Congratulations Ming Hin Chung winner of The Walls Around Us Student Competition 2024/2025!

As the winner, Ming Hin, who graduated from the Melbourne School of Design with a Bachelor of Design (Architecture) in 2024, will head to Venice for the Biennale Architettura Vernissage 2025!

With a scheme that reworks Boyd’s original design through a post-human sustainable lens, it cleverly proposes an inversion of Boyd’s original design by placing the house inside a garden and rethinking the brick walls as permeable screens. This spatial sophistication is reinforced in a series of details that show a clarity of intention right down to the assembly of individual elements. Ming Hin Chung’s, Growing House was a worthy winner of this year’s Competition, deploying a sequence of actions – disassembly, adaptation and reuse – to replay Boyd’s house according to this contemporary script. – The Walls Around Us Student Competition Jury.

The jury comprising of Eve Castle (QLD) National Business Development Manager, Brickworks Building Products, Dr Christine Phillips (VIC), Senior Lecturer, Architecture & Urban Design, RMIT University and Gerard Reinmuth (NSW), Director, TERROIR / Professor of Practice, School of Architecture, UTS agreed this proposal was a clever, multi-faceted response to the brief written by local sustainability champion and project architect at Kennedy Nolan, Hilary Duff.

The jury also allocated one high commendation and two commendations.

The Link-House proposal designed by Andy Wilson, from the Melbourne School of Design, was awarded a high commendation for its clarity and ‘minimal works’ approach. RMIT University student Connor Harris’, Genealogical Timeliness in the Anthropocene was awarded a commendation for – a conceptually strong scheme, which in using the existing house as a frame for new overlays – a superimposition of Tange’s house and an accretion of scavenged materials. The jury also commended Melbourne School of Design student, Je Yen Tan’s 12 Rooms for Walsh Street – the flexibility offered by this plan and the deep consideration of Boyd’s vision in developing a contemporary response to the Walsh Street location.

Congratulations to our shortlisted entrants: 
Agnes Leonardi⁠
Alice Stewart⁠
Andy Wilson⁠
Charlie Eastwood⁠
Connor Harris⁠
Felix Tie⁠
Je Yen Tan⁠
Ming Hin Chung⁠
Yu Qin Tan

PROJECT BRIEF:

In an era where the availability of materials is rapidly diminishing, and the impact of carbon on our environment is undeniable, the question arises: how can architects adapt? We challenge you to think critically about how we use materials – how to minimise quantities, how to be tactical in their composition, and how to extend the life of both structures and materials. Using the right material, in the right place, for the right purpose – it is easy to believe that a contemporary Robin Boyd would have been interested and engaged with this challenge.

Reflecting on the post-war period of the mid-20th century, Boyd and his contemporaries crafted a spectrum of beautiful, innovative structures with minimal material. Born from scarcity, yet enriched by inexpensive labour, their designs were marked by structure, rationalism, and efficiency. They set the foundation of modernist architecture through their bold yet resource-conscious approaches. Today, the landscape has shifted. How we choose and use materials is critical and the contemporary financial environment of construction demands a radically different mindset. What does this mean for the future of architecture?

We ask you to consider this: If Robin Boyd were present today, how would he challenge architects to rethink the way we design and specify buildings? How would he urge us to align with the values of the circular economy – creating systems that not only reduce material consumption but also ensure their ongoing life?

– Hilary Duff, Project Architect, Kennedy Nolan.

Participants are invited to submit their designs for a reimagined development of the Boyd House II/Walsh Street site at 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra VIC 3141.

ENTRIES MUST:

– Be a place to live.
– Incorporate a proposition relating to the theme of circularity and reuse, this may include; adaptive reuse, retrofit, kit-of parts analysis + reassembly or designing for disassembly.
– Specify and hero one or more of the following Brickworks Building Products:
– Nubrik
– Daniel Robertson
– Austral Bricks
– GB Masonry
– UrbanStone
– Be a minimum of one dwelling, and a maximum of two dwellings.
– Be a maximum of three storeys.
– Demonstrate an exploration into the ideas, interests and architecture of Robin Boyd.
– Respond to the site and context of 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra VIC 3141.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

The Jury will assess the merit of each Entry against the following Criteria:
1. Engagement with the ideas, vision, theories and research of Robin Boyd with particular focus on Boyd House II/ Walsh Street residence.
2. A proposal which provides a response to the theme of circularity and reuse, this may include; adaptive reuse, retrofit, kit-of parts analysis + reassembly or designing for disassembly through architecture.
3. Understanding and creative use of material qualities and possibilities provided by masonry such as brickwork and blockwork.
4. A creative and viable response to the site and context of 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra VIC 3141.
5. Presentation, clarity and quality of graphics, text and submitted materials.

HOW TO ENTER:

– Before commencing your design we recommend you read the Entrant Kit which provides a preview of the Entry Form covering the full submission requirements.
– The Entry Form will become available at robinboyd.org.au/thewallsarounduscompetition at 9 am AEST Monday 2nd December 2024.
– Entries will close at 4 pm AEST Monday 3rd February 2025.

ENTRANT RESOURCES:

– Entrant Kit.
– Asset Centre for Entrants.

KEY DATES:

Entries open Monday 2 December 2024, 9 am AEST
Entries close Monday 3 February 2025, 4 pm AEST

Winner’s announcement Thursday 13 March 2025
Exhibition of finalist entries March 2025

PRIZE:

The Walls Around Us Student Competition provides a unique opportunity for the winner to travel to Venice, Italy to attend the Biennale Architettura 2025 Vernissage. The Prize includes:
– Economy flights from an Australian Capital City to Venice, Italy and return.
– Three nights of accommodation in Venice, Italy.
– Membership to the Biennale Architettura 2025 Brickworks Club, entitlements include Vernissage Pass and access to networking at the Brickworks Bar.

Presented by the Robin Boyd Foundation and the Boyd Circle, The Walls Around Us Student Competition is generously Sponsored by Brickworks Building Products.

JURY:

Eve Castle (QLD)
National Business Development Manager, Brickworks Building Products

Dr Christine Phillips (VIC)
Senior Lecturer, Architecture & Urban Design, RMIT University

Gerard Reinmuth (NSW)
Director, TERROIR
Professor of Practice, School of Architecture, UTS

The Walls Around Us Student Competition is open Australia wide to students enrolled in an architecture course at an Australian university in the 2024 year. Both under-graduate and masters students are eligible to enter. Please refer to the Conditions of Entry.