ArchiPro Australia is launching!

106 Architects ArchiPro Australia Foundation Member

ArchiPro Australia is launching 22 October 2021, with tailored Australian projects, products and professionals. With a mission of simplifying the building process and a belief that architecturally designed spaces should be more accessible, ArchiPro is the platform transforming the architecture and building industries by seamlessly connecting those within it.

ArchiPro will launch in Sydney in 2021, with a glamorous opening event (subject to Covid-19 restrictions) designed specifically to showcase the ArchiPro experience to the Australian industry so they see first-hand the benefits of partnering with the platform.

Last year 70,000 people from Australia used ArchiPro, representing 110% in user growth when compared to the previous year. It’s evident that Australians love using ArchiPro and we are now committed to growing this audience by providing our Australian users access to a curated pool of trusted businesses operating within their local market.

ArchiPro’s deeply rooted commitment to simplifying the end-to-end building experience and to the disruption of the traditional and expensive advertising industry remains our core business objective.

With 106 Architects already in bed with ArchiPro in New Zealand showcasing Residential, Recreational, Community and Masterplanning Projects, we are excited to be a Foundation Partner with the Australian arm.

“It’s great to be a foundation partner in Australia to support the launch of ArchiPro. Our partnership aligns with the 106 Architects’ national presence in NZ and recent expansion to Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast – together we’ve got ANZ covered! The platform is such a great resource, is easy to access, and with an amazing visual interface, I am sure our Australian audience will enjoy the curated site as much as our NZ community. It’s wonderful to see others mirror our commitment to the value of the digital world in what we do – welcome to Australia ArchiPro!” Dion Gosling – Director, 106 Architects + Third Place Thinking.

ArchiPro will also be partnering with Woods Bagotone of the world’s largest architectural practices, which will supercharge the adoption of ArchiPro in the Australian market. This partnership is an exciting collaboration that will accelerate ArchiPro’s opportunity to digitally transform the architecture and building industries in Australia.

Here’s what they had to say: “An incredibly useful resource ensuring our teams are at the forefront of intelligent research and sourcing of exemplary products, ensuring only the best for our projects and clients,” – Tracey Wiles, Principal Australian Interior Design Leader, Woods Bagot.

With many opportunities for our clients and our collaborators, we are excited to be involved with this launch and look forward to supporting ArchiPro’s journey in inspiring people to build architecturally designed spaces through their beautifully designed and simple to use platform.

For more information on our Foundation Partnership with ArchiPro Australia, contact:

Annie Salter
media@106architects.com

106 Architects joins Sport And Play Industry Association

106 Architects SAPIA Member

This article originally appeared on Australasian Leisure Management website.

The Sports and Play Industry Association (SAPIA) has advised that 106 Architects (Studio106 Architecture Pty Ltd) has become a member in its Professional Services Division.

106 Architects is an award-winning community and sport-specialist architecture and design practice dedicated to connecting and strengthening communities across Australia and New Zealand, led by Olympian and Commonwealth Games Silver Medallist Dion Gosling.

106 Architects joins Sports and Play Industry Association

The practice advises that we have a “track record and experience cover(ing) multiple codes and sports, across a wide range of projects – from park amenities to regional stadia; elite high performance training and competition venues, regional indoor arena, to local, community facilities and sportsfields.

“(We have) the skills and capability required to help you take your project from concept to final occupation … we live for sports, leisure, and community facilities – having been focused and immersed in fields, courts, tracks, jumps, indoor and outdoor play spaces – sport infrastructure – all our life.

“We are currently working on a range of quality sports and education related community facilities across Australia and New Zealand providing sports-specialist design and technical knowledge.

“Our track record and experience covers multiple codes and sports, across a wide range of projects – from park amenities to regional stadia; elite high performance training and competition venues, regional indoor arena, to local, community facilities and sportsfields.”

Dion Gosling, as Director of 106 Architects, has an innate understanding of the subtleties and technical requirements of outdoor sports fields and indoor sports halls bringing perspective from the athlete, administrator, coach, management and Board level.

Since 1990 when travelling the world as part of the NZ Men’s Hockey Team, Gosling has grown knowledge of global international best practice in order to apply locally. Through roles with the NZ Olympic Committee and now as Chair of the Oceania Hockey Federation Competitions and Events Committee, Gosling is a leader in the holistic assembly of outdoor and indoor sports facilities development.

Selected Services and Reference Projects:

Masterplanning

Namatjira Park Masterplan (in collaboration with theCommunityCollaborative.) – a sports and community masterplan incorporating an existing 12.1 hectare reserve site and a 634 hectare wetlands catchment area in Clayton South. The Park provides diversity of opportunities including social, family, sport, recreation, play and environment experiences with a single oval, single tennis court, sporting pavilion, bowls club and bistro, skate park, playground, tennis wall, basketball half court, and dog off-leash park

Colin Maiden Park– a broad masterplan review for tennis, football, rugby, netball, cricket, AFL, hockey along with commercial sports sector support services, including the new two-turf artificial hockey development as a multisport shared club facility

New Plymouth Multisport Hub – a 38 hectare multisport redevelopment over an existing racecourse to include 14 outdoor netball and multiuse courts, artificial football/rugby field, artificial hockey turf, wight outdoor natural grass fields incorporating artificial and natural cricket wickets, cricket training nets, informal play and social zones for events and day-to-day community activities

Nga Puna Wai Sports Hub – a 32 hectare sports field development including full IAAF-certified athletics track, warm up track and dedicated throws high performance centre, 3 FIH Global Elite hockey turf surfaces, community sports fields, 24 hardcourt tennis courts, NRL-standard rugby league facilities

Indoor Arena and Sports Halls

New Plymouth Multisport Hub – a new six-court indoor regional facility incorporating capacity for 3,000 seating for international netball and basketball events, hosting and media facilities, as well as local club-level multicode shared amenities as part of the wider sports park development

Matamata Indoor Community Sports Centre – a new two-court local community development to be located on the Matamata College grounds. The facility serves as a key partnership between school, community and sports users

