Tonsley takes home four more awards

Tonsley Innovation Precinct has once again proven it is leading the pack by taking out four more awards in just three weeks in the UDIA SA Awards on 4 November, the National Architecture Awards on 3 November, and Civic Review on 14 October.

In the 2016 National Architecture Awards announced in Sydney, Tonsley took home both awards it was in the running for, out of a field of 14 award categories and 79 shortlisted projects overall. Tonsley won awards for both sustainable and steel architecture, with the Main Assembly Building and Pods awarded the esteemed David Oppenheim Award for Sustainable Architecture, while the South Australia Drill Core Reference Library won the National Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture.

Described as a ‘pragmatic and poetic work of architecture’, the jury of national judges were impressed with the use of steel on the exterior of the Drill Core Reference Library building designed by Thomson Rossi.

The ‘MAB’ (or Main Assembly Building) and Pods, designed by Woods Bagot and Tridente Architects, represent the thriving heart of Tonsley and their credentials as the first Australian urban renewal project to be granted 6-Star Green Star Communities certification award were recognised. The jury commended the decision to retain the former MAB and said the ‘MAB is a model for mixed-use developments and can act as a framework for other projects to recognise the opportunities that lie in industrial heritage.’

Tonsley has been recommended for judging at the National UDIA Awards for Excellence to be announced at the UDIA National Congress in Perth in April 2017.

In October, the Australian Civic Trust awarded the Stuart Hart Award for Excellence in Urban Planning to Tonsley Public Realm designed by Oxigen, saying it was “the first time this award has been deserved for several years”.

Renewal SA project director for Tonsley Daniel Redden was proud of these recent achievements and said, “Retaining the Main Assembly Building at Tonsley not only saved 90,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, it has enabled the site to be developed into an exceptional urban environment.

“Under the nearly one million square feet of the MAB, people meet for coffee, businesses operate, startups get off the ground and ideas are sparked — these are the real outcomes fostered by Tonsley’s award-winning architecture.”

The State Government of South Australia is investing $253 million at Tonsley to deliver Australia’s first innovation precinct and establish a dynamic and inclusive community with a critical role in the State’s economic transformation.

Tonsley is a truly integrated precinct that has everything from tertiary education and industry-focused research through to commercial operations and start-ups. It will soon will see the start of the residential development with more than 800 dwellings.

2016 UDIA SA Awards for Excellence, Urban Development Institute of Australia (South Australia)

Urban Renewal Award
Tonsley by Renewal SA

2016 National Architecture Awards, Australian Institute of Architects

David Oppenheim Award for Sustainable Architecture
Tonsley Main Assembly Building and Pods (SA) by Woods Bagot and Tridente Architects

National Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture
South Australia Drill Core Reference Library

Civic Review 2016, Australian Civic Trust

Stuart Hart Award for Excellence in Urban Planning
Tonsley Public Realm by Oxigen