for major refurbishment of existing buildings and facilities, many of which were initially constructed in the 1960’s for the Vietnam Deployment Task Force. The plan also included some new buildings and facilities as well as site infrastructure upgrades.
Building 732 Mechanical Workshop Upgrade, Lavarack Barracks
35 Fld Sqn Upgrade Mount Isa Depot
Building 400 Refurbishment, Lavarack Barracks
323 Health Services Flight Facility, Townsville RAAF Base
Coral Sea Cadets Facility Extensions, Magnetic Island
Water Treatment Laboratory Douglas Townsville
Tropical Weeds Research Laboratory Charters Towers
Wagon Repair Workshop, Queensland Rail North Yard
Workshops, Queensland Rail South Yard

Education

The Cairns Institute JCU Cairns
The Cairns Institute JCU Cairns
RPA Architects collaborated with Woods Bagot to win the architectural competition for the design of The Cairns Institute, a landmark building supporting James Cook University’s aim to become one of the world’s leading research universities in the tropics.

The building will facilitate research activities in social sciences, humanities and other related fields of tropical knowledge, as well as provide public engagement spaces, including:

Exhibition and display foyer.

Interactive lecture theatre.

Seminar rooms.

Indoor and outdoor meeting spaces.

Private research spaces.

Offices and staff facilities.

Café and catering facilities.

Landscaping and car parking.

The Cairns Institute building is encompassed by a super-sized steel lattice skin, or ‘trellis’, shielding the building and connecting it to its tropical rainforest setting. Inside the trellis, the tall two-storey structure is essentially three buildings, a long rectangular research and office wing and two oval ‘pods’, the lecture theatre and the seminar pods, all of which are linked together by a two-storey high exhibition and display foyer. Bisecting the building and separating the building’s more private research wing from the public engagement spaces, is the ‘knowledge wall’, a steel framework containing artefact display cases, projection screens and a reception counter. Some meeting rooms and offices project through this framework and cantilever into the foyer space.

The building has been designed using sustainable tropical design principles and includes energy efficient air handling systems connected to the University’s central chillers and chilled water storage system. Parts of the building are designed for mixed mode air-conditioning and cooling and a 5 star Green Building rating is achievable.
Dentistry Building JCU Cairns
Dentistry Building JCU Cairns
PGD Architects collaborated with Suters and RPA Architects in the design, documentation and contract administration of the new Dentistry Building at James Cook University’s Cairns Campus. The state of the art building for undergraduate training in dentistry includes the following facilities:

80 seat dental simulation teaching laboratory.

15 chair public dental clinic.

Prosthodontics laboratory.

Acrylics, ceramics, casting, plaster and polishing teaching rooms.

Dispensary, sterilizing and OPG x-ray facilities.

Anatomy dissection laboratory.

Museum.

Tutorial and meeting rooms.

First and second year home rooms.

Third, fourth and fifth year resource rooms.

Postgraduate cubicles and research laboratory.

Offices and staff and student amenities.

Covered set-down, service road, loading area and landscaping.

The three storey building is distinguished by its large overhang slimline flat roofs, green/yellow/white panelled facades and metal grated sunscreens.

Energy efficient air handling systems are connected to the University’s central chillers and chilled water storage system.
Medicine-Pharmacy Expansion JCU Townsville
Medicine-Pharmacy Expansion JCU Townsville
James Cook University students and teachers now have access to the latest medical technology and research facilities with the expansion of the university’s medicine and pharmacy schools. The two storey building is the new focal point of the university’s medical precinct and links an anatomy and clinical skills medical wing, a pharmacy and medical research wing, and a lecture theatre via a covered breakout space, breezeway and elevated walkways to the existing medical school. The school expansion integrates into the university village master plan which allows (in future expansions) for a direct link from the medical school precinct to the Townsville Hospital located opposite the University.

RPA Architects collaborated with PDT Architects in the design, documentation and contract administration of this vital building expansion.

Medical school clinical teaching facilities include:

Anatomy dissection laboratories.

Embalming, prosection and pathology preparation areas.

Mortuary, discreet vehicle entry and storage areas.

Anatomy/pathology and museum flexible teaching spaces.

Clinical skills teaching, examination, consultation rooms and storage areas.

Clinical skills and guided learning flexible teaching spaces.

Home group rooms and student amenities.

300 seat tiered lecture theatre.

Landscaping and car park.

Pharmacy school facilities include:

Pharmacy practice flexible teaching space.

General pharmacy dispensing and special teaching laboratories.

Postgraduate cubicles area and storage areas.

Offices and staff and student amenities.

Medical research facilities include:

Combined PC 2 research laboratory.

Special research laboratories, sterilization, preparation and storage areas.