Fraser Park Sportsville – a new multisport centre located amongst the existing community sportsfields. The facility includes a 600 metre² multiuse indoor activity zone, six squash courts, café, gym, offices, meeting and social function rooms. 8 changing rooms service the outdoor sports of rugby, hockey, football, cricket and an artificial multiuse 3G turf

Outdoor Active Zones & Informal Play Areas

Namatjira Park Masterplan (in collaboration with theCommunityCollaborative.) – a sports and community masterplan incorporating a new skate park, playground, tennis wall, basketball half court, pick-up-play areas, parking and dog off-leash park connected to an existing bowls club and natural wetlands area

The Boroughs’ Basketball Courts – a new five-court outdoor sports project on sites across Auckland. The project aimed to engage youth with outdoor recreation activity using basketball as the catalyst. The project was a public-private commercial partnership between Auckland Council and SPARK (telecom)

Learn to Ride Track – a disused area of hardcourt asphalt – the size of two netball courts – was converted into a temporary Learn to Ride adventure course for the local community. A concept for design was generated by the rich history and cultural characteristics of the local community – the track created simply by the use of road paint

Artificial Turf Sports Fields

A number of artificial sportsfields have been project managed and delivered by 106 Architects – Colin Maiden Park two-turf hockey field development; Metro Park artificial hockey field; Hamilton Boys’ High School artificial tennis, rugby/football, hockey field development project; Bill McKinlay Park artificial football field; Mt Roskill Grammar School artificial hockey turf and natural fields development; Auckland Grammar School artificial hockey and rugby/football field development.

Click here for more information on the Sports and Play Industry Association.

Images: The Nga Puna Wai Sports Hub (top) and 106 Architects’ Dion Gosling (below).

Design Ambition in Architecture

106 Architects Design Ambition in Architecture
A reflection by our Founder + Director, Dion Gosling
I believed the creative industry – at least in NZ’s small-medium design operations – to be nimble, progressive, innovative and collaborative. Essentially culture-driven and design-led, responding to markets and people.
An article heartened me in late-2010 – an interview with Dean Poole and Ben Corban of Alt Group – discussing the value of design-thinking as a key component to the operating culture of their business. They of course, believed it should be part of the operating environment of our country. It’s been a common theme in many of their media profiles.
Design-thinking is more about thoughts and actions; method and process as a way of operating, than objects or a short-term output-based focus. Poole and Corban’s approach resonated well with my own thinking – I have always believed that if you engage with your audience (client, team, family, etc), listen and understand, establish the relationship, build the programme, but also lead, educate and share your passion, you are more likely to get a satisfactory outcome because the everyone has contributed and enjoyed themselves. A design outcome then, is larger than just the end, built form. It is the experience and the journey that matters.
I would suggest that in architecture, this mode of design-thinking and operation is the modus operandi for the minority of New Zealand practices. Put it down to a tough business climate, competitive challenges, or the need to generate a quick-buck, I am not sure. I am not convinced that being design-led costs any more than not being. Those that do it well, by nature have a point of difference, and are more likely to benefit from a complete culture – the eventual output and current working environment.
Design-thinking in architecture is lacking to such an extent that this is one reason, I believe, behind the general poor quality of our architectural landscape and the environments in which we create this landscape.
Why? Because design-thinking and approach is a way of life. It is not a machine, a production line, a template, a formula, a modified predecessor. It is not driven by bottom-line as a first-principle. I believe so much of what we are building is.
And I get the sense people are over the “ordinary” and the mundane and being controlled and living in poorly designed community structures. There is more to our well-being than this. These attributes are not conducive to creativity and exploration and happiness.
But how does this relate to the practice of architecture?
I recall job reviews in the past when I enquired about the future direction of the practice: the type of work we could develop, what contribution we could make, and more importantly, whether there was value in reviewing and developing the culture of the practice in order to grow. To my mind, the culture values within an environment reflect and transcend across every aspect of performance and output. Improving the culture and design-thinking environment would be manifest, eventually, into our projects, retention and growth of staff – bottom-line as a by-product. Plus we’d create a really enjoyable experience.
The response was that I was too ambitious. And when coupled with “do your time”, there was cause for reflection. This was such out-dated performance criterion, I thought. I didn’t think that sort of attitude still existed in the creative world – it was hardly the inspirational leadership for any mode of creative environment. I took it as output-driven and insular.
Not wishing to discount the feedback, I became interested to explore the idea of ambition, not only in exploring the truth (or not) to the review comments, but also to architecture, as a way to understand my own short-comings and those of the industry sector. Reviews like this allow the questioning of our outlook and process – a critique of development and knowledge. After all reviewers are more experienced and knowledgeable and charged as mentors for our industry – there was something to learn here, or so I respected.
Under these terms, I read ambition as a negative characteristic; a stunter to growth and value. Maybe there was truth to this. Ambition may be aggressive, threatening even, to others. Overt or extreme ambition could indicate insecurity or lack of confidence – quite possibly on both sides of the review table. Dulling ambition, I concluded, was a mechanism for protection and control, the fear of losing a commanding or hierarchical position; of being exposed.
Oscar Wilde referred to ambition as “the last refuge of failure”. In the Wilde context ambition could be construed to mean that the act and display of ambition was to cover a fear of failure. This was in part undoubtedly true, but a design response may have been more around “how do we construct a support network and create an opportunity to test this question of existing practice culture?”. Simply, “how can we help?” and “are we gaining the best out of our environment?”
Ambition can be also be present as a subtle undertone and of a quiet self-confidence. A desire to capture an idea, present it, challenge it, inspire others with it, build it, grow it. A steady and consistent belief operating in the background.
In architecture, ambition has been represented as loud, large-scale (as in ancient Roman structures) and in detail (as in Scarpa) for both a notice for non-failure and self-confidence. Ambition is also present in the passing of the vision from client to architect, to consultant team (we refer to them as the “design team” for a reason), to contractor, to sub-trades. A process bedded in actions and thoughts, and the sharing of culture values across the lanes of design.
I believe as architects we have a responsibility to contribute a design-led culture to our projects and the teams we work in. No one else in the team will introduce it nor will they be inspired to follow if we don’t present it at an intrinsic level. It is not about adding objects or frivolous fanfare – that will only get cut by the QS and Project Manager – it is about creating process everyone can take part in and something that becomes part of the underlying fabric of the brief. It is not an applied condition. It is not as a result of technical repetition – it can’t be – because almost everyone else on the team will be looking to extract it at the first review. If design becomes part of the reason and basis for how the unique and specific team works – the culture – ambition may well be subtle enough to be present in the built outcome.

