Lovell Chen's scheme for a bushfire-resistant house has been accepted as a model in the Bushfire Homes Service, established by the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects and the Office of the Victorian Government Architect.

Over 2,000 houses were destroyed in the State of Victoria in the February 2009 fires. The Bushfire Homes Service has been established to allow those affected to access architect-designed house plans designed in response to the revised Australian Standard (AS 3959) that applies to houses in bushfire-prone areas.

Our design is for a house, U-shaped in plan, arranged around an open-sided courtyard, from which occupants can protect their property. Fire retardant devices include integrated drenchers to the skillion roofs (which face the courtyard) and a range of fire-rated materials.

The Bushfire Homes Service is based on the Small Homes Service, initially run by well-known Australian architect Robin Boyd. It offered a range of architect-designed plans to the general public as a means of addressing the post-World War II housing shortage.

Planning approval has been granted for the redevelopment of two early twentieth century buildings to the rear of the Church of Christ on Swanston Street in Melbourne's CBD.

The works, designed by Lovell Chen, include a five-storey addition to Price Hall — a red brick gabled building (1902) — and a nine-storey addition to Knox House, a two-storey-plus-basement structure built in 1903 as premises for a manufacturer of printer's ink. The two new elements will provide a range of administrative, office, residential and meeting facilities for the Church of Christ.

The addition to Price Hall, adjacent to the 1860s church, has been conceived as a candle. It will be clad in glacial white Corian — a plastic more-commonly used for bench tops. The nine-storey addition to Knox House will be clad in stainless steel with precast concrete to the west elevation.

[ illustration: Lovell Chen ]

Lovell Chen is overseeing the relocation of a 1951 Stothert & Pitt portal crane to Melbourne's Station Pier from where it had been removed in the late 1990s. Since then it has been in open-air storage in Williamstown. The crane's square metal frame and timber-clad cabin require extensive restoration.

Once installed, the crane will not be operational, rather it will be a symbolic reference to the pier's historic role as a goods-handling facility, a function that fell victim to containerisation during the 1980s. Today, Station Pier is the Melbourne hub of the TT-Line ferry service to Tasmania. It also receives cruise shipping.

The relocation of the crane was a recommendation of the 2008 masterpan for the pier we prepared for the Port of Melbourne Corporation. We are also overseeing the relocation of an historic baggage conveyor and upgrade works to the two passenger terminals.

The crane is to be located on the west 'wing pier'. Completion is anticipated for 2010. Pictured is the crane cabin pre-restoration, with an historic shot of Station Pier, cranes in situ.

[ historic image: State Library of Victoria ]

We are working with the Robin Boyd Foundation on the preparation of a management plan for the Boyd House II, widely regarded as one of Boyd's most significant mid-career works.

In 1947, Robin Boyd (1919-1971) wrote, 'When an architect builds his own home .. he will interpret his own design in every furnishing and fitting ... In his own home all his philosophy of building must surely blossom, if ever it is to'.

Sixty-two years later these words endure in physical form at 290 Walsh Street, Melbourne, a house designed by Boyd for his family in 1958. The house remains almost exactly as envisaged by Boyd, a legacy in part of the family's unbroken association with the property.

The Boyd House II is a courtyard house, with separate wings for adults and children to the east and west. A cable-hung roof encloses the long narrow proporty, with an opening over the courtyard.

Pictured is an extract from Boyd's 1958 working drawings.

[ courtesy: Robin Boyd Foundation ]

The Medical Superintendent's House at the former Point Nepean Quarantine Station has been awarded a Commendation in the Outstanding Building Conservation category of the Architecture & Design Excellence in the South East Awards 2009. The house was restored in 2008 by our conservation works team.

The jury commended Lovell Chen's work as 'A masterful example of restoration and reconstruction of a valuable Edwardian building. Such attention to detail demonstrates the value of investment in important buildings that are part of the public estate.'

The awards are run annually by South East Development (Melbourne) ACC, a federally-funded, not-for-profit organisation that works in partnership with business, the community and government to identify opportunities for sustainable regional development.

[ photo: Fraser Brown ]

Architect Zorana Zanoskar has joined the practice
as a Senior Associate.

Zorana was an Associate at Metier3 Architects for many years. She joins us from Baulderstone Hornibrook, where she was Design Manager.

Delwyn Lloyd has been appointed Associate Director,
Finance & Administration.

Delwyn has over 16 years' experience working for architects and construction companies in Melbourne, including spells with Jackson Architecture, Cox Architects and the Lend Lease Group. She joined Lovell Chen in 2005.