Postgraduate cubicles areas.

Offices and staff amenities.

Centrally located between the two wings above the shaded breakout space and breezeway is a combined two-storey high mechanical plant room with energy efficient air handling systems connected to the university’s central chillers and chilled water storage systems.
Rock Centre Expansion - The Cathedral School
Ber Information Resource Centre & Classrooms - The Cathedral Junior School
Pre-Prep Facility - The Cathedral School
Science Facility & Lecture Theatre - The Cathedral School
Girls Boarding - The Cathedral School
Boys Boarding - The Cathedral School
Kindergarden - Oonoonba State School
Ber State Schools Projects NQ Round 3
Rehabilitation & Exercise Science Building JCU Townsville
New Primary School Master Plan & Stage 1 Build
New Junior School Master Plan & Stages 1-5 Buildings - Townsville Grammar School
Boarding Dormitories - Townsville Grammar School
Gymnasium - Townsville Grammar School
Dormitory Classrooms Buildings - St Patricks College Townsville
Dormitory Administration Building - St Patricks College Townsville
Law Business Building & Sir George Kneipp Auditorium JCU Townsville
All Souls St Gabriels School Charters Towers
Blackheath and Thornburgh College Charters Towers
Cool Schools Projects Ingham & Burdekin Regions
Trinity Anglican School Stage 1 Cairns
Automotive Engineering Building TAFE Mount Isa
Biological Sciences Building JCU Townsville

Health / Aged Care

BreastScreen Queensland Fitout, Domain Central

BreastScreen Queensland Fitout, Domain Central

This relocation project into a 700sqm vacated tenancy at the Domain Central shopping centre from The Townsville Hospital and Kirwan Health Campus seeks to deliver improved BSQ attendance rates and ultimately better patient outcomes. The new location will allow greater flexibility of patient appointments and better car parking access than exists at TTH. The project provides 3 mammography examination rooms, 2 ultrasound rooms, advanced radiographer, sonographer and image operator areas, consultation rooms, general administration areas, individual staff offices, meeting rooms, counselling rooms, separate foyer and waiting rooms and client and staff facilities and amenities.
Glenmead Village Aged Care Facility Cairns

Glenmead Village Aged Care Facility Cairns

This master planned aged care facility, developed in three stages providing accommodation for 190 residents, was built on a greenfield site to replace the sub-standard Uniting Church’s Good Samaritan Nursing Home which had passed its ‘use by date’. In providing this replacement facility the Client required that the home be ‘state of the art’ and desirable accommodation for many years to come.

The service-provision plan for the project was based on the Eden Model of Care for the elderly, and the functional brief required provision of long stay care accommodation and supporting facilities, being predominately high care nursing and dementia nursing. Our investigation and review of the brief revealed that the social model of care to be adopted generally was an alternative therapeutic model while the high care facilities were still biased towards a medical model.

The home is built near the centre of Redlynch, an old but expanding Cairns suburb containing a mixture of development with single dwellings, small unit blocks, local shopping and the original hotel. Glenmead is laid out around its own village square with a church, shops and administration office for the complex. Blue Care’s community nursing centre has also relocated to the village and the surrounding community is welcomed to use and enjoy the village.

Whilst being a large development, the Glenmead Village buildings have a scale which is related to the suburban environment, having people-orientated functions with similarities to the elements of the local area. The home compliments the suburban feel of the area and reinforces the social context for the neighbourhood. Planning is logical, well ordered and efficient yet does not detract from the group and private living areas used by residents.
The Townsville Hospital Redevelopment

The Townsville Hospital Redevelopment

The redevelopment of TTH involved the relocation of public hospital services from the Townsville General Hospital in North Ward and the Maternity Hospital in Kirwan to a new greenfield site in Douglas, adjacent to James Cook University.

RPA Architects were architectural sub-consultants to Woods Bagot, who were appointed as architects, health planners and landscape architects for this major project. RPA provided contract documentation and construction phase architectural services for the 425 bed, level 5-6, public tertiary referral hospital, completed in 2001.

Since then RPA Architects have carried out more than 30 alteration and addition projects of varying sizes and complexity on TTH buildings, improving hospital services and increasing bed capacity to 580.
Acute Mental Health Building The Townsville Hospital

Acute Mental Health Building The Townsville Hospital

The Acute Mental Health Building forms part of the $181 million Townsville Hospital redevelopment, constructed on a greenfield site in the suburb of Douglas, adjacent to James Cook University. This stand-alone building is built on the northern side of the main entrance road to the site opposite the Hospital’s Emergency Department.

The acute mental health service is an integral part of the District’s mental health services, and was relocated from its old location at the Townsville General Hospital in North Ward.

