[ad_1]
Australian Government The Department of Social Services has terminated the award-winning design for a national institutional memorial to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in Canberra, designed by architects Jessica Spresser and Peter Baisley, citing “complex construction challenges.” ”.
Spresser and Besley said they were “blindsided” by the decision to cancel the design after being notified by a reporter from The Australian in early February 2024.
The article disclosed that the project was secretly terminated in November 2023.
“We’re a little bit confused about what happened,” Baisley said. “It just got cut silently. We just didn’t expect it to be honest.”
Besley and Spreiser stressed that they maintain a good working relationship with the government’s task force, but they had stopped receiving responses to repeated inquiries for updates in the months before the news broke.
Since the publication of The Australian article, the Department of Social Services (DSS) has updated its website and outlined the reasons for the termination.
Spresser and Besley’s winning concept, Transparency and Truth, proposes a series of catenary arches made from glass blocks, with a winding path surrounding a meadow of perennial grasses and wildflowers.
The DSS website states that in 2022-23, “the design concept underwent a technical evaluation that revealed complex construction challenges. The department worked with the National Capital Authority and in consultation with Mr. [Peter] McClellan [former chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse] and an advisory group trying to address the issue. Everyone agreed that the design challenges were too complex to solve. “
“Evaluation of selected design concepts […] Complex technical challenges were identified due to the unique and innovative use of glass in the design. “DSS said.
“The Department worked closely with the National Capital Authority to explore options to address the design challenges and engaged with the National Memorials Advisory Group on these options. The consultation determined that the selected design presented unacceptable technical risks and lengthy time frames.
“Furthermore, the assessment was unable to determine whether the design would have long-term durability in Canberra’s climate.”
Besley and Spreiser disagreed with that assessment. “We have produced a detailed proof-of-concept report,” Sprether said. “We were working with a structural and facade engineer and a lighting designer who contributed to the report and provided considerable technical documentation and cost analysis of the glass and recommended in the report that Project moving forward.”
Sprether and Besley said their winning proposal was flexible so the number of catenary arches could be varied to fit the budget.
“We had 49 pairs of arches, which was a lot. We made it very clear that we were not going to stick to that number – we would have halved it or cut it by two-thirds. We could have redone the site plan, repositioned it, repositioned it. Distributing these arches, that would be a huge cost reduction, but we’ve never gone through that process,” said Besley.
“The schedule was heavily influenced by the workload. If we reduced the number of catenary arches by half or a third, then obviously the impact on the project would be huge.
“Assuming it was reduced to 15 or 20 arches, that would still be great. We’re really disappointed that we worked so hard to embed it into the design but no one reached out and pulled the lever.”
As for the long-term durability of glass tiles, Spresser and Besley said they have consulted with manufacturers who supply glass tiles to world markets.
“We’re very confident in the glass we’re getting because it’s already used in the construction industry. It’s not necessarily coming from the glass manufacturer that we’re retrofitting,” Besley said. “[The manufacturer] We’re just going to make a new mold for us. “
Architects say they were never given a chance to review or respond to the government’s assessment of their plans.
“We think this is preemptive,” Baisley said. “What should have happened is that we should have sat down with them, voiced their concerns, and as designers had the opportunity to change the work as part of our competition. The cost and time issues could have been resolved quickly.”
Spreiser added, “Our feeling is that it was axed because they felt it was too complex, but I think that’s totally untrue in reality, it’s just a bespoke construction that’s complex.”
DSS will soon begin a new two-stage design selection process, requiring applicants to “have the necessary skills and experience to design and deliver the monument” in the first stage. “In the second phase, shortlisted applicants will provide detailed design submissions which will be independently assessed for compliance (buildability, durability, timeframe, cost) by professionals before final selection is made by a panel of experts. “
Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2026.
[ad_2]
Source link