Trusts Karakare Surf Life Saving Club gets new $3.3m headquarters

106 Architects | Karekare Surf Lifesaving Club

This article was written by Anne Gibson and originally appeared on the New Zealand Herald online newspaper and has been reproduced in part with their permission.

A west Auckland surf club headquarters with rotten timber and a rusting iron roof has been demolished and replaced by new $3.3 million premises due to open in July.

Matt Wade, club captain of The Trusts Karekare Surf Life Saving Club, said the new building was the first of seven club upgrades planned across the region in the next 10 years.

Karekare’s rip-torn black sand beach which featured in the film The Piano has an increasing number of visitors and more pressure was on the club to provide services.

The relatively recent installation of a surf cam has also seen a higher number of surfers taking the winding road down to beach.

A new concrete masonry structure replaced the old damp run-down timber structure severely damaged by rot and topped with a rusting roof, he said.

View the entire New Zealand Herald article, originally published 23 May 2021, here.

A 106 Architects project, the final inspection of the new Karekare Surf Lifesaving Club is Thursday, 17 June 2021. It’s been an epic community journey to get to this point with a project commitment since 2002, and with a huge community funding drive to achieve the funds needed!

For more information on this project, contact media@106architects.com

2021 Rugby World Cup Dates Confirmed!

2021 Rugby World Cup Dates Confirmed!

SCENE SET FOR SUPER-CHARGED RUGBY WORLD CUP AS NEW DATES IN 2022 CONFIRMED

→ Matches will take place between 8 October–12 November, 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei

→ RWC 2021 tournament window increases from 35 to 43 days

→ Match schedule prioritises player welfare with five-day minimum rest days

→ Revamped format with all fixtures to be played on weekends with triple-header matches scheduled per day

→ New Rugby World Cup 2021 brandmark unveiled, including bespoke te reo Māori version for tournament promotion in New Zealand

Rugby World Cup 2021 will feature increased rest periods for all teams following World Rugby’s confirmation of the revised tournament dates which will now see New Zealand host the tournament between 8 October and 12 November, 2022.

With the ambition of super-charging the schedule for players, fans and the host nation, the tournament window will be extended from 35 to 43 days resulting in all teams having a minimum of five rest days between matches. This aligns with the approach recently approved for the men’s competition.

The extension of the tournament window, also allows for a revamped tournament format that will see all matches take place on Saturdays and Sundays, with no overlap, meaning fans will not miss a moment of the first women’s edition of a Rugby World Cup to be hosted in the Southern Hemisphere.

With the tournament starting later in the year players and fans will benefit from warmer weather and longer daylight hours. The pool phase will be played on the weekends of 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 October, 2022 at Eden Park, Northlands Events Centre in Whangārei and Waitakere Stadium.

The quarter-finals will take place on 29-30 October followed by semi-finals on Saturday, 5 November. The bronze final and RWC 2021 final will be played on Saturday, 12 November, with Eden Park set to create history by becoming the first stadium to host both the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup finals.

A detailed match schedule and broadcast timings will be announced at a later date.

In addition to the revised tournament dates, World Rugby has also unveiled new tournament brandmarks retaining reference to 2021, the year the tournament was originally intended to take place, while conveying to fans and audiences that the tournament will now be played in 2022. A bespoke te reo Māori version of the new brandmark has also been designed for tournament promotion in New Zealand. This reflects the importance of te reo as an official language of Aotearoa, New Zealand and to signify the desire to celebrate the unique Māori culture for all those connected with the tournament.

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We are fully committed to accelerating the women’s game at all levels and while the postponement was disappointing for everyone, it has provided the unique opportunity to review every aspect of the event to ensure it is the best it can be for the players, fans around the world and the wonderful and enthusiastic New Zealanders.

“Longer rest periods between matches for all teams is further commitment to delivering comprehensive player welfare standards at RWC 2021.

“I would like to thank all stakeholders for their support and open-minded approach to this process and we can now look forward to a truly spectacular Rugby World Cup 2021, playing in 2022.”

International Rugby Players appointee to the RWC board, Melodie Robinson, said: “While it’s disappointing that the 2021 tournament had to be postponed, the positive is that we’ve been able to ensure the 2022 event and subsequent Rugby World Cups will have a minimum 5 day turnaround for players.

“Just like the men’s tournament, this will hopefully help to level the playing field for all sides and see an increase in competitive matches.”

Rugby World Cup 2021 Tournament Director Michelle Hooper saidWe are delighted that together with World Rugby we have been able to further super-charge the women’s game here in New Zealand with the confirmation of the new dates in 2022 and the amendments to the tournament format. We are excited to be hosting Rugby World Cup here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

“The momentum for women’s sport is continuously building and we look forward to demonstrating this to the world through the unstoppable energy that will be on display during Rugby World Cup in 2022. We can’t wait to welcome the world’s best women’s rugby players to our shores and share the Manaakitanga so intrinsically linked to our people and our place and rugby in Aotearoa, New Zealand with them and their fans.”

In a commitment to delivering an outstanding Rugby World Cup 2021, playing in 2022, earlier this year World Rugby announced a £2million funding package to support a Rugby World Cup 2021 high-performance preparation and competition programme for qualified teams and teams still competing in the qualification process.

The programme will focus on providing teams with additional monetary support with deliver additional team training camps and coordinating international competition to give them the greatest opportunity to be at their best in New Zealand next year. Further details will be announced at a later stage.

