Lovell Chen has received a Residential Architecture Award in
the annual Australian Institute of Architects Awards (Victorian Chapter), for additions and alterations to the FARFOR FLATS (Units 1 and 2)
at Portsea, Victoria.

The Farfor Flats were designed by prominent Australian architect and commentator Robin Boyd in the late 1960s. His inspiration was the Kingo houses (1956), a complex of holiday homes at Helsingor in Denmark designed by Boyd's friend Jørn Utzon, architect of the Sydney Opera House. The location of four properties on a single allotment was facilitated by the Strata Titles Act of 1967.

The approach to the additions and alterations was based on a commitment to maintaining the L-shape footprints and protecting the relationship between the built form and landscape. As such, it was decided to build upwards, as Boyd had envisaged in the 1960s.

The first floor additions are raised on steel frames with structural separation between the existing roofs. The minimal impact on the existing fabric offers the potential for reversing the construction.

[ photos: Trevor Mein, Mein Photo ]

The restoration of Melbourne's Railway Goods Shed North has been honoured in the Heritage & Adaptive Reuse category of the Property Council of Australia's fourth annual Innovation and Excellence Awards.

The restoration was carried out by Lovell Chen in collaboration with architect Elenberg Fraser on behalf of developer Equiset.

No.2 Goods Shed, a train freight discharge terminal, was built in 1890 to service the Victoria Dock, a 39 hectare deepwater harbour developed to designs by engineer John Coode. Its restoration is an exemplar of conservation practice integrated with contemporary design, to create a modern working environment for Vic Urban, the Victorian Government's sustainable urban development agency.

The Goods Shed is the first heritage-listed building in Victoria to achieve a 5-star Green Star rating. This project has also received the Planning Minister's Heritage Award (Victoria) for 2010.