A timely proposal that considers the imbalance between private car parks and public space has won the 2021 AA Prize for Unbuilt Work.
“The winning scheme, A Treasure Trove of Space – Rethinking Melbourne’s Car Parks by Bates Smart, tackles an issue that preceded the global pandemic, yet is even more relevant in a post-COVID world in which many city buildings have been left vacant,” said jury chair Katelin Butler.
“Many of the schemes dealt with the very real issues facing us today, offering suggestions as to how we might change our course into the future.
“We have been given a chance to dream up a new world; and I believe architects can lead the way by collectively drawing on a unique capacity for imagination and pragmatism.”
The AA Prize for Unbuilt Work was reprised after a decade-long hiatus and received more than 200 entries. Along with the winner, three honourable mentions and four special mentions were also awarded.
Butler was joined on the jury by Abbie Galvin (NSW government architect and a past winner of the prize), Alec Tzannes (founding director, Tzannes), Carroll Go-Sam (lecturer, School of Architecture, University of Queensland), and Rory Hyde (associate professor in architecture, Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne).
Winner
A Treasure Trove of Space – Rethinking Melbourne’s Car Parks – Bates Smart
Honourable Mentions
Burial Belt – Other Architects
New Ground – Other Architects, Openwork, Andy Fergus and Alicia Pozniak
Anthepe Community Centre – University of Newcastle and Tangentyere Council Aboriginal Corporation
Special Mentions
Lingang Bird Airport – McGregor Coxall
Backyard – Alex Galego
Lost Tablets – MvS Architects
Australia’s Urban Room – Bates Smart
For more coverage, see the January/February issue of Architecture Australia, on sale 15 January.