 

2021 Rugby World Cup Dates Confirmed!
2021 Rugby World Cup Schedule – playing in 2022

dwp appoints Dion Gosling as Design Director Sports + Rec

dwp appoints Dion Gosling as Design Director, Sports + Recreation

Growth has seen Architecture firm dwp | design worldwide partnership catapult, sparking the need for newly created roles. Today, 106 Director Dion Gosling joins dwp as Design Director and Sector Leader, focusing on Sports and Recreation facilities. He also assumes the role of Studio Director in New Zealand.

Dion, a leading architect for sports, community and recreation facilities and former NZ Hockey Black Stick Olympian and New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallist, has an innate knowledge of sports and community projects, from the high-performance elite environment to the grass-roots community level.

This has been shaped by years of personally interacting with local and international facilities.

Since retiring from international hockey in 2005, Dion has successfully combined his two foremost passions: sports and architecture, establishing 106 Architects (formally Studio106 Architects) in 2009, specialising in masterplanning, design, and delivery of sports and recreation facilities across Australia and New Zealand.

With over 25-years’ personal experience and empathy for recreation and leisure-based social structures, working with multiple stakeholder groups with varying levels of complexity is what Dion does best.

“I’m thrilled to be joining dwp – it’s a global design practice with a long and wonderful track record for quality sports and recreation projects in Australia.  I have been incredibly impressed with the quality of their work; the people within the organisation; and their ambition to explore better outcomes for people and places in our communities.” 

“Successfully connecting our community sport with our high-performance environments is something that drives me along.  It’s perfect timing with the Brisbane Olympic Games focus and the challenges facing local-sport, returning post-COVID,” said Dion.

“With dwp, I’m excited about working with a diverse range of clients – across multiple codes – and to immerse myself in learning about their needs and challenges.  I can’t wait to unlock new ways of tackling sport and recreation problems, and working in partnership on the basis of ‘designing together’ to help them achieve their objectives, their Third Place.”

Group CEO, Michael Hegerty, said “We are experiencing unprecedented opportunities against a challenging public health emergency and associated economic context.  As a global business, we are investing in public wellbeing and our sport and wellness portfolio. So we are absolutely delighted that Dion Gosling is joining our team to lead our sports and wellness capability for dwp across the world. He is a hugely respected architect and sports campus masterplanning specialist.

Dion as an Olympic athlete and a top tier sports practitioner. and commonwealth games silver medalist, he has unique insight on how sports facilities are used and how we can make them better.  

We are equally excited to be establishing a presence now in New Zealand with Dion joining.  Like many countries where dwp has design studios, Australia and New Zealand have weathered the storm of the pandemic to date, a new travel bubble is in place and dwp are stepping up to help rebuild our communities”.

About dwp |  design worldwide partnership

dwp bring to the table a wealth of knowledge in the Sport + Leisure sector. For 25 years they have been a global architecture and design practice that has completed award-winning work.

Currently located in Australia, Asia and the Middle East, dwp offer high-quality worldwide architecture and design services.

For more information, contact:

Dion Gosling
dion@106architects.com | dion.g@dwp.com

 

 

[EVENT] Third Place – Transforming Everyday Public Spaces

NGV Melbourne Design Week 2021 + 106 Architects

106 Architects + NGV Melbourne Design Week 2021

How will design transform and shape life in the future development of community facilities?

Designers are rapidly reimagining our built and social environment. From speculative structures to breakthrough approaches this theme explores new wave design-thinking in the context of our community and sporting infrastructure.

From the platform of Third Place thinking, our mix of creative professionals will share, build, then intersect their perspectives for how we might transform our community places and spaces.

Each presenting speaker will unpack their interpretation of the impact of design in shaping our social infrastructure of the future. Participants will be encouraged to transform their own community ideologies, as they imagine within the fields of our presenters’ perspectives.

Presenters:

Simon Madden
Sports and Business Leader

Tiffany Cherry
Sports Media Commentator & Active Board member with SEA – Sports Environment Alliance

Dion Gosling
Sports Architect & Director, 106 Architects

James Mant
Urban Planner & 20-minute Neighbourhood Lead, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

Martin Sheppard
Strategic Thinker & Founder of the National Sports Convention

Nikki Langman
International Speaker & Emotional Intelligence Specialist

Join us as we discuss the future transformation of community spaces with Third Place thinking.

→ Date + Time – Wednesday, 31 March 2021, 11:00am – 1.30pm AEDT.
→ Location – Moonee Valley Racing Club, McPherson Street, Moonee Ponds.
FREE tickets via Eventbrite.

This event is part of Melbourne Design Week 2021, an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV. It is also supported by Parks & Leisure Australia – VIC/TAS chapter.

NOTE: We realise with COVID restrictions and with the fragile nature of events that not everyone can attend and participate in person. For those who purchase FREE tickets, we will also make available a recording of the presentation. Complimentary car parking for those who do attend will be provided in the Centre Car Park at MVRC.

Work for us! Architect or Senior Technician wanted

106 Architects | With with us - Architect or Senior Technician wanted

106 Architects needs YOU! Work on Sports, Recreation, Community + Residential projects across Australia & New Zealand!

𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬:

We are looking for an experienced Architect or Senior Technician with 5+ years experience to work in our Brunswick studio. This is a 2 month contract position with an immediate start and the potential to become permanent.

You will assist our Director in the development of our design packages for our sports and residential projects.