The single storey building has a domestic scale compared to the rest of the Hospital and is purposely designed to provide a light, airy, open environment while respecting patients privacy. There are 36 beds arranged in 3 open ward areas and a high dependency unit, each with their own living areas which open out onto external landscaped courtyards arranged in and around four wings at the rear of the building. The front two wings contain administration and staff education areas. A central spine runs up through the building and contains clinical rooms, core staff areas and core patient areas. The corridors running through the spine and wings are staggered at three central sky-lit lobby areas, aiding orientation while eliminating a tunnel effect created by long corridors.
Park Street Medical Suites
TSMP Medical Centre Upgrade Cranbrook
Oxford Medical Suites & Laboratory Hyde Park
30 Bed Med 4 & Med 5 Wards Fitout - The Townsville Hospital
Birthing Centre - The Townsville Hospital
22 Bed Emu Ward Fitout - The Townsville Hospital
Ingham Hospital Redevelopment Master Plan
Unihealth Medical Centre - The Townsville Hospital
Rehabilitation Extension and Day Therapy Centre - The Townsville Hospital
Dalrymple Villa Nursing Home Charters Towers
Mercy Day Respite Centre Townsville
Eventide Aged Care Facility Redevelopment Charters Towers
The Good Shepherd Nursing Home Townsville

Heritage

Cloncurry Shire Hall Refurbishment
Cloncurry Shire Hall Refurbishment
The Cloncurry Shire Hall, designed by Townsville architect C. D. Lynch, was opened in 1939 on the site of an earlier municipal hall constructed in 1886. The present hall continues on those municipal activities with the council chambers at the front and the large hall at the rear used for public celebrations and social functions. The hall was refurbished in 2003 with funding from the Queensland Heritage Trails Network.

Cloncurry Shire Council commissioned RPA Architects to design the new Cloncurry Community Precinct on land adjacent to the hall. Part of this project included demolition of unsympathetic add-ons at the side and rear of the hall and refurbishment of the original building.

Refurbishment works undertaken in 2012 included:

Replacement of roof sheeting and rainwater goods, upgrading of roof timbers, and the addition of in-roof thermal insulation.

Combining two smaller meeting and store rooms to create the new council chambers where all formal council meetings will take place.

Addition of male, female, and accessible change rooms at stage level for performers use.

Access for people with disabilities to the hall level, with low-rise lift access to the elevated stage level.

Reinstating the windows and doors of the west verandah external wall, increasing the amount of natural light entering the hall, and linking with the amenities and services of the adjacent new development.

Repair, sanding, and re-finishing of the timber floor to the hall and its verandahs.

Upgrade of the fire protection and alarm system to current standards, and sealing all external elements of the building to improve the efficiency of the air conditioning system.

Replacement of floor coverings to the foyer, council chambers, meeting, amenities, and store rooms.

Repainting of all external and internal painted surfaces.

The highlight of the refurbishment is evident in the re-established art deco colour scheme, adding a fresh and uplifting atmosphere to a genuine heritage style building.
Townsville School of Arts Conservation and Refurbishment

Townsville School of Arts Conservation and Refurbishment

The School of Arts building, c.1891 is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. It has undergone a variety of uses during its life, from Arts classrooms and Her Majesty’s Theatre to city Library, World War 2 RAAF post office, Regional Electricity Board premises, local Theatre group and Pacific Festival office, community Radio station and Dance studio and performance space.

The present tenants of this City Council owned property, a community FM radio station and a professional Dance company continue the building’s history of varied occupancy and it’s links to the Arts, ensuring its vibrancy as a fine example of our Cultural and Architectural history.

The works undertaken in the building Conservation included the reconstruction of termite damaged timber sections, stabilising of structural brick piers where cracked due to past cyclone damage and traffic vibration and reinstatement by reconstruction of the first floor verandahs and balustrades on the building’s Stanley Street facade.

New external works included landscaped gardens, an outdoor pavilion, on-site car parking spaces and the installation of clay pavers and new trees to the Walker and Stanley Street footpaths.