In this role, you will:

→ Undertake research, design analysis and investigations;
→ Develop conceptual ideas into detailed construction drawings and documentation;
→ Produce client presentation material as well as planning submissions;
→ Communicate and liaise with clients, other team members, consultants, Council officers, and contractors;
→ Work with agreed timeframes, project briefing, and set budgets;
→ Prepare design reports, contract documentation, and technical details;
→ Undertake site monitoring, record keeping, and contract administration;
→ Deliver the design from concept to completion;
→ Need the ability to produce clear communications, with an understanding of the English language critical.
→ This is a contract role based in the studio, with the potential to become permanent.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚:

→ Related Bachelor or Masters of Architecture degree, or technical qualification, with knowledge of Australian Building Standards;
MUST have a high proficiency in ArchiCAD being capable BIM/3D modelling and detailed documentation;
→ Moderate experience in SketchUp and/or Adobe CS is an advantage;
→ Have a minimum of 5+ years relevant full-time experience;
→ Competent technical understanding of Australian construction detailing and building codes;
→ Demonstrate a high level of design and documentation pride and capability;
→ Be a good self-starter
→ Have professional and confident interaction with staff and clients;
→ A great team player who is not afraid of bringing ideas to the table;
→ Able to remain calm under pressure with the flexibility to meet changing demands;
→ Can build relationships, and capable of being part of a team to achieve deadlines;
→ Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦:

106 Architects values people who enjoy working collaboratively and contributing as part of a team. In return, we offer a competitive rate and the ability to enjoy a balanced work/life mix. We are committed to career development and have a track record in providing a flexible and family-friendly, yet stimulating, environment for our people.

𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬:

If this sounds like you, please send a current CV and portfolio with samples of technical drawings to: studio@106architects.com

You must have Australian residency or a valid Australian work permit to apply for this role.

𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗪𝗘:

106 Architects is a small, well-established architecture practice that provides specialised global professional design and project management services for a range of clients. Our collaborative design team works with clients who are focused on sports, community, and leisure projects, as well as bespoke residential developments. Our work takes us throughout NZ and recently, into Australia.

We have carved ourselves a special niche in the sports, recreation and leisure sector, and are committed to making an outstanding contribution to global sports, leisure, and community-based architecture.

We also work on residential projects – individual homes as well as developer-driven multi-unit housing.

𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡:

You can find out more about 106 Architects on our website: www.106architects.com

Why 106 Architects?

106 Architects | Why 106 Architects?

We have a strong focus on social and environmental integration: the impacts of buildings on people. This means our work is based on evidence and needs, not an assumption. A hands-on approach characterises our practice and allows us to respond to large and small projects alike. Consistently high quality of service, design and technical rigour is achieved through creating a project-specific design and delivery process that can be made up of:

– Pre-design briefing, Workshops, User Group Analysis
– High-level Concept Design Basis
– Needs and Options Reviews
– External and Internal Stakeholder Communications
– Masterplanning and Feasibility Studies
– Detailed Design and Documentation
– Project Management and Final Delivery
– Business Case Development and Economic Modeling
– Post-occupancy Review and Testing

We pride ourselves on being able to adapt to a project. We do not hold to a specific style, instead, we connect with our clients to craft a bespoke, versatile and dynamic design to suit each commission.

A process of designing, prototyping, testing, then revising, allows us to create innovative architecture which our clients can tell stories and thrive within.

Sport + Community

We recognise the potential for community, sport and recreation activity to have a huge impact on the lives of our young people. 106 has a focus on projects that connect communities through these activities.

We have a strong history with sports-community projects having worked closely with many individual clubs, community groups, the education sector, national sports organisations, regional sports trusts, and councils.

We know – that like sport – experience, passion, and expertise alone will not deliver a great result. It needs a great team.

Project Management

We offer project management services that align your ‘vision’ or design strategy with your detailed brief. We then deliver this through great documentation and on-site delivery. As with all our services, we tailor this to suit your exact needs and expected outcomes.

We work with our clients, consultants, and contractors very closely throughout each project. Attentive and regular client contact and communications are key. Our team is very experienced in meeting the demands and expectations of any entity: private organisations, Boards of Trustees, local authority bodies, client stakeholders, and the wider community.

We have NZ Ministry of Education accreditation for 10YPP and 5YA delivery and are experienced in working with council processes.

Our points of difference are in our briefing, design, management, consultation communication and delivery tools.

–  Leading the briefing, consultation and design process.
–  Management and delivery of all modes of documentation.
–  Administration of building contracts.
–  Observing contract works.

Interiors

Bespoke is beautiful. That’s what we believe at 106 Architects, a design that melds your ideas with our expertise to craft original spaces that work – for you. Our in-house interiors team focus on design excellence and exceptional project delivery. We specialise in high-quality residential, commercial, education, and sport-related sectors. We guide our clients through concept design to project completion, encountering many moments of magic in between.

– Large scale projects
– Cafes, restaurants, canteens
– Luxury and bespoke residential

Design-lead research and collaboration with our suppliers keep us ahead of the game. This enables us to provide innovative, responsive and commercially viable designs.

A room may be comprised of timber and tile, but the subtle qualities of intimacy, scale, volume and texture, along with the unique perspective each client brings, are what make the difference.

Successful projects blend design and aesthetics, sustainability and functionality. And they stick to budgets. Our small team at 106 helps bring these threads together.

Architecture has the ability to inspire and connect in every day. We’re not about pushing the latest ‘look’ onto an existing home: we’re committed to a sensitive contemporary design that responds to today’s lifestyle. So whether you’re adding a new storey to your home, seeking workplace or spatial planning, or refurbishing your local sports hub, our design-led, collaborative approach means you’ll achieve results that are tailor-made to fit.

COVID-19 – Building Site Lockdown

With the announcement from the New Zealand Government last week to elevate the COVID-19 alert level to Level 3 – Restrict, on Monday 23 March, then immediately to Level 4 – Eliminate on Wednesday 25 March, all within 48hrs, there were immediate impacts for our 106 Architects’ construction projects that were – or about to be – active on site.

For projects in Australia, we see work continue, albeit under health and safety practices that align with Federal and State Government requirements. These specifically relate to the foundation of Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws that require employers to take care of their workers in the workplace.

Current requirements include social distancing, as well, providing adequate facilities for workers to carry out their tasks safely, chiefly, personal and workplace hygiene measures. Updated SWMS (Safe Work Method Statements) will be required under COVID-19 conditions for those continuing to work.

Specific information for our Australian clients and contractors can be found here, at the Safe Work Australia site – https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19-information-workplaces/preparing-workplaces-covid-19/building-and-construction-minimising

Our Victorian projects can find information via the Work Safe Victoria website here – https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases and here – https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/construction

In New Zealand, as the lockdown commenced, all non-essential services ceased and people were required to stay at home. We anticipate Australia to move in the same direction. Soon.

Here are some of the key items we have needed to consider with our Client/Principals and Contractors:

Payment Claims

As the end of the month approached – with it, the end of the financial year for New Zealanders – we moved to assist Contractors to receive, and then assess, their payment claims for the project cycle. For some projects the cycle was monthly; others fortnightly.

Assisting to quickly gather a clear understanding of work completed with any supporting documentation required, was a key task we faced.

Where visiting sites to inspect work first-hand would not be possible, we worked through progress with the Contractors via FaceTime, photographs, and verbal descriptions on what work had been completed and ‘held’.

This has meant that the processing of the Payment Certificate over the past week, in a difficult situation, could take place in confidence with everyone working remotely.

Trust, kindness, and supporting both Client and Contractor has been the key.

Thinking ahead, Clients/Principals could consider increasing the frequency or changing the basis of the payment to the Contractor. This may assist the supply chain cash-flow for materials and products, and ease overall financial pressure on all parties. Equally, payments could be offered directly to suppliers and could ensure a project-specific flow of goods and services can be achieved (and secured) following the lockdown period.

Insolvency and re-mobilisation are two key factors currently circulating our sector at the moment. Modifying the payment claim basis through closer help and facilitation could go a long way.

The Site and Building Schedule

The shutdown of sites happened quickly in New Zealand and will happen in a similar manner in Australia. While the site remains the responsibility of the Contractor, the unknown period of time for closure means communication between Client and Contractor is key.

Much like the landlord/tenant relationship, there may be on-going costs to the Contractor relating to specific site structures and establishment as part of general overheads, either as direct and/or indirect costs.

The Contractor should contact their suppliers and see what relief they can provide, and can feasibly pass on to Clients. There should be a sensibility to the passing on of these costs, and any that may be associated with a likely Extension of Time (EoT) claim that may follow.

The cost of scaffold, for example, is an on-going overhead, however, these particular site structures will clearly not be used during lockdown other than support or potentially to enclose a structure. On-going certification and testing will not be taking place, so there may be a basis to challenge the need for an on-going cost for something that would not be certified or used.

Site fencing and security measures should also be checked for completeness, to ensure they are well-fixed in-place for any adverse weather conditions likely to be presented during inactivation of the site.

Consideration to re-mobilisation costs and securing trade supplies following a prolonged period of inactivity should also be given (see Financial and Resource Health, below).

Contractor and Principal – Financial and Resource Health

For projects that were about to kick-off or indeed underway, the issue of financial capability and durability to ride the crisis, should be considered. The same applies to human resources or labour availability, and what sort of plan might be put in place by the Contractor for when the project sets off again.

The questions are: Is the availability of supply items a danger or risk area for a project, and what is availability like, once projects recommence?

We have projects were Client or Principal-supplied items are included in the contract. Clients need to ascertain what challenges (and alternatives) they may have as a back-up should the supply chain be affected by COVID-19. Equally, where clients have paid for their fixtures upfront, ensuring that those fixtures are assigned to them and covered by insurances as off-site goods. Seek additional security for the cost and risk of those items not turning up, or for insolvency of a supplier – standard procedures, but more important in a riskier time.

There is a degree of increasing financial pressure and strangling of cashflow at the moment. It’s a difficult question to ask and assess, but ask: How is your Contractor placed to reignite again, once the green-light is given?

What can you do as the project owner, to alleviate any real or perceived pressure on the Contractor?

For example, do you really need the provision for Liquidated Damages in your contract, to be applied? Could you release the pressure, by granting a unilateral Extension of Time, to allow the Contractor to complete the project beyond the stated completion date, for events beyond their control?

Insurances

It would pay for both Principal and Contractor to advise their insurance brokers that building works have ceased, and confirm the shut-down date. There is a duty to formally advise of any changes to site or project conditions. At this time, it is unknown when construction is likely to resume, but we see it as being at least four weeks away.

The insurance policies and arrangements in-place have an end-date nominated for each project, however, an email trail to confirm changed site conditions is prudent. Once works are back up and running, a revised programme should be sought from the Contractor, with a new completion date passed onto the insurer. Check with your broker to additional costs, if any, there may be for extending the cover due to COVID-19.

With communication and consideration, you’ll be in good shape when construction kicks off again.

The 1st Step to Building – Understanding your Needs and Options

first-step-to-building

Summer. Wasn’t it glorious! A great time to think and relax. And be inspired.

As summer has drawn to a close so we thought it is a good time to share some insights to what we’ve learned from our sports projects, and how they could apply to your house and home project.

What’s the problem?

It is not uncommon for people to know they want to do a project – and have given it quite a bit of thought – but just don’t know how best to start…

Or worse, launched into an expensive design service without establishing the client-designer relationship, or worse still, not carefully established the groundwork for the project.

In recent months, we’ve seen the number of building permits and consents being processed by Council reach new highs. This has helped us get more feedback on what the market is doing, and what thinking people are doing at the moment.

The Scenario:

We’ve found an initial Needs and Options Review is the architect’s best ‘pencil’ for good early groundwork. It works as a diagnostic tool for your project – and can save a huge amount of heartache. It allows you to start with an exploration designed to precisely understand your requirements and potential roadblocks are, and gives you:

→ Needs-based findings and recommendations;

→ High-level design options;

→ A Plan to move forward;

→ A Timeline and rough order of cost for budgeting.

The Process

We’ve used this process on a much larger scale while doing our sports projects – which typically involve a large number of groups and a diverse range of people. We saw an issue in these projects, of people starting design and construction before they had fully done their research and homework. BEFORE they had critiqued their ideas and assessed their needs.

These projects can have several conflicting groups – all locking heads on which way to go. So what better way to bring them together and moving in the same direction, than each understanding what the other needs?  It’s on this basis that everyone sees a different perspective, and actually, the group gets a much better outcome.