The Refurbishment work undertaken internally was a fitout for Dance North, a contemporary dance-theatre company, and included gutting and upgrading of the theatre auditorium and stage areas exposing the original building’s fabric, and installing new tiered seating for 200, new lighting and air-conditioning, foyer/box office, administrative offices and amenities.
Greek Orthodox Church Cyclone Yasi Damage Heritage Impact Statement
4 Timber Shops, Palmer St (Salt Cellar Restaurant)
Anglican Synod Hall Condition Report
Thornburgh House Restoration Charters Towers
Belgian Gardens TCC Conservation Area Survey
Magnetic Island TCC Conservation Area Survey
Building Better Cities South Townsville Heritage Architecture Advice
The Townsville House TCC Heritage Information Kit
Anzac Memorial Park Conservation Management Plan
Victoria Park Hotel Restoration and Renovations
Tattersalls Hotel Restoration and Renovations
Warringa Residence Townsville Restoration and Extension
The Bank Nightclub Townsville Adaption and Renovations
Magnetic House Townsville Restoration Report
Ay Ot Lookout Charters Towers Restoration
Arthur Titley Centre Charters Towers Restoration
Irvingbank Historical Government Buildings Conservation Report
Bowen Courthouse Conservation Report
Ravenswood State School and Teachers Residence Conservation Report
Ravenswood Catholic Church and School of Arts Restoration
Ravenswood Historical Elements Report
Charters Towers Historical Elements Report
The School of Mines Charters Towers Restoration
The Venus Battery Charters Towers Assay Office Restoration
The Charters Towers Stock Exchange Restoration

Residential

C Residence Magnetic Island

C Residence Magnetic Island

This house is on a beachfront site with a desirable easterly aspect facing Nelly Bay with views over Cleveland Bay across to Cape Cleveland. The site has three street frontages with the southerly side facing natural bush parkland and views to granite boulder hills to the south and west.

A wet weather creek flows through the site forming a “D” shape parcel of land available for development. The house is positioned so as not to disturb the creek and the large Melaleuca trees on the site.

The timber framed floor is raised a metre above ground allowing minimal disturbance to the natural surface under and to take advantage of the views and prevailing breezes.

The house has been designed for a tropical island and informal lifestyle, being one room thick with large covered verandahs and shaded decks and the major rooms facing the bay. Large doors and windows open onto the verandahs providing a relaxed atmosphere. Fabric window hoods provide additional shade and add to the character of the house.

Being in an exposed cyclonic location, the structural system is a steel post and beam construction with a two way portal frame, providing the holding down required for these conditions. Timber stud framed walls provide bracing within the steel portals.

Pavilion roofs with raked ceilings are pitched above the structural frame and gable windows allow upper level ventilation.
K Residence Belgian Gardens

K Residence Belgian Gardens

Located on the lower northern slopes of Castle Hill, this house has desirable views to the north over Cleveland Bay and Magnetic Island and to the west over the suburb of Belgian Gardens and the airport to Hervey Range in the distance.

The site has two street frontages, the side being unmade and facing the natural bushland on the hill. The narrow frontage gives access to approximately 50% of the site at street level with the rear dropping steeply into a natural wet weather gully.

The house has been designed for a tropical lifestyle, with rooms opening onto large covered decks and surrounding covered walkways. Large glass sliding doors and louvre windows open out onto the decks and walkways providing panoramic views and capturing the cooling breezes.

Being in an exposed cyclonic situation with over 50% of the house projecting over the gully at the back of the house, a light-steel framed structure was used to least disturb this section of the site, to provide the necessary tie-down and also to provide the framework for the lower level study and laundry/play area, both with balconies. Two gabled pavilion roofs with raked and stepped ceilings are pitched above the steel frame and are joined with a barrel vault shaped roof section.
Eight Dwellings Garbutt Urban Renewal Scheme

Eight Dwellings Garbutt Urban Renewal Scheme

This development is one of the initial demonstration housing projects carried out for the Queensland Department of Housing within the Garbutt Urban Renewal area. Garbutt is an older suburb of Townsville where already 40% of the residential dwellings are Queensland Government owned and rented as social housing.

The large corner allotment was subdivided into 8 separate allotments varying in size from 406 square meters to 568 square meters adopting the Australian Model Code for Residential Development (AMCORD) principles.

The overall development provided a variety of built forms and housing types while expressing an integrated design. There are 3 x 2 bedroom, 2 x 3 bedroom and 1x4 bedroom single storey detached houses all facing the existing streets and a two storey duplex consisting of 1 x 3 bedroom and 1 x 2 bedroom upstairs/downstairs units situated at the end of a new T shaped access lane.

While the design broadly adopts the principles of AMCORD for small lot housing, the inappropriate criteria and guidelines such as zero lot lining and poor climate control are not used in this very successful tropical housing development.

Correct orientation for the sun and breezes and ventilation paths in the spaces between the buildings has been carefully considered. Tropical landscaping is integrated into the development and privacy screening and visual security for residents are also controlled.
R Residence Pimlico
Primrose Street Attached Houses Belgian Gardens
L Residence Saunders Beach
Student Cluster Housing John Flynn College JCU Townsville
Barlow Street Seniors Units South Townsville
O Residence Yarrawonga
G Residence Belgian Gardens
G Residence Stanton Hill