Our view is this applies across the entire construction industry – it’s not limited to designing sports facilities. It also happens in residential projects … People are trying to run before they have mastered the walk or set the training programme (sports pun intended!).

The consequence of inadequate upfront research and discussion of needs and options is like… building a house on bad foundations.

The foundations are the most important part of the whole house because everything is built on top. It’s very expensive to change the foundations once you have started to build. But it’s very easy to change them if they are simply lines on a plan.  It’s amazing what comes from sketch lines and diagrams, rather than hard-and-fast computer models.

Ultimately, a little more time spent upfront on research and assessment will yield a better result – economically and design-wise – long-term. Be careful about entering the design phase too early.  There are snags if you’re not prepared, and you might just pull a hamstring on the final straight!

What makes a good brief?

A good brief is gold.

There are five important steps in building:

→ Needs and Options Review – which is the first step

Design phase

→ Construction Document phase

Building and Contract Management

→ Completion phase

If you want to learn more about our Needs and Options Review and how we can move you through the five important steps of building seamlessly, get in touch today with the 106 Architects residential experts!

106 Architects | Your Residential Build Road Map

Third Place – Sport & Community

What Is The Third Place At The Intersection Of Sport And Community?
In traditional sport, we have marked edges, lines, and boundaries.  These can be circular as well as straight or hard and can offer direction as well as containment.  In design, we take edges and boundaries to present pathways, ideas, and vision ideals for people. For us, it is the meeting of people and the gentle collisions that can occur that interest us most.  The blurring of these traditional edges allows an opportunity to weave a much wider community, whether that is for various sports groups or the non-sporting community who are touched by adjacent activities and sites.

Whether we are designing local community facilities or large-scale stadia, we see the integration of the Third Place concept as opportunities in our design work. From nationally driven infrastructure based on legacy and the ‘mega-event’, regional/state facilities driven by identity and public sharing on a commercial basis; to local community-based facilities and our personal and intimate homes, founded on domestic understanding.  The narrative is that if we can implement those qualities with which we mostly understand in our own homes, into our larger-scale facilities, we will have a better chance of creating a Third Place in our sports infrastructure

The Design Narrative – Who Cares About It Anyway?  Is It Important?
106 Architects cares because we see sport and community projects as unique projects.  In the sense that they are not just a civic hall, a commercial office space, retail, indoor/outdoor, a pub or café, or education space.  They are all those things, but not just slight manifestations of each.  There is not one typology that fits the description.  They – sport, community and leisure facilities designed for local communities – are in their own category of design, primarily due to the complex arrangement of the users, inhabitants, the function, purpose, and relationship to their sites and community.  As such, we should all care, and it is important.

Where Can We Go From Here?
Through our work, we have learned that there is another basis at play in our sports facilities that informs the Third Pace.  It is an extension of the in-between place whereby our facilities must serve and be regarded as ‘fit for purpose’.  That is, the ability to balance as a place between two distinct groups – the high-performance elite and grassroots community levels.  We are constantly challenged for the social and financial balance between these two modes as they look to co-exist in our sports facilities.  We are constantly challenged to consider the tension that is between these two groups of users.  This tension is created when addressing access rights, functionality on design, specification requirements, hours of operation, rental return, pay-for-use, and of course, the priority of during day-activities and event mode.  Each brief and facility are different.  However, the way in which we design for history, tradition, site, culture, and the partnering of high-performance and grassroots goes a long way to releasing much of this tension.

“How do we scale for it, and how do we design for it” are the two biggest questions that 106 Architects seeks to answer.

For us, to design successful sports and community facilities, we look for fit-for-purpose outcomes that can occur for both day-to-day and event mode operations. Why? Because this will ensure an embedment of the Third Place into the economic and social plan – leveraging social capital for financial viability. This is about transition and interchange.  The more interchange, the more we heave between modes, the more often we can achieve, and the more sustainable the facility will be.

Discover The 106 Architects Approach To Your Community Or Sporting Facility
We’d love the opportunity to introduce you to our Third Space thinking and show you how through collaboration, we can engage your passionate community to craft a unique facility that has its own successful unique identity and function.  A place that leaves its users free to explore the opportunity to make it a place of their own, shaped by their personal memories and most importantly, a place where users can enjoy the emotionally charged in-between places, not just the endpoint.

Join us at NGV Melbourne Design Week 2020 where 106 Architects and friends will discuss the future transformation of community spaces with Third Place thinking. Tickets are FREE via Eventbrite.

Date: 19 March 2020
Time: 3.30pm
Location: The Spotted Mallard, 314 Sydney Road, Brunswick VIC Australia

[EVENT] Third Place – The Influence of Design

106 Architects + NGV Melbourne Design Week 2020 presents

How is Third Place design impacting the future of our social infrastructure and community interaction?

In a challenge to re-define social culture, Third Place design is about injecting the familiarity and intimacy of human connection into built environments. This event will explore this new wave of design-thinking in the context of community-sporting infrastructure.

Introduction:
Simon Madden – Sports and Business Leader

Facilitator:
Michele Frey – Environmental Consultant

Panellists:
James Mant – Urban Planner
Emily Mabin – Landscape Architect
Dion Gosling – Sports Architect
Martin Sheppard – Strategic Thinker

Join us as we discuss the future transformation of sport and community spaces with Third Place thinking.

Date and Time → Thu, 19 March 2020, 3.30-5.00pm AED

Location → The Spotted Mallard, 314-316 Sydney Road, Brunswick VIC 3056

FREE tickets via EventBrite.

This event is part of Melbourne Design Week 2020, an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV.

#GoneMobile – The Art of Small

#GoneMobile #StayingMobile

From Auckland to Melbourne and beyond, it seems people are trying to come to terms with the rapid growth and density of our cities. The strategy to increase density, as a way to improve the liveability and functioning of our city, causes us all to reflect on the quality of life we are accustomed to, and what we might wish for in the future. In our minds, this means thinking about the amount of space we have, how we use it, and the way people seek to interact in it.

At 106 Architects, we have long been exploring the efficiency of space movement, both in the way we might work, and the way we collaborate with our clients. For example, all of our studios, Auckland, Melbourne, Wanaka are set within shared spaces. Sure, we have done this to optimise financial resources and our use of space. But more so, because we feel that the dynamic and dense arrangement of skills and expertise leads to better client outcomes. Why? Because the conversation in these spaces becomes fluid, we get smarter from the shared dialogue. Moreover, we’re more actively connected to the communities in which we work. This ultimately equals better designs for everyone we touch.

Our commitment to this space movement exploration was best illustrated during the Summer of 2016 when we set out to discover the impact a reduction of space might have on our business and the way we work. Hence the #GoneMobile experiment was born.

The #GoneMobile Experiment
106 Architects created a temporary office on the site of one of our projects – the Hyundai Marine Sports Centre in Okahu Bay, Auckland. The space, a 9 m2 caravan, was of a magnitude smaller than our 90 m2 studio. During our time in the 9m2 mobile office, we observed that the space changed in response to our needs. It happened in such a fluid way that it often flew under the radar. We moved from “documentation mode” to “meeting mode” all within the same small space, and with little disturbance to the way we worked. This eliminated the need for several adjoining spaces with fixed (constructed) purposes. Spatial boundaries become reduced or even blurred, making smaller spaces smarter by design.

The other advantage of working in a small office space by the sea was that it was easy to manage, and it was flexible, even nimble. By being on the site and near our client-community, it opened up powerful conversations, while revealing extraordinary insights into how people engage with and benefit from the space and its surrounds.

The 106 team found the move into our much loved harbour-side caravan office came with increased free-flow of ideas that surged back and forth with ease. Although we were experimenting with our business space, we knew the real opportunity was how we could apply these learnings to our future Living, Sports and Community designs.

How smaller spaces lead to better connections
Before the experiment, we knew that we would come away with some great ideas on how to introduce smart design into homes – how spaces can respond to changing needs for volume, size or purpose; otherwise known as smart spaces. Smart spaces are often expressed through the utilisation of sliding partitions to control volume or changing traditional geometry to create more versatile spaces. Of course, after #GoneMobile we came away with some ideas on how to better use kitchens as a family social hub, but perhaps the more profound learnings from the experiment related to how small spaces can help effectively breakdown social disconnection.

Small Spaces in the Digital Age
We live in an age where technology is infiltrating family and community life, resulting in ‘disconnection’ in a strangely connected world. This has been topical in the media for some time and is explored in Catherine Steiner-Adairs book, The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age, Some of the themes touched on in the book mirror our findings from the experiment. For example, good spatial planning can provide a setting for users to be present and together and smaller spaces by their very nature result in this happening. As such, when we collaborate with our living clients, we are now asking the question “What do you value when it comes to your family dynamics? Are the spaces in your home helping to facilitate and support these? Can we create spaces where digital use and social engagement can live together harmoniously?

Smaller spaces lend themselves to that ‘Third Place’
Perhaps most importantly, the learnings from the #GoneMobile experiment have also extended into our sporting designs. We often consider how small, smart spaces can create more dynamic and enhanced community intersections. They lend themselves to the trend that we are highly vested in and extremely passionate about – designing community facilities so that they can become that “Third Place.” That social place between work and home where we feel safe accepted and part of a family. This is often best achieved within a small intimate setting rather than in large impersonal spaces. Creating these “Third Places” is something that we want to be known for and something which 106 Architects hopes to integrate into all our community designs in the future.

The next challenge – #StayingMobile
The team at 106 Architects is continuing to work on ideas for fun smart space experiments, which we are hoping will play out within proximity to our newest Melbourne office location. We are proactively brainstorming our next move – for now, let’s call it #StayingMobile! We’d love it if you could hit us up with your ideas on how you think we can continue the conversation. Together we can work towards optimising the outcomes of urban intensification so that lifestyle outcomes are better for everyone.

Countdown is On – Australian National Sports Convention

106 Architects is delighted to be actively involved in the National Sports Convention, to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from Tuesday 23rd July to Thursday 25th July 2019.

The vision of this year’s Convention is “Reimagining Sport; more people active with greater participation opportunities.”

The event is sure to be a vibrant hub of ‘everything sport’ – packed with networks and opportunities to explore the impact of specialist sporting architecture on the community in the future – from surfaces, facilities, policy, innovation and current trends.

Convention attendees can expect a packed schedule, and we are inviting leaders from councils, parks and recreation, sport’s CEOs and all other sporting stakeholders to come and say hi to our Principal Architect, Dion Gosling who will be a speaker, as well as a panellist at the below plenary sessions:

Workshop 1 – Wednesday 24th July 1:30 pm – 3 pm

Sporting Centres of Excellence and How They Embrace Synthetic, Hybrid Surfaces and the Latest Smart Technology

Workshop 2 – Thursday 25th July at 11:15 am – 12:30 pm

Reimagining Community Facilities and Urban Design
What Will Future Facilities and Neighbourhoods Look Like if we want to Activate Communities and Attract Specific Cohorts?

The featured project Dion will be focusing on is the Community Centre of Excellence in Christchurch, New Zealand at the Nga Puna Wai sports precinct which was designed for four key sports, to service the growing local community need. The precinct has the capacity to scale up operations to host regional, national and international events. 106 Architects partnered with Council and consultants to successfully create a “Third Place” — an inviting home for the anchor sports of Hockey, Athletics, Rugby League and Tennis.

106 Architects is excited that the chosen destination for this year’s Convention is Melbourne. This decision echo’s our recent decision to set up a base in Melbourne — an inspirational city known for its rich and successful coupling of sporting and community culture. Our agenda at the Convention is to demonstrate how the Antipodes truly pack a punch when it comes to sports stadia. It is our time to shine, with Australian and New Zealand architects leading the way in creating effective collaboration models that deliver greater community engagement, increased sport participation and higher performing athletes.

We look forward to seeing you at the National Sports Convention. Simply register your interest here. If you can’t make it, or you want to follow our involvement, you can stay tuned via our social media channels Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.